Bill Gormley

A political fundraising firm owned by the wife of GOP State Chaiman Tom Wilson is raising money for James "Sonny" McCullough, a Republican State Senate candidate in the second district. McCullough, the Mayor of Egg Harbor Township, and Assembly Minority Whip Frank Blee are facing off for the GOP Senate nomination to replace Bill Gormley. Gormley is leaving the Senate on February 15.

Congressman Frank LoBiondo is hosting a $500-per-person fundraiser for McCullough on February 19, and Turnkey Productions is running the event. The firm's website lists Wilson's wife, Lysa Israel, as a partner.

This is the second contested State Senate primary where someone close to Wilson has taken a paid role. Todd Riffle, who works for full-time for Wilson as Communications and Research Director, is also doing opposition research for Assemblyman Guy Gregg, who is challenging longtime State Senator Robert Littell in the GOP primary. An ELEC report shows a $2500 consulting fee was paid to Riffle last December and sent to him at a political consulting firm run by David Murray.

Despite a vote of confidence given by county GOP leaders last week, Wilson's re-election in June is less than secure. He has declined comment on requests to return his share of consulting fees he received from the Burlington County Bridge Authority after his former partner, Robert Stears, pleded guilty to overbilling the public agency by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Wilson's active support of John McCain's presidential campaign has also been critcized by some party leaders who believe he had agreed to remain neutral when he campaigned for the post after the 2004 election.

Atlantic County Republicans have called a Special Election Convention to fill Bill Gormley's State Senate seat on Tuesday, February 20, according to a report filed by radio personality Harry Hurley. The vote is set for five days after Gormley's resignation is effective. State law requires these Special Election Conventions to be held seven to 35 days after the vacancy occurs, but like many election laws, those dates appear to be flexible. In 2006, Essex County Democrats filled Evelyn Williams' vacant Assembly seat just a few days after she resigned, and there was no challenge to Oadline Truitt's election.

Gormley is backing Assembly Minority Whip Frank Blee as his successor. Egg Harbor Township Mayor Sonny McCullough has announced that he will run in the June Senate primary, but has not yet said if he will compete at the Special Election Convention.

If Blee wins, the Atlantic County Republican Committee will need to return for a future vote to fill his Assembly seat.

Assemblyman Samuel Thompson is testing the waters to see if he has enough support with in the Republican caucus to run for Minority Whip. The post is expected to become vacant next month, assuming Frank Blee prevails at a Special Election Convention to succeed Bill Gormley in the State Senate. Statehouse insiders say that Assemblyman Jon Bramnick has emerged as the leading candidate for the #3 GOP leadership post.

If Bramnick wins Blee's job, Republicans will then need another election to replace Bramnick as the Assistant Minority Whip. There will be several leadership posts available if the Republicans retain the minority in the 2007 mid-term election. Policy Committee Chairman Steve Corodemus is not seeing re-election, and Assistant Minority Whip Sean Kean and Republican Appropriations Officer Joseph Pennacchio are running for the State Senate.

To put contested legislative leadership contests into a proper context, it should be noted that fourteen of the 31 Republicans in the State Assembly are in leadership. 26 of 49 Assembly Democrats are in leadership.

While Assemblyman Eric Munoz struggles to defend himself in credentialsgate, his 21st district running mate seems to have emerged as the front runner for Assembly Minority Whip. Jon Bramnick has been quietly collecting commitments for support and appears to be much more popular among his colleagues than Munoz, who as the fourth ranking member of leadership, was next in line to succeed Frank Blee. Blee is expected to move up to the State Senate next month following the resignation of Bill Gormley.

The resignation of Bill Gormley from the State Senate on February 15 is not a surprise; he had let Atlantic County Republicans in on his plan earlier this month. People who know Gormley say that he is not exactly a lame duck kind of guy, and the early exit starts the clock on his two-year ban from working for Atlantic City casinos.

