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Five months after his nomination was first set to be considered, Middlesex County Sheriff Joseph Spiccuzo’s was cleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee for a seat on the Sports and Exposition Authority.

The hearing was not without some controversy, however.  Spicuzzo’s nomination passed on a party-line vote, except for state Sen. Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Branchburg), who abstained.  

During questioning, state Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Demarest) needled Spicuzzo, who also chairs the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, on his association with former state Sen. John Lynch, who was convicted of corruption.

Cardinale attempted to read aloud statement Spicuzzo made to Gannett New Jersey about Spicuzzo meeting and taking advice from Lynch when he was still in federal custody.  

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak was visibly irritated by the line of questioning, arguing that there was nothing wrong with meeting with an incarcerated person.  Juciary Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) argued that Spicuzzo’s relationship with Lynch was irrelevant to the position he is nominated for.

“I think the nominee has stated that he knew him on a professional and political level.  I don’t think it has any bearing on his nomination to the sports authority,” said Sarlo.

State Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D-Newark)

TRENTON - State Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D-Newark) drops his gavel, ending the Senate Community Affairs Committee meeting and as he heads for the exit, he's asked if he believes Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) has a fighting chance in the Democratic caucus this afternoon.

"I don't think so, at this point," says Rice, a Codey supporter, who's aware of Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney's (D-West Deptford) public declaration of support from 15 senators - or a majority - in his quest for Codey's chair of power.

"That's what we're going to go do now," adds the Essex County vetteran senator, referring to the caucus vote for senate leadership.

Critical of Sweeney's take-down of Codey, Rices says, "I'm here taking care of the people's business as chair of this committee, and now I've got to go take care of the politicians' business. This is the people's business, and that's the politicians' business." 

Steven Goldstein, leader of Garden State Equality, with his allies this morning on West State Street.

TRENTON - Garden State Equality activists just mobilized at their West State Street headquarters, received a megaphone buck-up from their leader, Steven Goldstein, and headed for the Statehouse. 

"We progressives are fired up, and not just the gays," Goldstein said in a weekend email blast to supporters, which he amplified here this morning.

"If the Democrats don't enact marriage equality now, after years of telling us to wait, it will cause a huge schism between the state Democratic party and its entire progressive base," he added. "And it could change the political landscape of New Jersey permanently."

Goldstein stood at the head of an estimated 250 marriage equality advocates massed on the sidewalk and en route to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Can we hold hands, or would that be too..." a woman's voice trailed off.

"Of course you can hold hands," Goldstein told her. "You're gay activists marching for marriage equality." 

In an email to Democratic legislators on Friday, state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) told them that if they vote in favor of gay marriage, “neither the wrath of God nor of voters will descend upon you.”

Citing last week’s Eagleton poll that cited more New Jerseyans supporting gay marriage than opposing it, but with only 2% considering it an important issue, Lesniak said it “certainly is important though to those gay couples who want and deserve the full protection of the law as guaranteed under the Constitution of the State of New Jersey.”

”Let's vote our conscience.  I hope your conscience says support marriage equality, but if it doesn't I understand your view.  What I can't understand is not voting,” he said.

Michael Doherty. a West Point graduate and one of the state's most conservative legislators, will take his seat in the State Senate today.  A four-term Assemblyman, Doherty defeated incumbent Marcia Karrow in the GOP primary.  Doherty becomes the first Senator from Warren County since the legendary Wayne Dumont left the Legislature in 1990.

     “My work is done here. Winfrey has finally succumbed,” announced Novick at a press conference, pumping his fist in ‘win’ style.   Novick was a huge Phil Donahue fan, and used to watch him everyday. Back in 1986, when the Oprah Winfrey Show took over the time slot previously held by Phil Donahue, a young brash 30-something Joey was mad. “I was mad,” Joey said.  

There has been a lot of talk about putting the issue of marriage equality on the ballot in New Jersey. This is something that Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose , Senator-Elect Michael Doherty, and Assemblyman Michael Patrick King would like to see. “Let the people decide,” they say.

On the Record

Michael Aron hosts Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden), Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany), Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) and Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr (R-Westfield) to discuss the budget crisis and the election.

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

Reporters Roundtable with Michael Aron

The Record’s Charles Stile, The Star-Ledger’s Josh Margolin, WHYY-WBGO’s Phil Gregory and PolitickerNJ.com’s Matt Friedman (me) discuss the Corzine and Christie addresses the League of Municipalities in Atlantic City, the gubernatorial transition and Gay marriage.

