State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) is on the short list of potential Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor.

State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) has not received any official word on Governor Corzine’s selection of a running mate – and that’s about all she’ll say.

“I have made it a point from the very beginning of this not to comment on the process. It is a choice of the Governor.  That’s the way the law is set up,” she said.  “Have I received any official word?  The answer is no.”

Weinberg has been at or near the top of speculators’ short lists for Corzine’s lieutenant governor pick for over a month, but recently seems to have been overtaken by Randal Pinkett, a 38-year-old consultant who won Season 4 of “The Apprentice.” 

If you believe it is possible that Gov. Jon Corzine might not finish his second term, than you may be among those who understand that the selection of a Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor might actually mean the identification of the next Governor of New Jersey.  There are some insiders who believe that if he wins re-election, Corzine will get to a point where lame duck status bores him.  He could wind up in a cabinet post in Barack Obama's second administration, if the President wins re-election in 2012.  Corzine could be gone in January 2013.

Gubernatorial vacancies are nothing new to New Jersey.  It has been twenty years since a Governor finished a second term.  Christine Todd Whitman resigned after seven years to join George W. Bush's cabinet; she was succeeded by Donald DiFrancesco.  Richard Codey spent fourteen months as Governor after James E. McGreevey resigned.  In recent years, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut have seen Lt. Governors become Governors.

Gov. Jon Corzine at the Filipino Heritage Festival with Agnes Quimson and Joseph Quimson.

BERGENFIELD - As the chirping and now twittering about lieutenant governor maintained an all-time statewide din, Gov. Jon Corzine didn't indulge in any bombshells while he campaigned at the Filipino Heritage Festival here on Saturday.

When asked if he had decided on a choice for his running mate, Corzine yesterday afternoon told PolitickerNJ.com, "If I had, you'd be the first to know about it," before plunging with outstretched hand into another gaggle of potential voters.

As Corzine pivoted after making contact and started off in the direction of another densely packed group of people at the festival, he ran into two words followed by a question  mark: "Randal Pinkett?"

Hal Brown Photo

Randal Pinkett, who went to work for Donald Trump after winning Season 4 of The Apprentice, is receiving serious consideration to become the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, according to Democrats connected to Gov. Jon Corzine.   Corzine has been actively searching for an African American running mate.

Pinkett, a 38-year-old Rhodes Scholar who runs a Newark-based management, technology and policy consulting firm, joins State Senators Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) and Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) as the leading contenders to run with Corzine in November.  The Franklin Township resident is a graduate of Rutgers University and received a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He worked for General Electric, AT&T Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies before launching his own company and working for Trump's Atlantic City casino.

According to his website, Pinkett's firm "works with corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the areas of housing and community development, economic development, human services, nonprofit and community technology, healthcare and education."

State Sen. Dana Redd (D-Camden)

Sources close to Gov. Jon Corzine have said for months now that he won't pick a white male for lieutenant governor.

Not enough balance.

A week ago three names seemed fairly solid in a firmament that nevertheless shifts daily: state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) and Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells.

If the first two were white, they were women, at least. But the fact that they weren't males wasn't the only obvious jump-off-the-page quality they shared.

Both women had reputations as elected officials who wouldn't easily get pushed around. 

Weinberg earned a rep - and endeared herself in the process to Corzine - as an enemy of the Bergen County Democratic Organization, while Buono aggressively sought the budget chairmanship despite efforts by leadership to install somebody more pliant.

As Gov. Jon Corzine continues his search for a Democratic Lt. Governor candidate, it seems that he is ruling out more potential running mates than he considers.  Part of the problem is that every legitimate contender comes with a group of Democrats opposed to his or her candidacy.  That appears especially true for State Senators Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) and Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who for a time looked like the front runners.  Corzine also faces considerable pressure to pick an African American for the post, although Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Newark Mayor Cory Booker, State Senators Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence), Nia Gill (D-Montclair), Ronald Rice (D-Newark) and Sandra Cunningham (D-Jersey City), Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells, Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), and Assemblyman Herbert Conaway (D-Delanco) are, for a variety of reasons, not under serious consideration.

Corzine might be missing one LG candidate with enormous gravitas and few political enemies: U.S. District Court Judge Anne Thompson, who was the first woman and the first African American to serve as a federal judge in New Jersey.  She became the first Black to serve as a county prosecutor when Gov. Brendan Byrne appointed her in 1975 (after a stint as a public defender and as the Trenton Municipal Court Judge), and has spent the last thirty years as a federal judge.   Thompson is 75, slightly older than Weinberg and a decade younger than U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.  Attorney General Anne Milgram was Thompson's law clerk.

LEGISLATURE APPROVES BUONO LEMON LAW EXPANSION BILL

Legislation will make New Jersey’s Lemon Law one of the Strongest in the Nation

TRENTON – The Legislature approved a bill sponsored by Senator Barbara Buono that would better protect consumers under the State’s “Lemon Law” for new car purchases. Senate bill 454 would expand protection under the law from two years or 18,000 miles to two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. The bill would also allow consumers quicker access to Lemon Law protection when a life-threatening defect is discovered.

“This change is reasonable and sorely needed since current usage patterns and needs have changed considerably,” said Senator Buono, D-Middlesex. “Drivers commute to work much farther than when the law was enacted 18 years ago and subsequently consumers are finding their lemon law rights are limited to approximately a year of usage. In fact, the average consumer reaches the 18,000 mile limit after only 14 months. By broadening the window through which individuals can file claims to 24,000 miles or two years, we will be affording many hardworking New Jerseyans enhanced consumer protection.”

Don’t expect Governor Jon Corzine to make a lieutenant governor pick this week.  

“We don't expect an announcement this week,” said Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy.

Until last week, the widely held perception was that candidates had to pick a running mate within 30 days of the June 2 primary, which is Thursday.  The campaigns of both Corzine and Republican challenger Chris Christie were apparently under that impression as well.  

But gubernatorial candidates actually have until 30 days of the certification of the primary results, which happened only Friday.  Last week, a source involved in the Corzine campaign said that they were relieved to be able to push the selection past Independence Day weekend. 

State Senate Budget Chair Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) with Gov. Jon Corzine.

TRENTON - Questions abounded about the delays leading up to state Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) gripping the gavel and convening the budget session a little while ago.

Had state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Montclair) wandered off, forcing Codey to turn to the GOP to summon another vote?

Apparently not.

Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) had questions about the EnCap bill and its relationship to the federal stimulus bill, which was the chief reason for the delay, according to sources.

Now state sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) rises and launches into an argument for the $29 billion state budget, complete with shout-outs to fierce GOP opponents, including state Sen. Kevin O'Toole (R-Cedar Grove) and state Sen. Marcia Karrow (R-Flemington), who appear geared up for a rebuttal.

BUONO BILL TO REFORM ON-CAMPUS CREDIT CARD SOLICITATION RECEIVED FINAL LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Barbara Buono, which strengthens regulation and consumer protections for students who sign up for credit cards on college campuses, received final legislative approval by a vote of 58-18 during the Assembly Voting Session on June 18th. This legislation creates new requirements creditors must satisfy in order to solicit on college campuses including providing a mandatory educational program on the responsible use of credit to undergraduate students, prohibiting credit card companies from offering promotional giveaways, and increasing colleges’ oversight of credit card solicitors.