JON CORZINE

If support for independent candidate Christopher Daggett is soft, as indicated by this morning's Quinnipiac University poll, then the race for second choice among those who say they are likely to vote for Daggett remains important.  Republican Christopher Christie leads Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine 40%-33% among Daggett supporters who list a second choice.  Nearly six out of ten Daggett (39%) voters say they might change their mind before Election Day.

Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac

ATLANTIC CITY - The members of Christie's transition team will break into specified groups tomorrow, according to team facilitator and counsel Brian Nelson of Shrewsbury.

"We're going to have a smaller number of groups to examine the issues than Gov. Corzine had four years ago," Nelson told PolitickerNJ.com. 

Proving Gov. Jon Corzine's loss in his hometown doesn't diminish his standing with defeated Democratic governors, Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac huddled in a tight-knit circle of party stalwarts that included former Gov. Jim Florio here in the Atlantic City Convention Center at the 94th annual League of Muncipalities Conference.

Corzine suffered a bellweather gut-wrencher in Woodbridge two weeks ago, ultimately going down to Gov.-elect Chris Christie, 11,475 to 9,391.

Christie surfaced in Woodbridge two days later and triumphantly pounded pavement with the Democratic mayor.

Then McCormac surfaced a few days after that as a member of Christie's transition team.

McCormac, state treasurer in the administration of Gov. Richard Codey, will have a transition role in economic development.

Former independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett wants state to investigate robocalls that he says “severely damaged” his candidacy, The Star-Ledger reports.  

The call, in which a woman’s voice attacks Republican Chris Christie for being “wrong where it matters most,” urges listeners to “remember Chris Daggett's words: 'It's never wrong to vote for the right person.’”  

The  call ends with a disclaimer that says it was paid for by the NJDSC and gives The Democratic State Committee’s Trenton address.  The day before the election, a spokesperson for the DSC confirmed that the group paid for the robocalls, but the group did not comment further on it. 

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden)

One of the last senators to announce publicly that he would support Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) for leadership over Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) today said he intends to stick with Sweeney.

"That's not the first time I have heard that, but I don't think it changes my thinking," Scutari said to an argument made by East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser that Democrats should remain with the veteran Codey as senate president to ensure the toughest top legislative negotiator in the coming era of Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

"I certainly don't think Steve Sweeney is a poor negotiator and I believe he would do a fine job," Scutari explained. "Senator Codey would do a great job - and has. But with the new governor coming in I think there are real opportunities for change. Senator Sweeney has been a strong advocate for stabilizing our pension system and he will lend credence to our efforts."

East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser (over Gov. Jon Corzine's left shoulder), and Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, far right.

East Orange Mayor Robert Boswer today said he believes Chris Christie's victory over Jon Corzine in the governor's race earlier this month should spark Democratic Party senators to reconsider their abandonment of support for Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland).

"I don't know what to expect at all from Chris Christie, and probably won't get any kind of clues until the transition team changes the guard, but I do believe Christie's win changes the dynamic for the senate presidency and the same thing for the speaker of the assembly," said Bowser.

At last public count, Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) has 15 caucus votes to Codey's eight heading into their Nov. 23rd Statehouse confab and presumptive legislative leadership change.

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) will become the new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a position that will take on increased clout for a Democratic-controlled Senate confirming appointments made by a Republican governor.  Scutari was no pushover for Gov. Jon Corzine’s appointees – he takes his advise and consent responsibilities seriously, and does not view Judiciary as a rubber stamp.  That’s something Gov.-elect Christopher Christie’s front office will need to take into consideration  And Scutari is intellectually superior to the current chairman, State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge).

Sarlo is expected to become Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee when State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) becomes Majority Leader.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker on Election Day, 2008

Standing in the vanguard of opposing parties makes Gov.-elect Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker obvious political adversaries - a relationship made more intriguing by their agreeable history and the crisis demands on both of them to deliver reforms in their respective spheres of power - but whatever the dynamics of their personal and professional relations, allies of both men expect a coming collision between Newark and New Jersey.

Don't count Booker among them.

"I know people want to turn this into a rivalry but when you consider the monumental challenges we are up against right now, he is my greatest ally," Booker said of Christie, the Republican who on Nov. 3rd defeated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. "To characterize us as rivals would be like saying Democrats and Republicans were the chief antagonists during World War II. We're in a crisis."

"I would also say - and I use this word because it is accurate - that Chris Christie is my friend. We have been friends for three years and he can assume credit for things we have accomplished here these past three years."

Booker knows the buzz about how he's the Democratic Party's most likely nominee for governor in 2013, to which he gives the only politic response: he's focused on the city's crime problem.

