Trenton Councilman Manny Segura

ATLANTIC CITY - Trenton Councilman Manny Segura hasn't made a formal annoucement regarding next year's mayor's race, but if he runs and wins he says he would only serve for two terms - max.

"Longevity is a killer in this line of work," said the councilman, down here for the 94th annual League of Muncipalities Conference.

His observation comes on the tail-end of Mayor Doug Palmer's two-decade tour of duty as Trenton's chief executive.

"I've got three priorities," Segura added. "Safety, safety and safety."

A graduate of Perth Amboy High School, Segura was a minor league baseball prospect when he first started organizing politically, first for Robert Menendez and later Joe Vas.

Governor-elect Chris Christie is in Texas today for the Republican Governors Association’s annual conference.

Christie will attend the conference’s plenary session outside of Austin at 4:30 this afternoon before heading to a 6pm press availability with RGA Chair Haley Barbour -- the governor of Mississippi --  and Virginia Governor-Elect Bob McDonnell.  After that, he and McDonnell will attend a “victory barbeque.”  

The RGA invested heavily in New Jersey, which is one of only two states that had a gubernatorial election this year.

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Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), left, with Gov. Jon Corzine on the eve of Election Day in Lawrenceville.

Up against a politically and geographically connected frontrunner, Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) this week continues to call assembly people in the Democratic caucus in an effort to secure backing for the speakership, according to party sources.

A veteran legislator and former Democratic state party chair, Watson Coleman naturally headed a short-list of successors to retiring Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden).

But the Mercer County product's difficulty in a state controlled by powerful political fiefdoms is she hails from a county that is the Democratic Party equivalent of Somerset.

If the measure included time in the trenches and advocacy of progressive party causes, she looked tracked to become the Assembly's first African American woman speaker.

Former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell was indicted today on federal charges of taking $10,000 in bribes in exchange for help with development approvals.

Elwell, who resigned shortly after his July 23 arrest, allegedly promised to expedite development projects for Solomon Dwek – a government cooperating witness posing as a developer under an assumed name – in exchange for the money.

Also indicted was Ronald Manzo, brother of former Assemblyman and five-time Jersey City mayoral candidate Louis Manzo.  Ronald Manzo, who is charged with taking $5,000 to facilitate the relationship between Elwell and Dwek, was indicted last month along with his brother on separate corruption charges.

According to the indictment, Dwek gave Elwell – through Manzo -- $10,000 and promised another $10,000 after the June 2 primary.  

“Don’t treat me like an opponent. Don’t treat me like an enemy. Treat me like a friend and help me. Just support my stuff. Expedite my applications. That’s all,” the indictment quotes Dwek as telling Elwell at a Hoboken diner.   

Elwell, the indictment contends, “nodded his head affirmatively in response.”

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. 

Getty Images Photos

Top Row: Jon Runyan, Brian Propp and Althea Gibson; Bottom Row: Bill Bradley, Al Leiter, and Phil McConkey

News of ex-Eagles tackle Jon Runyan's interest in running for Congress in the 3rd District brought about some excitement in Republican circles, but it was not universal. 

One South Jersey Republican, skeptical about celebrity candidates, kept his response to two words: Brian Propp.

Propp, who played fifteen seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, was recruited by state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) to run for State Assembly in her district as a Republican in 2007.  Propp was a promising pick, but buzz about competing down-ticket in the heavily Democratic district fizzled out, and ultimately he and his running mate, Nancy Griffin, did not come close to unseating incumbents Herb Conaway (D-Delanco) and Jack Conners (D-Pennsauken). 

But Propp is only the latest example of professional athletes from the Garden State who ran for office.  While pro athletes who choose to run start out with name recognition that candidates from more traditional backgrounds typically have to spend years building up, their fame is by no means a ticket to a high office. 

In 1977, the late tennis great Althea Gibson - the first black woman to win a Grand Slam tournament - lost a state senate bid in a three-way primary against Frank Dodd  -- who was running on a slate with then-Assemblyman and now Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) -- and then-Assemblyman Eldridge Hawkins. 

In 1990, former New York Giant Phil McConkey came in second in a three-way Republican primary for Congress, losing to Dick Zimmer but beating Rodney Frelinghuysen. 

There have also been flirtations, like when Republicans attempted to recruit Ronald "Jaws" Jaworski - who played with the Eagles in the 1970's and 80's - to run against Rob Andrews in the early 1990s.  And former Major League all-star pitcher Al Leiter's name repeatedly pop up as a potential candidate, even though the Toms River native currently lives in Florida.      

But there is one obvious success story: Bill Bradley, the New York Knick and Rhodes Scholar who became a three-term Democratic senator.

Camden Mayor-elect Dana Redd has named Wendell E. Pritchett, chancellor of Rutgers University–Camden, and Susan Bass Levin, former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, as transition process co-chairs.

According to a release, the transition team will work to develop a number of initiatives, including public safety; health and family services; and a “Clean Camden” campaign that will seek to improve neighborhoods.

“I am pleased to announce the co-chairs of my transition team along with members of the working group,” said Redd. “Susan Bass Levin and Wendell Pritchett are two of the region's most respected leaders with proven track records in government, higher education, urban affairs, and public policy.  As Camden's next mayor, I look forward to implementing meaningful governmental reforms, improving service delivery for the residents and the small business community, and improving Camden’s standing in the region.”     

Ready to formally announce at noon in Veteran's Park on Dec. 11, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo says he has one campaign left in him: a third go at county executive next year before retiring to the private sector.

"My option is to run one more time here and then look at other options outside government, it's not to run for governor in 2013," said DiVincenzo. "I want people to look at my legacy in Essex County and remember that the two guys prior to me both did jail time. What I've done here is I've rebuilt parks and infrastructure.

"Nobody should be talking about that right now," added DiVincenzo, when asked about the 2013 gubernatorial election and prospective Democratic challengers to GOP Gov.-elect Chris Christie. 

"Chris will be re-elected if he does a good job," said the county executive, a Democrat and longtime friend of Christie's. "There is no question, if anybody can straighten out the state, it's him. He's a very tough guy and the people he brings around him will be critical. Look at everything he's done so far. As someone who runs a governent here, I'm very impressed. I talk to him regularly. He's handling transition very well. He's trying to bring in everyone and reaching out to both sides, Democrat and Republican. I pray that he's successful because we can't go on for another four years like this. People out here are hurting."

Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, left, and Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford)

Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo plans to formally kick-off his bid for a third term on Dec. 11th.

Over the past few days in particular, sources say the county executive has made the rounds and confirmed considerable support toward his re-election.

Although no one has emerged as a serious challenger to the popular county exec, there are hold-outs, notably Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser, and state Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D-Newark), who all believed DiVincenzo helped engineer Codey's collapse from his power projection platform as head of the state senate.

In his defense, DiVincenzo maintained that Codey was clearly wounded following the caucus reorganization vote after the 2007 elections.

When Sen. Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) defeated the Codey-backed Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) for senate majority leader, DiVincenzo said he read that as a sign that the Essex County -based Codey couldn't summon the votes to suppress Sweeney's upward mobility.