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State Sen. Loretta Weinberg and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero are a team: Democrats said today that Weinberg, Assemblyman Gordon Johnson and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle will run on the BCDO line in the June Democratic primary with incumbent Freeholders Tomas Padilla, Elizabeth Calabrese and James Carroll.  Three Freeholder candidates initially recruited by Weinberg will remain on the ballot, as will her Sheriff candidate against incumbent Leo McGuire.

Keeping an extraordinarily low profile over the last seven days has been Paul Stuart Aronsohn, the Rotarian-American who is the Democratic nominee for Congress in the fifth district. Aronsohn, a former Press Secretary to Governor James E. McGreevey, has declined comment on the state budget, the proposed sales tax, and the budget war betwen Governor Jon Corzine and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts. Aronsohn also side-stepped a question on the controversy surrounding Attorney General Zulima Farber. Asked about it late last Friday afternoon, Aronsohn said only: "Been out on the trail. What's the story?" He did not respond to a follow-up question. There is, of course, a small chance that the congressional candidate from Ridgewood didn't look at The Record that morning, where there story on Farber spanned five columns across the front page of their newspaper, or that no one on Aronsohn's campaign staff saw it either.

Bill Chegwidden says he agrees with the new law that bans dual officeholding, so he will give up one of his two posts -- Morris County Freeholder and Mayor of Wharton -- before the end of the year, even though the law doesn't require him to do so. Chegwidden, a high school social studies teacher who was elected Freeholder in 2006, has not decided which job he will give up. But another dual officeholder, Freeholder Jack Schrier, the Mayor of Mendham, says he will use the grandfather clause and remain in both posts.

Republicans have dubbed the Camden County Democratic machine as "La Cosa Norcross," and now George Norcross really is the godfather: the South Jersey Democratic leader accepted the godfather title on Sunday at the christening of Collette Mary Ayscue, the daughter of longtime Norcross lieutenant and Democratic strategist Steve Ayscue.

Republican fundraiser Joseph Caruso has accused Guy Talarico of hogging money raised at a Giuliani fundraiser for his own pet primary battle. The money, he said, was intended for local Republican campaigns against Democrats – not primaries.

If you are heading to the Motor Vehicle Commission and want a private tour guide to help you naviagte the process, call Angel Estrada at (908) 527-4100. Mr. Estrada is a friendly guy and always seems willing to lend a helping hand.

The major players in Essex County have thrown their support behind Mila Jasey to take over Mims Hackett’s spot on the ballot.

Jasey, a South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education member, has won the support of Senate President Richard Codey, Assemblyman John McKeon, County Executive Joe DiVincenzo and Essex County Democratic Chairman Phil Thigpen.

That all but assures her the nod from the Essex County Democratic Committee, who will vote on a ballot replacement on Wednesday.

It won't come as a surprise to Bergen County politicians if one of the casualties of the Joe Ferriero vs. Jon Corzine war is Bergenfield Democratic Municipal Chairman Kevin Clancy. There was some fairly compelling evidence that the resignations of five County Committee members were forged in an unsuccessful attempt to increase votes for Clancy's candidate, Ken Zisa. Clancy, a former Mayor who was forced to leave office after a drunk driving arrest (and charges that he tried to bribe a police officer) might be just the type of small fish Attorney General Peter Harvey likes to go after, and there are unconfirmed reports that law enforcement officials have already made some inquiries.

The son of one of the Meadowlands' founding fathers is among four candidates under serious consideration for George Zoffinger's job as President of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. Thomas Werblin, a sports marketing executive, was Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation, and was the COO and General Manager of the Cosmos Soccer Club. His father, former Jets owner/Madison Square Garden President Sonny Werblin, was the first NJSEA President.

Other names reportedly under consideration: former Nets President/GM Michael Rowe and former NJSEA Executive Vice President (and interim President) Dennis Robinson.

One of the most respected Attorneys General in modern state history was Arthur Sills, who served as the state's chief law enforcement officer through the entire eight years of Governor Richard Hughes' administration. Sills contracted polio when he was four years old, and as a young man he began traveling to Warm Springs, Georgia for treatment. There he became friends with another polio victim, Franklin D. Roosevelt. After attending Harvard Law School, Sills joined the law firm of David Wilentz, the legendary Middlesex County Democratic boss and a former Attorney General of New Jersey. He spent more than twenty years at the Wilentz firm before Hughes picked him to serve as Attorney General after the 1961 gubernatorial election. At age 43, he was among the youngest men to serve as state Attorney General. After leaving office in January, 1971, Sills founded his own firm, now known as Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross. He was one of Jim Florio's lawyers during the 1981 recount, and passed away after a stroke in 1982 at the age of 64.