PoliticsNJ.com Elected Officials Power List 2007

The POLITICSNJ.COM ELECTED OFFICIALS POWER LIST 2007 identifies New Jersey’s 50 most powerful men and women currently holding elective public office. For the purposes of this list, we define power as:

  • The ability to affect public policy at their level of government, or at multiple levels, and set a public policy agenda, in both subtle and obvious ways. This would include the ability to influence the process.

  • The ability to influence public opinion, in the area of policy and/or politics, including relationships with the media, with the understanding that powerful does not necessarily mean popular.
  • The authority (directly or indirectly) to award public contracts, hire and fire government employees, make direct appointments, and influence the selection of candidates for public office. This would include the access of money.
  • Control and/or influence over large groups of people, most likely based on population, but acknowledging clout over demographic groups. Dual office holding would most definitely increase potential power.

The universe of elected officials includes the Governor, two United States Senators, thirteen Members of Congress, 40 State Senators, 80 members of the General Assembly, five County Executives, and hundreds of Freeholders, county constitutional officers, Mayors and other elected local officials. Realistically, this list begins at #2: the New Jersey Constitution grants such extraordinary powers to the Governor that only in extreme circumstances would a sitting Governor not be #1 on the list.

There are no right or wrong answers, and this list is forever changing. Watch for the Power List to be updated frequently. As always, we welcome your comments on this list or anything else on the PoliticsNJ.com website.

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Comments

Pascrell should be higher...


...and Lance should be lower. and how is Rothman, a Congressman, less powerful than Weinberg, a Senator who can't even unite her own party???

09/20/07 12:56 pm

List is missing some key people..


Where's Bill Baroni???

He definately has more of an impact that at least the bottom ten or twenty on this list.

If Cresitello makes this list and Baroni doesn't what does that say about the people of politics NJ.

Maybe it's a good thing he didn't make this list, most of these people are nothing but major hacks.

09/20/07 1:08 pm

McNerney


McNerney!! HAHAHAHAHA!! LOL!! Why is he even on this list if he doesn't call the shots (which he doesn't). The Mayor of Teterboro should be on this list before McNerney!

09/20/07 1:11 pm

The Sommer-Kushner Bar Mitzva Invitation List?


Now that PNJ has become the outlet for all things Kushner and Sommer, I suppose this list is more like an invitation list rather than anything meaningful.

09/20/07 1:19 pm

Frank you need to educate yourself


Loretta Weinberg truly belongs on this list and I dare say even higher than 24th. I guess by party you mean the Ferrierocrats because She has united the democratic voters in her district and bergen county against the "business as usual, good old boys, pay to play crowd."

09/20/07 1:27 pm

Booker should be higher than Healy


nobody talking about President Jerry Healy

09/20/07 1:38 pm

Nia Gill?


She should be on this list...if Donny C from Morristown can make it then...also where's Baroni?

09/20/07 1:52 pm

Rothman vs. Weinberg


Among other things, Rothman doesn't have Senatorial courtesy.

09/20/07 2:27 pm

Baroni up...Pallone down


Baroni should be on there for sure.

I'm also a little surprised to see Frank Pallone as the highest congressman. He's got power in DC, but virtually none in NJ.

His candidates never win in Monmouth, and he's been rebuffed every time he's tried to move up to Senate b/c he can't put together a coalition.

Where's Rob Andrews?

09/20/07 2:52 pm

Why Pallone


Didn't this site recently run a piece on Pascrell being the most influential congressman since Menendez's departure from the House. The guy's on two top committees and he controls a piece of the action in Passaic. Where's Pallone's machine for doling out jobs and contracts (that was one of the criteria above)?

 

Also Lance should be lower. He's got the title but when and where has he used it? He's definately less powerful than anyone who can control a county (even partially) or even some large municipalities.

09/20/07 3:47 pm

List


Nice subjective list, once again by the fools and especially the editor of this site. Jeremiah Healy? Why, for punching out a cop down the shore? For being the mayor of Jersey City? What a joke. Codey is much more powerful than Corzine and Joe Roberts 3rd? Again, a ridiculous list by ridiculous folks. And the person who said Bill Baroni? He's a legend in his own phony mind. Redo the list and make it objective. Put all those folks down and have the readers vote and put in folks who they think are the most powerful. Joey Torres? Has anyone seen Paterson lately? Pascrell is on Ways and Means and Homeland Security and he's not in the top 10. Good job Bob Sommer. You're an idiot.

09/20/07 3:49 pm

The list is a joke.


