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Another legislator in court next week, but not on a criminal matter
Assemblyman Craig Stanley will appear in Superior Court on September 11th to contest the results of the June Democratic primary in the 28th district. He lost to Cleopatra Tucker, the widow of the late Assemblyman/Newark City Councilman Donald Tucker, by 127 votes.
"We have identified numerous anamolies," Stanley said.
Read More >Schaer: Passaic deserves honest government
City Council President Gary S. Schaer said that he became aware of the arrests of Mayor Sammy Rivera, Councilman Marcellus Jackson and former Councilman Jonathan Sorto this morning.
“I have been in contact with the Administration and Business Administrator and I am confident that the business of the City will continue without interruption," Schaer said in a statement. "As City Council President, the Council and I will make every effort to ensure that Passaic residents will continue to receive the City services that they have come to expect.”
Read More >McCullough says Callaway has ties to Whelan
Jim Whelan's campaign says that the arrests of five current or former Pleasantville Board of Education members today helps his campaign, but GOP State Senator James "Sonny" McCullough disagrees. Among the eleven arrested was Maurice "Pete" Callaway, the brother of jailed ex-Atlantic City Councilman Craig Callaway.
"Whelan’s been fighting these Callaway factions," said Raiyan Syed, spokesman for Whelan, a Democratic Assemblyman and former Atlantic City Mayor who is running for the Senate. "Craig Callaway’s locked up in jail and Jim Whelan’s going to be the next state senator."
McCullough says that the Callaway organization has worked on behalf of Whelan and the local Democratic Party.
Read More >Orange councilman stunned
The arrest today of three-term Assemblyman and three-term Orange Mayor Mims Hackett, Jr., caught at least one member of the Orange City Council unawares.
"I just saw him at a city council meeting on Tuesday night," said West Ward Councilman Hassan Abdul-Rasheen. "Are you kidding, or something?"
Read More >Let's give a warm New Jersey welcome to Hillary Clinton
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is scheduled to address the New Jersey Democratic State Committee's Annual Conference in Atlantic City on Friday -- the day after two Democratic Assemblymen, the Democratic Mayor of Passaic were arrested on federal corruption charges. She comes to New Jersey the week that her state campaign leader, Governor Jon "Hold Me Accountable" Corzine is dealing with the revelation that he gave a $15,000 cash gift to the brother-in-law of his former girlfriend, CWA President Carla Katz, and amidts news that one of her senior state campaign advisors, lobbyist Harold Hodes, has retained legal counsel in the federal corruption probe of State Senator Joseph Coniglio.
Read More >Eleven arrested in bribery scandal
Rev. Alfred Steele is the Assembly Deputy Speaker and the Passaic County UndersheriffThe list of eleven public officials arrested today by FBI agents: Assemblymen Alfred Steele and Mims Hackett, Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera, Passaic City Councilman Marcellus Jackson, former Passaic City Councilman Jonathan Soto, Keith Reid, the Chief of Staff to the Newark City Council President, Louis Mister of Pleasantville, and five current and former members of the Pleasantville Board of Education -- Jayson Adams, City Councilman Maurice "Pete" Callaway, James McCormick, James Pressley and Rafael Velez.
Callaway is the brother of former Atlantic City Councilman Craig Callaway, who was sentenced today to 40 months in a federal prison for taking bribes from an undercover FBI agent.
Soto, viewed as a rising star in North Jersey GOP politics when he was elected to the City Council in his early 20's, is the Passaic Republican Municipal Chairman. He has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President.
Read More >O'Toole says Hackett seat in play
Could newcomer Mark Meyerowitz be headed to the State Assemby?Assembyman Kevin O'Toole, the Essex County Republican Chairman, says that Mims Hackett's arrest "certainly changes the dynamics of the election."
And a spokesman for Democratic Senate candidate James Whelan said the arrests of five current and former Pleasantville school board members will only help their campaign.
Hackett's GOP opponent is Mark Meyerowitz, a 52-year-old financial advisor from West Orange and son of a Holocaust survivor, whose only political experience was volunteering for Ross Perot in 1992.
"While it was once viewed as an uphill battle it becomes a new ground," said O'Toole. "While you hate to see this played as a dynamic in the election, it’s unmistakable that the public will take it into consideration in the voting booth.”
Read More >FBI arrests Hackett, Steele, Rivera, eight others
Double-dipper Mims Hackett was arrested today. He is the Chairman of the Assembly State Government Committee, where ethics reform legislation is often referredAssemblymen Mims Hackett and Alfred Steele, and Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera were among eleven public officials arrested today on what the Star-Ledger called "bribery charges related to roofing and insurance contracts for schools." U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie will hold a news conference in Trenton this afternoon.
Hackett, the Chairman of the Assembly State Government Committee, also serves as the Mayor of Orange. He is Senate President Richard Codey's running mate in the 27th district. Steele, a Minister who also works for the Passaic County Sheriff's Department, is the Assembly Deputy Speaker.
Read More >The Back Room
Source: Dressler still the favorite
A well-connected Democrat close to Bergen County Democratic Party politics said County Surrogate Mike Dressler remains the party favorite to challenge GOP Executive Kathe Donovan in 2014.
Read More >Wake-Up Call
Morning News Digest - May 23, 2013
PolitickerNJ.com interview: Jason O’Donnell Confident he has the votes to be the next Democratic State chairman, Jason O’Donnell said his objective will be to drive the core message of the Democratic Party. “My main objective is to bring Democrats home,” said O’Donnell, 41, an assemblyman from Bayonne. “If we...
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Op-Ed
Time to have the talk we hope to avoid but can’t
By Tedford J. Taylor No topic is a less likely conversation-starter than our eventual deaths. Still, there is a lot to talk about. When polled, about 90 percent of people presented with end-of-life scenarios prefer the prospect of dying at home with... Read More >
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