Prodded on politics and Christie, he adds, "I'm focused on next year's mayoral election and on electing the Booker Team (of council candidates)."

Governor-elect Christopher Christie and outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine have come to a simple agreement when it comes to major appointments and policy decisions in lame duck: if Corzine wants to do something, he'll fill Christie in.

"The understanding that the Governor and I came to was we would be talking to each other about it.  There was no agreement that we made that either certain appointments, or any appoints, would or would not go forward," said Christie at a press conference today in the Meadowlands.  "He's the governor until January 19.  I'm going to certainly weigh in, and he offered me the opportunity to weigh in, and he also offered to share with me any actions he was considering taking."

Christie said that the executive director of the transition office, Jeff Chiesa, reports that the Governor's office has been "very cooperative" and has "given him everything he's asked for." 

What Christie and Corzine don't have an agreement on is what happens if Corzine makes an appointment he does not agree with.

"If he does intend to do something and I weigh in saying that I wouldn't like him to do it, then we'll have to see what happens," said Christie.  "But hopefully we're going to just be able to work well together. He's going to respect the prerogatives of the people who voted on November 3rd, and I certainly respect his prerogative.  It's a four year term.  It's not a three year, 10 month term."

Gov. Jon Corzine shmoozes with Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero on the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Walk to Washington in 2007.

The week after Christopher Christie takes office as governor, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce will hold their 73rd annual Walk to Washington, a chartered train that allows special interests to schmooze with elected officials – “Build Your Contacts During Two Days of Intense Networking,” according to the chamber website.   But the rift between the business advocacy group and state Republicans could cause the trip to be a bust. 

Chamber of Commerce president Joan Verplanck became closely allied with Gov. Jon Corzine over the last few years.  She angered Republican legislative leaders by endorsing Corzine’s toll hike plan, causing some Republicans to call on local businesses to leave the organization.  Verplanck was reportedly considered by Corzine as a possible candidate for Lt. Governor.

Many top Republicans, including Christie, declined to participate in this year’s chamber trip to Washington.  " Christie wants to bring real change to Trenton and that comes with ending politics as usual, which this trip has become a symbol of,” his campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said earlier this year.  Verplanck called the GOP protest “stupid.”

Anne Evans Estabrook, a former Chamber of Commerce chair and briefly in 2008 a candidate for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination, contributed to Christopher Daggett's independent campaign for governor.

Republicans have also been upset with New Jersey Business & Industry Association President Philip Kirschner, who forged an alliance with Corzine.  In a not to subtle jab at Verplanck and Kirschner, Christie named Debra DiLorenzo, the President of the Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, to his transition team. 

MADISON - Gov. Jon Corzine's campaign thought they were well positioned to win re-election against former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie leading right up to Election Day, Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan (D-Union) said today at a joint event with his Republican counterpart, Jay Webber (R-Morris Plains) at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

"Candidly, we thought we were going to win. We had numbers that showed on the Sunday before the election that we were in a position to win," said Cryan who, along with Webber, is also an assemblyman. 

Cryan made the point in response to a question from FDU pollster and political science professor Peter Woolley about whether the Democratic Party abandoned Corzine.  Although there were clearly base problems and the unaffiliated vote went heavily for Christie, the loss did not result in part from party leaders scuttling the campaign, as some have suggested after looking at the anemic turnout from the state's Democrat-rich urban voting districts. 

"We ran a campaign that appealed to the Democratic core in the hopes it would bring folks forward," Cryan said.  "Certainly we tried very hard to inspire the new Obama voter, who clearly needed more inspiration than we could provide." 

Cryan said that the campaign had trouble cutting through with their message.  Corzine had provided real tax relief, he argued, but it didn't live up to the campaign promise of "40 in 4" he made in 2005.

"You might have heard us mention more than once that we had the most property tax relief in history. It's not a lie -- we did. But nobody believed it," he said.

Webber argued that Corzine's appeal to their base on mammograms, abortion and guns did not work because the election above all a referendum on Corzine's four years in office.

"There's no one element of the campaign or election season that this is the reason why or that is the reason why. It is both a referendum on the incumbent and I think a real vote of confidence for our new governor," he said.

Webber said that Christie's victory showed that conservatives can win in traditionally Democratic states like New Jersey, though he stopped short of saying that it signifies a conservative resurgence in blue states. 

Christie, Webber said, did not run away from questions on hot button social issues.  But he didn't emphasize them. 

"You have your conservative principles and beliefs. You don't back away from them or try to explain them - you defend them when you have to.  But you talk about those kitchen table issues that voters care about," he said. "Certainly, Chris demonstrated that pro-life, pro-traditional family, pro-voucher, pro-tax cut Republican can win in New Jersey."