How can any serious list no include the likes of the Mayor of Bayonne or Trenton? How can this list ignore Cliffside Park Mayor Gerry Calabrese? He's the longest serving elected official in the state and possibly the nation. Calabrese is not only mayor, bit leader of the East Bergen mayors and a former freeholder and county chairman. The fact Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes is not here or several other Bergen mayors tells you how inflated the power of Ferriero truly is... Sarlo on this list is ridiculous. The town is like three election districts. He's not even the most important mayor in the district, much less being placed on this list only beacuse he wants to be majority leader is a bit absurd. There are many long-term elected officials that were not even considered for the list and there absence is conspicious. These lists are really becoming a joke and those who author them should move to Delaware. Finally, how is Pallone so powerful? Who really believes this? He has no county or regional base and will be threatened with political extinction if the state loses a congressional seat. The list is truly sad.

09/20/07 3:54 pm

Baroni?


Baroni and Andrews are missing! wtf?

09/20/07 3:59 pm

Agree with Bergen Prince


This site has become a joke.

09/20/07 9:21 pm

Agree with Bergen Prince


Where is Bill Baroni and Senator Gill?

09/20/07 4:11 pm

Agree with Bergen Prince


This list - and this site - has become a vehicle for Bob Sommer to try and worm his way back into the good graces of state Democrats. Pretty transparent. Nobody's buying it.    

09/28/07 3:45 pm

?


Cryan trumps Sweeney easily and Pallone is only the king of a small safe castle. Furthermore Roberts lost his battle with Corzine and has since played ball. Norcross runs him anyway. the top of the list is very poorly constructed

09/20/07 8:38 pm

Power? To The People?


I have to laugh at all the "jockeying" going on in the comments section here.

Folks, this "list" is just a subjective collection of opinions. Period.

If you wanted a REAL list of the most powerful entities in NJ you would have to include the names and agendas of all of the campaign "contributors" who buy and sell most of the "big 50" like the rest of us buy potatoes (in "honor" of Dan Quayle ;-).

It may sound idealistic and downright dumb to many of y'all; but I truly do believe in the idea/principle that all political power stems from the people. What can I tell ya, I still believe in all that stuff about law and order and freedom and democracy.

To the extent that the aforementioned people are aware, informed, motivate and active; they have the power to virtually change the whole political landscape on any given election day.

It's called democracy....and, yes, if we don't use it; we lose it.

 

From Frederick Douglass

If there is no struggle there is no progress......Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.

09/21/07 12:03 am

Sacco not Healy


Healy is nothing more than Nick Sacco's Sock puppet.Sacco calls the Shots In Hudson, Not the Brawling Barrister of Bradley Beach.

09/21/07 7:32 am

Baroni talk?


Whats all this Baroni talk about. He's a nice enough legislator that gets good press but as far as this list is concerned there is no way he deserves to be on it.

He's a Republican legislator in a Democrat county. He doesn't control any patronage jobs, he isn't in a leadership position, and in fact isn't liked by a lot of his fellow Republicans in the legislature -- which is not such a bad thing.

Like I said, Baroni is a good guy, a reformer type and an attractive statewide candidate but its not like this guy is building a political machine in D14. And being in the minority party its not like he's the "go-to" guy when you need some legislation moved.

09/21/07 8:12 am

Barbara Buono?!?


Barbara Buono?!?

09/21/07 10:40 am

Baroni


Baroni should certainly be on that list.

09/21/07 12:04 pm

healy #5 - jersey city #2


I'm all for hometown pride, but Jersey City is not "New Jersey’s largest city", yet.

09/21/07 1:14 pm

The real force


Any list that has anyone in Hudson ahead of Sacco is flawed for reasons that don't need explaining to anybody active in the county.

09/21/07 2:16 pm

This list will be changing in the future


Change is coming to New Jersey, and the old boys will be looking in or from behind bars. 

"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything."
                --Theodore Roosevelt--

11/12/07 4:56 pm

Dennis Levinson


County Executive Dennis Levinson should be re-evaluated.  His landslide and classy victory over Democratic challenger and Sheriff Jim McGettigan effectively changed the tone of Atlantic County politics, defeated the powerful Camden County political machine, and left McGettigan very vulnerable for re-election.  Levinson should climb your power rankings.

Look to Levinson as a top candidate for NJ's first Lieutenant Governor in 2010. 

Laus Deo,
Jesse O. Kurtz
Managing Editor for The Atlantic City Scoop
http://cityofatlantic.wordpress.com
Jesseokurtz@gmail.com

02/13/08 12:35 pm

Sweeney


Democrat from Norcross County? That's just funny!

06/17/08 9:08 pm