Local

Steve Fulop won't run for Mayor of Jersey City next year. Instead, he'll seek re-election to the City Council.

Jersey City Councilman Steven Fulop has decided against a bid for Mayor of Jersey City in 2009, according to sources close to the reform Democrat.  Louis Manzo, a former Assemblyman and Hudson County Freeholder who has made four unsuccessful bids for Mayor, is expected to enter the race to unseat Jerramiah Healy.  The incumbent, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman and an early supporter of Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency, is viewed as the favorite to win re-election in the May non-partisan municipal race.

Patrick Murray is the founding director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. According to their website, “The Monmouth University Polling Institute has become a premier independent survey research center known for its in-depth tracking of public policy and quality of life issues.”

Reporters Roundtable with Michael Aron

Gannett’s Michael Symons, The Star-Ledger’s Claire Heininger, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jonathan Tamari and PolitickerNJ.com’s Matt Friedman (me) talk about the Chris Christie’s victory.

Airs: Tonight at 7:00, Sunday at 10am on NJN

On the Record

Michael Aron talks about Chris Christie with three Republican analysts: Alan Steinberg, Jeff Michaels and Gregg Edwards.

Airs: Sunday at 9am and 11am, Monday at 6:30am

Power & Politics

Republican State Chairman/Assembyman Jay Webber (R-Morris Plains) on Christie's Win, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) on Corzine's loss , Ben Dworkin of Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics with analysis,  Bill Dressell of the League of Municipalities about his hopes that Christie will address unfunded mandates, and Dr. Bart Rossi on the Body Language of the Candidates.

Airs: Saturday and Sunday at 10am and 3pm on News 12 New Jersey

New Jersey Now

Political Consultant Rick Thigpen and FDU pollster Peter Woolley analyze the election results; Assemblymen John McKeon and Jon Bramnick discuss Governor-elect Chris Christie working with a Democratic Majority in the Legislature as well as the approval of the open space bond question. Brenda Flanagan hosts.

Airs: Sunday at 12pm on My9.

Frank Pallone

The 6th District Congressman will be talking health care and the swine flu vaccine on three programs this weekend: CBS News with Michael Levi, C-Span with Peter Slen and America’s News with Shannon Beam on Fox News.

Airs: check your listings

Assemblyman Thomas Giblin (D-Montclair) says he will donate a dime to charity for every campaign lawn sign brought to his Clifton office. 

"Some of these signs sit around for months following an election," said Giblin, a former Democratic State Chairman. "We can clean-up our streets and help the less fortunate at the same time." 

Giblin says the money will go to Eva's Village, a Paterson-based social services agency.

"Not only do these things become an eyesore, but the metal hangers they're on start rusting and the laminated cardboard winds up in the streets and jamming up the sewers," Giblin said. "It poses a real hazard to the environment."

Tuesday, November 3rd was not a particularly good day for Democrats across the state, or in Hunterdon County. Although Democrats in Hunterdon are generally used to fielding candidates who face a tough campaign season against a more well-funded Republican opponent, combined with an over-whelming 3-1 voter registration advantage----there are many ‘true believers". 

It was literally minutes after Bergen County Republicans won two freeholder seats that they started eyeing another prize.

"Now for the big one: county executive," said one Republican operative who often works in Bergen County from the Chris Christie Election Night victory party in Parsippany.

Two days after winning two freeholder seats in Bergen County - a prayed for shot in the arm for a county party that has spent the last several years on the brink of irrelevance- the talk in Bergen County Republican circles is who the party will run for the top office in 2010.

"A number of people have expressed interest.  I'm hearing a lot of it informally. No one has officially come to me," said Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin, whose party could stand to receive a cash infusion now that donors see that they can win elections.

So far, three names pop up: County Clerk Kathleen Donovan, who ran in the 2006 Republican primary for the office but was defeated on the right by Todd Caliguire, who went on to lose the general election; Fair Lawn Councilman Edward Trawinski, who yesterday just won a second consecutive (and third overall) term in that heavily Democratic town; and former Hackensack Mayor Jack Zisa. 

Since the Republicans appear to have some momentum, other potential candidates are expected to come forward.  And with a GOP governor, Bergen Republicans will have an easier time raising money.

"It's a different ball game now that we've demonstrated we can win a couple county seats," said state Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Demarest), who has taken an active role in behind-the-scenes party politics.

Assemblyman David Russo (R-Ridgewood), long rumored to be interested in the post, told PolitickerNJ.com that he will not run.

MORRISTOWN - The happiest Democrat in Morris County.

That would be Tim Dougherty, who on Tuesday night won the Morristown mayor's race with 64.62% of the vote on a night when every municipality went for home county gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie by large margins with the exception of Dover, Victory Gardens and Morristown.

Doherty took pride in the fact that he won without going negative on his opponent, local businessman Jimmy Gervasio. 

"I told (campaign strategist Barrett) Tommy I'm not putting out one piece of negative literature," said the mayor-elect. "Why? I figured somebdy's gotta start doing it that way. Voters want to hear about what you're going to do."

In the primary, Dougherty built a coalition among African Americans, progressives, Latinos and downtown business people to crush veteran Morristown political animal Mayor Donald Cresitello.

The White House is expected to announce that Judith Enck, New York's Deputy Secretary of the Environment, will be the new Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.  Alan Steinberg, who held the post during the Bush administration, left in January.

Bergen County Republicans Rob Hermansen and John Driscoll won two freeholder seats with a micro-targeted, internet heavy ad campaign that focused on a positive message, according to Hermansen’s campaign manager.

Ramsey Republican activist Deirdre Woodbyrne, who ran Hermansen’s campaign but not Driscoll’s, said that her candidate smartly focused on things like a front page newspaper “popper,” Facebook ads and YouTube videos more than more traditional mediums like television, radio and mailers.

“Where Christie lost, we won. We didn’t have any money for TV ads. We didn’t have any money for radio ads.  We used the internet and we used the positive message,” she said.

Woodbyrne said the campaign got especially positive feedback from a YouTube ad they put up featuring footage of the all-Democratic Bergen County freeholder board unable to explain what a $100,000 project they were about to vote on entailed.  They voted for it anyway, drawing a rebuke at the meeting from Hermansen that was featured at the end of the video.