ROB ANDREWS

NEWARK - They both come from the south, but the more common U.S. Rep. Rob Andrewsand, they say, compelling trait that South Jersey Congressman Rob Andrews and South Ward Councilman Oscar James II share is desire for change.

Already counting on the long-established North Ward Democratic Organization for support in his U.S. Senate campaign here in Essex County, Andrews has banded with members of the fledgling South Ward Political Action Committee (SWPAC) and will rally with them this Saturday at an event hosted by James.

The alliance looks like a natural.

As the Newarkers take on an entrenched South Ward party machine, and Andrews statewide simultaneously goes after an 84-year old incumbent, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), they both highlight the new-versus-stale narrative in their respective June 3 battles.

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Frank Lautenberg continued to assail Rob Andrews today on an earmark directed to his wife’s employer, demanding that he release a “signed certification to the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee stating that neither he nor his spouse received any financial interest in the earmarked project.”

At issue is over $2 million in federal grants received by Rutgers University Law School in Camden, where Camille Andrews worked as associate dean of admissions. Andrews has already said that he cleared the grants with the House Ethics Committee. more >

ORANGE - With Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) planning a swing through Zoning Board Chair Janice MorrellOrange on Tuesday, Zoning Board Chair and mayoral candidate Janice Morrell prepared to take him on a tour of several of the city’s senior high-rises.

When Andrews, a candidate for U.S. Senate in next month’s Democratic Primary, abruptly canceled his walk with Morrell, his campaign cited a scheduling conflict.

But Morrell, who came in fourth in a field of six on Election Day in her quest to be the next mayor of Orange, said she still wants Andrews to come to her city.

"I want someone to do something about those seniors living in those buildings," said Morrell. "They’ve been ignored for so long."

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The NARAL Pro-Choice America Political Action Committee endorsed incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg for Senate today.

A press release from the organization cited Lautenberg’s support for the Freedom of Choice Act and the Prevention First Ac -- which it said were the “pro-choice community's two flagship pieces of legislation” – along with his opposition to President Bush’s policies on abstinence-only education and his authoring of legislation to prevent pharmacists from refusing to fill birth control prescriptions.

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Frank Lautenberg’s campaign said today that a political blog’s story about the Senator designating his Washington, DC condo as his permanent residence was old news and inaccurate.

The blog claimed that, prior to 2005, Lautenberg had claimed Washington as his primary residence in order to take advantage of the city’s Homestead Tax Rebate, and that he only stopped listing Washington as his “permanent address” in 2005 after reporters started asking questions about the deduction.

But Lautenberg’s campaign today released a letter sent to the Senator in 2005 by the city’s Real Property Tax Administration that took responsibility for the mistake.

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Democratic Senate candidates Frank Lautenberg and Rob Andrews each released endorsements today from prominent African-Americans.

Andrews announced the support of Newark Councilman Oscar James, Jr., an ally of Mayor Cory Booker who managed former Mayor Sharpe James’s successful 2002 reelection campaign against him.  According to the Newark Municipal Council’s Web site, James, the son of a grassroots activist, was the youngest person ever to be elected to public office in the city’s history.

"Rob Andrews has always recognized the challenges faced by inner-city Americans, especially our urban youth, and has worked hard as a member of Congress to find solutions to their problems," said James.  “He represents change and the passing of the torch to the next generation of leadership in the Senate.”

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United States Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) may have done both Frank Lautenberg and Rob Andrews a favor today by not weighing in on their Senate primary fight.

“I’ve never been involved with it. Frank Lautenberg is a good friend, and I know Rob Andrews,” said Lieberman as he was leaving a McCain press conference at Jersey City’s Liberty Science Center. “Probably I should say that I have nothing to say.”

Lieberman, who broke with Democrats over his support of the Iraq War and left the party to win reelection to his seat in 2006 after he was defeated by Ned Lamont in the primary, wouldn’t exactly be a coveted endorsement in the race. Both Democrats have distanced themselves from their own earlier support for the war, and Lieberman's support of President Bush's foreign policy is anathema to the liberal Democrats who tend to turn out for primaries.

Lieberman continues to caucus with the Democratic Party, but is an “Independent Democrat” who supports Republican John McCain for president.

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Representative Frank Pallone acknowledged today that Hillary Clinton is the underdog for the Democratic presidential nomination, but said that he will continue supporting her until she either wins or decides to end her run.

“I’m sticking with her. I think it’s her decision to decide what she wants to do,” he said. “As long as she’s running I’m supporting her.”

Pallone disputed the conventional wisdom that Barack Obama is virtually sure to win the nomination, saying that it’s “still possible for (Clinton) to win”

“You still have some primaries, you still have the superdelegates and you still have Florida and Michigan,” he said.

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U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1). 

In a conference call today with reporters, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) again accused U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) of hiding, and bewailed the incumbent’s decision to accept just two debates, despite Andrews’s repeated requests to debate seven times.

"Pathetic," said the congressman. "This is a job application. We’re talking about issues of life and death and he is unwilling to engage the issues. He’s hiding from them."

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U.S. Sen. Frank LautenbergDismayed by his opponent’s attendance record on the floor of the U.S. House in recent weeks, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) fired off a press release this afternoon demanding that the hard-campaigning U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) compensate his constituents for time missed on the job.

Andrews promptly issued a hard-edged response.

Lautenberg wants Andrews to reimburse the taxpayers of his district 70% of his salary since April 3, since he has missed 70% of all House votes., according to the senator's campaign.

"Rob Andrews is a no-show congressman who thinks he has a no-U.S. Rep. Rob Andrewsshow job," said Lautenberg campaign spokesperson Julie Roginsky.

"He should realize that there is more to his job than co-authoring and lobbying for the Iraq War," Roginsky added. "He was elected by his constituents and paid ($169,300 annually) by the taxpayers to do a job, which includes showing up for votes in Washington. If he wants to campaign, he should do it on his time and not on the taxpayers’ dime."

In arguably his harshest words for Lautenberg to date, Andrews said in reply, "If I owe the citizens six weeks of salary, Frank Lautenberg owes them his salary for the last six years."

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