Alfred Steele

Rev. Alfred Steele is the Assembly Deputy Speaker and the Passaic County UndersheriffThe list of eleven public officials arrested today by FBI agents: Assemblymen Alfred Steele and Mims Hackett, Passaic Mayor Sammy Rivera, Passaic City Councilman Marcellus Jackson, former Passaic City Councilman Jonathan Soto, Keith Reid, the Chief of Staff to the Newark City Council President, Louis Mister of Pleasantville, and five current and former members of the Pleasantville Board of Education -- Jayson Adams, City Councilman Maurice "Pete" Callaway, James McCormick, James Pressley and Rafael Velez.

Callaway is the brother of former Atlantic City Councilman Craig Callaway, who was sentenced today to 40 months in a federal prison for taking bribes from an undercover FBI agent.

Soto, viewed as a rising star in North Jersey GOP politics when he was elected to the City Council in his early 20's, is the Passaic Republican Municipal Chairman.  He has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President.

The arrests of two Democratic Assemblymen could impact the mid-term elections just two months away. Mims Hackett represents the 27th district, where there are enough suburban Essex voters to potentially create an opportunity for Republicans, despite the popularity of Senate President Richard Codey at the top of the ticket -- if Hackett remains a candidate for a fourth term.

The Republican candidate is Mark Meyerowitz, a 52-year-old financial advisor from West Orange and son of a Holocaust survivor, whose only political experience was volunteering for Ross Perot in 1992. The GOP did not nominate a second Assembly candidate, and incumbent John McKeon, the Mayor of West Orange, is considered a shoo-in for re-election anyway.

Some candidates will admit they’re long shots, that the odds are stacked against them. But they don’t consider themselves “kamikaze candidates.”

Rev. Clenard Childress switched parties in January and is the GOP Assembly candidate against Tom Giblin and Sheila OliverTake Rev. Clenard H. Childress, Jr. who’s running for the State Assembly as a Republican in the 34th District. Talk to him about his campaign, and you can tell he’s a man of faith.

“Most of what I do is long shots, trust me. But I believe our message resonates with the community, and we’re looking forward to a spirited debate,” said Childress, a Montclair resident who is running with Robert Bianco; there is no Republican state Senate candidate.

GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL CRIMINALIZING POSSESSION, USE OF ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES IN PRISONS

(TRENTON) - Assemblymen Louis M. Manzo, Jeff Van Drew, Craig A. Stanley, and Alfred E. Steele today welcomed the signing of a new state law that makes it a crime for inmates in adult and juvenile corrections facilities to possess or use electronic communications devices.

LEGISLATION CREATING PERMANENT 'COMMISSION TO REVIEW CRIMINAL SENTENCING' PASSES ASSEMBLY

(TRENTON) - The General Assembly today passed legislation sponsored by Assemblymen Peter J. Barnes, Jr., and Alfred E. Steele to make the state's "Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing" a permanent entity.

GUSCIORA/STEELE: USE COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICERS TO COUNTERACT COURT'S TRUCK BAN REPEAL
Lawmakers Tout Existing Legislation to Help Protect Motorists' Safety

(TRENTON) - Angered by a recent federal appeals court ruling striking down New Jersey's big-truck ban, Assemblymen Reed Gusciora and Alfred E. Steele believe they have a way to help relieve New Jersey's motorists and residents of the safety threats and inconveniences that are likely to arise as dangerously overburdened trucks and tractor trailers tie up local roads.

ROBERTS RELEASES ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

(TRENTON) -- Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., today released the membership lists for the 23 standing committees the General Assembly will have during the 2006-2007 legislative session.