With Rone battling for reinstatement, council mulls what to do with the Central Ward

At-Large Councilman Carlos Gonzalez: Politicker file photo 

NEWARK - They could end up coming out of their offices tomorrow and standing unified behind their fallen colleague with a statement of support, but a prospective City Council vote on whether or not to replace embattled former Councilwoman Dana Rone summons an inevitable question.

Who would vote to replace Rone, and who would replace her?

The fact that Council President Mildred Crump called a special meeting tomorrow at a time when East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador is on vacation may indicate that Mayor Cory Booker - an ally of Crump’s - wants the council to move on the vote as quickly as possible.

Some Newark sources say Crump - not Booker - has more of a stake in would-be replacement Nikea White; and that is was Crump, not the mayor or his administrative allies, who pushed harder for tomorrow’s special meeting.

Rone, a member of the Booker Team, is now embroiled in her appeal, quixotically fighting back-to-back rulings by both assignment and appellate court judges last week to strip her of her council seat following her conviction of obstructing justice in a 2007 traffic stop involving her nephew.

Although Booker has said repeatedly he does not intend to wipe his hands of Rone until she’s exhausted her appeals process, other sources close to the mayor say some members of the mayor’s brain trust feel inevitability setting in, and are either using Crump as cover to gauge council interest in a replacement - or doing more than simply gauging interest.

To the latter possibility, Amador’s absence is convenient for the mayor - or for that wing of the mayor’s brain trust who want to replace Rone with enough time before a Nov. 4th special election to build a political structure under the newcomer.

Stung by Booker’s challenge of his committee people in the East Ward in June, Amador would be an unlikely "aye" vote to replace Rone with a Booker-backed interim councilperson. At the very least, the mayor would have to work on him overtime for an "aye." Worst case scenario, Amador could cast the deciding vote against dumping Rone, leaving the mayor in the dubious political position of breaking a tie.

With Amador away, the governing body remains composed of at least three council people who could pose problems for any Booker-Crump strategy to front-end load a Rone replacement.

Discouraged by what he sees as a lack of respect from the Booker administration, Councilman Donald Payne, Jr., - whose committee people received an even more aggressive challenge than did those aligned with Amador - is a likely "nay" vote to give Booker more teeth on the council.

At-Large Councilman Luis Quintana received backing from former Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins in his 2007 state senate campaign, making him another unlikely "yes" vote to replace Rone. Chaneyfield-Jenkins wants former Councilman Charles Bell - and Booker opponent - to be Rone’s replacement, and while always a wildcard, Quintana has a reason to be with Chaneyfield-Jenkins on this.

North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos - a staunch ally of North Ward Democratic leader Steve Adubato - is also a potential "yes" vote for Bell; that is if Bell decides to get in the race against the probable Booker candidate in the Nov. 4th special municipal election.

His backing of Bell would make Ramos resistant to signing off on an interim Booker or Crump candidate, including White.

Not to say they would vote against Rone - particularly if the votes are not there to make a majority - South Ward Councilman Oscar James, Jr., At-Large Councilman Carlos Gonzalez and Crump remain solid Booker allies.

If they were to vote yes, in this scenario, the 3 to 3 standoff positions West Ward Councilman Ronald Rice as the tiebreaker.

Rice told PoltickerNJ.com last week that he would not like to meddle in Central Ward politics, and that he remains committed to seeing Rone’s appeals process through to its conclusion before taking action on her replacement.

However, Rone’s appellate division strikeout last week coupled with Amador’s absence may create just enough pressure on Rice - a firm Crump-Booker ally - to vote for a replacement.

"I’m still up in the air about it as to the course of action we should be taking," said Rice. "I’m not sure everybody knows we’re doing this tomorrow. One thing I am pleased about is that we are doing this officially, and not behind closed doors in a cigar-chomping, back room atmosphere.

"I go back and forth," Rice added. "On the one hand, do we want to have the Central Ward not have a seat? On the other hand, it is only 60 days we’re talking about. In either case, we’re going to do our due diligence and let the voters of that ward decide (on Nov. 4th)."

In addition to Bell and White, union organizer Eddie Osborne, Booker political operative Jermaine James, Freeholder Blonnie Watson daughter’s Charone Montayne, and school teacher Deborah Ballard are other potential candidates.