Nutley Commissioner Carmen Orechio
NUTLEY - A car pulls up in front of the VFW Building on Washington and Commissioner Carmen Orechio emerges from the passenger side.
"Hey, Carmen!" comes a familiar cry.
The former state senate president is well known in New Jersey.
But everybody knows him in Nutley, where the 84-year old has served for 40 years on the Board of Commissioners.
Winning this election tonight gives Orechio, a former three-time mayor, a shot at surpassing Harry Chenoweth as Nutley's longest serving commissioner since the town fathers established the form of government here in 1912.
Chenowith also put in 40 years.
Orechio knows the advantage incumbent commisioners have in Nutley and moving between polling places he is confident about his re-election.
"I feel real good," Orechio says. "I want to continue my work as the commissioner of public safety. I want to upgrade our traffic signals."
The cry comes again across the parking lot.
"Hey, Carmen!"
Another Nutley voter.
He waves back.
"Hey, Carmen, you look good," says a man heading into the VFW Building.
Serving as Orechio's campaign manager, Assemblyman Fred Scalara (D-Belleville) says he needs to keep the commissioner moving, and so amid shouts of encouragement in the parking lot of the VFW, Orechio keeps going.
There is a good chance Gov. Jon Corzine will pick his running mate before July 16, if for no other reason than to get the Democratic Lt. Governor ... >
It's called making perfection the enemy of the good and it's the first lesson of legislating.
Every legislative action involves ... >
In a rebuke to Judge Sotomayor, who found neither empathy nor justice for victims of obvious racial discrimination, the SCOTUS struck another blow ... >
The re-election campaign of Governor Jon Corzine was down-right giddy this week when it was announced that the state's tax amnesty program ... >
Who is minding the Asylum! >
The legendary sports journalist, Jimmy Cannon of the now defunct New York Journal-American said of Howard Cosell: “His real name is Howard Cohen, ... >
Based on the first Republican debate, which I had the opportunity to watch in the NJN studio and participate in a panel discussion afterwards, it ... >
Bailout of Madoff Not Making Everyone Happy
Special to AP Newswire
With 700 billion dollars being spent on the General Motors bailout, AIG, ... >
Word on the "internet street" has it that all the "King Street Men" supposedly are busy gathering cash for Union County ... >
Last week the New Jersey State Legislature passed a $29 billion budget for fiscal 2010 which begins on July 1, 2009. Governor Corzine's budget ... >
Comments