Alison McHose

There is a little bit of chatter today over a comment made by an Assembly Democratic spokesman about Republican Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose yesterday, after McHose held a news conference advocating an end to the public financing of legislative elections – a pet project of the Assembly leadership: "Allison is a special interest puppet who is not terribly bright and doesn't stand for anything, so of course she's against cleaning up elections in New Jersey,” Derek C.S. Roseman told PolitickerNJ.com.

McHOSE'S IDIOTIC ATTEMPT TO SCORE SPECIAL INTEREST POINTS FALLS FLAT

Latest Attempt to Discredit Good Government Reforms Ensnared by Own Inaccuracies

(TRENTON) - In what can only be described as an hour-long endorsement of shoddy techniques, incomplete and inaccurate analyses, and glaring half-truths, Assembly Minority Deputy Conference Leader Alison Littell McHose (R-Sussex) today firmly positioned herself as a champion of the absurd and an obstructionist to good government reform during a press conference in opposition to New Jersey's Clean Elections program.

An unofficial legislative committee will meet in two weeks to figure out the future of the state’s Fair and Clean Elections program, the status of which is in serious jeopardy.

The bill renewing the program, which was tested as a pilot project in 2005 and 2007, was pulled from consideration in June after both the programs’ backers and detractors raised concerns about the new legislation.

Last month it was dealt an even more serious setback, when the U.S. Supreme Court, in Davis v. Federal Election Commission, struck down the federal Millionaire’s Amendment, which allows out-funded candidates more leeway with campaign contribution limits. At the request of Assembly Democrats, the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS) wrote an opinion stating that the Clean Elections program’s “rescue funds” – meant to give a boost to candidates facing attacks from an outside group or a well-funded opponent who opted out of the program – would likely be ruled unconstitutional under the Supreme Court precedent.

Sen. Stephen Sweeney heads for the budget committee. 

TRENTON - Five 11th hour bills dropped by Sen. Stephen Sweeney (D-Salem) have set up a horse trading situation here in the Statehouse during the budget session.

The Assembly Budget Committee passed the $32.8 billion budget by a vote of 7-4, with one abstention by Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Salem). In their majority caucus, rank and file Democrats didn’t want to touch Sweeney’s controversial bills targeting state workers, according to sources.

Now the Assemblyman Louis Greenwald-chaired budget committee pounds through a number of other bills to be included in time for Monday’s full Assembly budget vote.

Assemblywoman Alison McHose and Assemblyman David Rible today in Trenton. 

TRENTON - A day after Gov. Jon Corzine and the Democrats launched what had the vibe of a pre "overwhelming victory" party, Republicans attempted a low-key, state-level counter-offensive here this afternoon at the height of the budget season.

While Democrats may be in the throes of Obama fever, "Jon Corzine is not terribly popular now," said Assembly Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), referring to the governor’s 38% job approval rating, according to Quinnipiac University.

Battling for some GOP respect, Bramnick announced the formation of the New Republican Policy Committee, which he hopes will be one of the features of a new-face Republican party. The move comes in an atmosphere in which the departing Republican president’s job approval rating is 22% and Obama leads presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain by six points.

State Sen. Bill Baroni will chair the New Jersey Delegation to the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis
Republicans tonight elected State Sen. Bill Baroni to serve as Chairman of the New Jersey Delegation to the Republican National Convention. Baroni is the Chairman of John McCain’s New Jersey campaign. Atlantic County GOP Chairman Keith Davis and Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose were named to the Platform Committee.

The May 13 race for Sparta Township Council is worth watching, where incumbents Scott Seelagy and Jerry Murphy face challengers Carey-Ann Shaftan and Christopher Curry. There could be some anti-incumbent sentiment in Sparta, where Mayor Michael Spekhardt, Deputy Mayor Brian Brady and Councilman Manny Goldberg face a possible recall election.

Alison Littell McHose entered the State Assembly in 2003 with a strong political pedigree. Her grandfather served as Senate President, her father has spent forty years in the Legislature, and her mother was the Republican State Chair in the 1990’s.

But the 42-year-old Sussex County Republican has emerged in her own right as one of the most reliably conservative legislators in Trenton. She is consistently pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, anti-tax and spend, and opposes civil unions, and civil unions. She is an unabashed supporter of George W. Bush -- her husband, Morgan McHose, served on active military duty in Iraq -- and was Lynne Cheney’s aide at the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Assemblywoman Alison McHose says the Fair and Clean elections program is a big government, Democratic Party scheme.

Formr Republican State Chairman Virginia Littell, the wife of State Senator Robert Littell and the mother of Assemblywoman Alison McHose, wants the state GOP to "ban employees of the NJGOP from seeking outside campaign consulting contracts with candidates or committees active in Republican primaries."

During this cycle, the Republican State Committee Communications and Research Director, Todd Riffle, was also a consultant to Guy Gregg's campaign for State Senate. At the time Riffle was first paid, Gregg's opponent was Littell, a 36-year incumbent.