Airs: Sunday at 12pm on NJN

Power & Politics

Highlights of Gov.-Elect Chris Christie and Gov. Jon Corzine's speeches from League of Municipalities; interviews with Senator Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) on his Senate President Vote, gay marriage and other lame duck issues; state Sen. Nick Scutari (D-Linden) talks about chairing the judiciary committee; Garden State Equality Chairman Steven Goldstein on gay marriage; clips of Kim Guadango , Brendan Byrne, Christie Whitman and Cory Booker from their speeches at the League.  

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

New Jersey Now

Political Strategists Tara Dowdell and Steven Some discuss Governor-elect Chris Christie and steps to deal with crisis in the Garden State; Assemblywomen Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood) and Amy Handlin (R-Middletown) on the Party Democracy Act and new guidelines by a government task force on mammograms.

Airs: Sunday at 12pm on My9

Caucus: New Jersey's Democracy Works: NJ Race for Governor Roundtable Wrap Up

A panel of print, electronic, television and radio media members doing a post-mortem analysis of the campaigns of New Jersey gubernatorial candidates Jon Corzine, Chris Christie and Chris Daggett. The panel will also discuss what lies ahea for the new governor and how he will deal with a legislature that isn’t his own party.

Airs:  Saturday at 12:30pm on Thirteen, Sunday at 8:00am on WPSJ, Sunday at 8:30am on NJN, Monday at 5:00pm on Cablevision of Morris, Monday at 9:00pm on Comcast Channel 57 , Monday at 11:30pm on NJN

Former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero’s attorney has filed to have Ferriero's corruption conviction overturned.

Defense lawyer Joseph Hayden said he filed about a dozen arguments in federal court, chief among them challenging Ferriero's conviction for conspiracy to defraud Bergenfield of co-defendant Dennis Oury’s honest services.  Oury, who was Bergen County Democratic Counsel, was the Bergenfield Borough Attorney.

“The principle motions involve a challenge to the honest services theory of prosecution, which is presently being scrutinized by a case pending before the United States Supreme Court dealing with honest services,” said Hayden. “We believe the Supreme Court case will be decided favorably to the defense, and this will result in overturning Mr. Ferriero’s conviction.”

The conspiracy count was the most serious of Ferriero's three count conviction.  He was also convicted on two mail fraud counts and acquitted of five other mail fraud counts.  

Incoming Bergen County Republican freeholders Rob Hermansen and John Driscoll will be outnumbered by Democrats 5-2 on the board, but they plan to propose some bold initiatives as soon as they are sworn in - ideas that will probably be met by a tough crowd.

Driscoll and Hermansen want to enact their campaign pledge of cutting each freeholders' pay by 25%, end pay-to-play by limiting political donations from contractors doing business with the county to $300 and limit county officials - both elected and appointed - to just one pension.

Hermansen said that he would "reach across" to the Democrats "to see if we can get things done."  But that may not be easy, since three of the five remaining Democrats on the board have public jobs in addition to their roles as freeholders.

"This is the part where I'm going to come off a little harsh -- that's not my issue," he said.  "My issue is the taxpayer. And if the freeholders themselves are truly up there to take care of the taxpayer, then guess what?  They're going to start doing it."

Hermansen admits that, while it will be hard enough to institute a county-wide pay-to-play ban, the prolific practice of wheeling contractor donations to freeholder campaigns through PACs -- the most recent cast reported by The Record's Charles Stile and John Reitmeyer - can only be addressed on a state level.

Although pushing those reforms is bound to be contentious, the grace period between the campaign and swearing in continue.  For no, the Democratic incumbents and incoming Republicans all express a hope and willingness for bipartisanship.

"They're just two or three things. There are going to be a lot of things over the years we're going to work on," said Driscoll, who said another priority of his is to bring controversial Bergen County Technical School District Superintendent Robert Aloia in front of the board to answer questions about his travel and expenses. "I have the feeling at the end of the day you're going to be pleasantly surprised when we start working together."

Democratic Freeholder David Ganz, for his part, said he had a pleasant conversation with Hermansen last night at Freeholder Director James Carroll's party at the League of Munipalities convention.

"The vitriol from the campaign appears to be gone.  It thought personally it showed a lot class," he said.