Codey cannot be the next State Senate President unless he sells himself out to Tom Kean and the Republican caucus.

He just does not have the votes.

In politics it is customary to concede to your opponent. Codey had a good run.

It is time to move on.

Codey should do the time honored thing and release those who are reluctantly standing with him to support Steve Sweeney.

This is not about HIM. His decision will effect the Democratic leadership in Trenton.

Will he be selfish and sell out his fellow Democrats ?

But Sweeny is a thug and is in the pocket of George Norcross...I dont think that either of these guys should be Senate Pres, but if it has to be one it should be Codey

"He genuinely wanted to effectuate glaring social issues of interest to a broad cross section to advocay groups..."

Huh? Effectuate an issue? You can effectuate change...you can effectuate action on an issue...but you can't effectuate an issue. What next...nucular energy?

"Oliver said she received a phone call yesterday from Gov.-elect Chris Christie but was unavailable. She said she intends to return his call today."

For real? The Governor calls you and you're not available...for 24 hours?

Christie is going out of his way to make it clear he's ready to work with Democrats to deliver on the mandate voters delivered on election day. Meanwhile, Speaker-in-waiting Oliver is playing the same old Trenton games.

I know. Steve has been saying this to a lot of us lately. so either you have a good memory or you take notes very well. that was almost verbatim.

I think it would be fun to see a lot of them, especially with higher office aspirations have to go on the record and vote against Codey. I'm sure it will play well in their districts.

Is that some form of sodomy?

The best thing about Shiela Oliver is that she is not Bonnie Watson Coleman. Another waste of oxygen who needs to move on.

Bonnie, your day of influence is over.

If Corzine didn't pass it in 4 years, why would he rush to pass it in the little time he has left? Just to spite Christie? I think the Democrats have a bit more class than to pull those kind of tricks. Corzine is on an island vacation now, I don't think he cares about anything Sheila Oliver wants to do.

After 40 years of failing schools in urban areas, why would anyone be leery about vouchers? Becasue the teacher's union told her to be leery?

Fact is, in the antebellum period, Democrats passed laws making it a crime to educate slaves. For the 100 years following the Civil War, Democrats practiced segregation. And since the late 1960s, Democrats have done everything the could to keep poor, urban kids trapped in awful schools.

Maybe Democrats are afraid of an educated public!

"We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work!"
- FDR's Treasure Secretary, Henry Morgenthau, in 1939, on 8 years of New Deal spending as an attempt to end the Great Depression.

Norcross enjoys his Florida home FOR $10.9 MILLION. He's going to control the state now. New Has a new Governor, It's Norcross, get ready he's going to call the shots.

Interior designer Ann Downey has sold her home on Everglades Island for $10.9 million.

The buyer is Cherry Hill, N.J., millionaire George E. Norcross III, CEO of Commerce National Insurance, a division of Commerce Bancorp.

The deal closed Monday for 601 Island Drive, a one-story five-bedroom Bermuda-style house built in 1954 and revised by architect John Volk. It has 6,142 square feet of living area, with sweeping views of the Intracoastal Waterway. Amenities include a large covered cabana.

Liza Pulitzer, a sales associate with Martha A. Gottfried Inc., had the $11.47 million listing. Rebecca Bruder of The Corcoran Group represented the buyer, who took title through Premier Holding Group LLC. Norcross and his wife, Sandra, also have an oceanfront home in Loveladies, N.J., on Long Beach Island.

Norcross, 50, a member of The Mar-a-Lago Club and Trump International Golf Club, said he asked his friend of 20 years, Donald Trump, for a developer's opinion before he signed the contract.

"I looked at a host of properties. I wanted lakefront and deepwater, and Everglades Island has great views. I took Donald to this house; we walked through three properties. He said it was spectacular, an exquisite location," Norcross said. "At night time, with all the lights, it reminds me of being on a boat approaching Manhattan."

Also a director of Commerce Bancorp, he said buying a house in Palm Beach was "a good excuse," given the bank's rapid expansion in the area. Commerce Bank recently opened six locations in Palm Beach County, including one on Bradley Place. In addition, Norcross said his division is "searching for insurance firms to buy in southern Florida."

This is Norcross' first purchase in Palm Beach, after scouting properties for a year or so. He has been a frequent winter visitor for many years, as a houseguest at Mar-a-Lago, along with friends and fellow tennis buffs Joy and Regis Philbin.

"We love Palm Beach. It has everything you could want within 4 miles of your house: great tennis and golf, the spa, and 10 great restaurants," Norcross said.

"This house has quite a history. It was Frank Sinatra's hangout in the winters before he got married," Norcross said. "Ann Downey has been so kind to my wife and me. She's delightful, a lovely, classy, engaging person."

Downey, a successful designer in New York and Palm Beach, had decorated Sinatra's apartment at the Waldorf Towers. When Sinatra was in town, he stayed with the Downeys -- Ann and her late husband, Irish tenor Morton Downey.

Ann Downey created the look for the Poinciana Club when it was resurrected in 1995. At the time, she said the club south of the Royal Poinciana Playhouse should be "informal, fun," bringing back the charm of Palm Beach.

Everglades Island is enjoying a surge of interest. Norcross cited a house on the market for $12.5 million, "and the price was just raised to more than $16 million."

"There's only one Palm Beach. There's no supply [of available homes], and enormous demand. I've already been offered to sell it at a very attractive, quick profit," Norcross said. "But we're very happy. We want this to be a place where we'll spend a considerable amount of time in the future."

Phil Rowan