Republicans will hold a Special Election Convention between 7 and 35 days of his resignation to elect a new Senator, who will serve the remaining eleven months of Gormley's term. Assembly Minority Whip Frank Blee is the leading contender for the seat, and party insiders say that a convention is a better venue for Blee than a primary; he is facing Egg Harbor Mayor Sonny McCullough, who has the support of Congressman Frank LoBiondo. McCullough has not decided whether he will challenge Blee at the convention.

If Blee goes to the Senate early, Republicans would hold a second Special Election Convention to fill his vacant Assembly seat. The leading candidate to replace him is Brigantine Mayor Philip Guenther. One Republican leader says that the GOP should consider replacing Blee with McCullough in order to prevent a contested Senate race. Republicans will still need to recruit a second Assembly candidate to run in November.

Democrats are expected to run Assemblyman James Whelan for Senate; they will also need two Assembly candidates.

Blee's resignation will also trigger a contest for his post as the Assembly Minority Whip. Eric Munoz, the Deputy Conference Leader, is next in line, but could some Trenton insiders say that his promotion is hardly automatic. Kevin O'Toole and Alison McHose are among the possible candidates.

ATLASNTIC GOP CHAIR DAVIS SETS MEETING TO HEAR FROM POTENTIAL CANDIDATES, PLEDGES "THOROUGHLY OPEN" PROCESS

The New Jersey political scene starts off 2007 with a huge loss. State Senator Bill Gormley (R-Atlantic County), who has served since 1978 as an independent, smart, savvy and most of all tough-as-nails legislator, has announced that he is retiring.

Gormley has been a one-of-a-kind legislator. While he is a Republican, he has often crossed party lines to work with Democrats either because it was the right thing to do on a particular issue, or it was the politically smart thing to do for Bill Gormley.

He was elected time and time again in a district that wasn't supposed to elect Republicans. He has gone head to head on numerous occasions with South Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross, and the powerful Democrat barely laid a glove on him. Gormley is 60, but he barely looks 50. He is an exercise fanatic. I've served with Gormley in the legislature back in the mid 1980s. I think one of the first times I met him he wanted to know my workout routine and started telling me about his. The last time I saw him in Washington at a conference, he was telling me about his new, more intense, routine that was pushing him harder than ever before. As he told me, I got tired even thinking about it. Gormley's physical conditioning has always been a big part of his public persona.

Interestingly, Gormley retires at a time when the Statehouse, but particularly Governor Jon Corzine, may need him most. Like I said, Gormley is smart. He knew that the Republicans were out of power and out of favor in Trenton, yet somehow developed a very direct relationship with Governor Corzine and was a key player in brokering a budget agreement last summer. Gormley is an ardent advocate of protecting the Atlantic City casino industry, which is critical to the economic vitality of South Jersey.

According to Senate President Dick Codey, a Democrat from the north, "I don't think anyone has fought harder for the people of their district than Bill Gormley. I think that's the way he was. He wouldn't back down. Even if we locked the door, he tried to get in."

While Bill Gormley has accomplished a great deal in his nearly 30 years in the state legislature, he has to be personally disappointed that he never got elected to higher office. He ran three times to get out of the Statehouse -- for Congress, for U.S. Senate and the governorship. He lost all three times. In each race as an analyst I picked him as a strong favorite. Gormley is a great campaigner, a terrific speaker and has the human touch. He knows how to talk to regular folks while still being able to raise big money from the people who can afford it, but Gormley couldn't get past the Republican Primary whose voters skew heavily to the right. They are more conservative and more strident than Gormley on issues. He is more practical, moderate and in some cases liberal. He would have been a great general election candidate, but his own Republicans wouldn't let him out of the box. That was their mistake, but more importantly, New Jersey lost out on never getting the chance to see a talented politician like Bill Gormley as either a governor or U.S. Senator.

Gormley has in no way been a perfect legislator or elected official. Sometimes he fought just to fight and got people peeved because he enjoyed it. He loved public confrontations. Sometimes they were warranted, like when he lead the fight to stop Governor Jim McGreevey from appointing his "friend" Golan Cipel to a top homeland security position or when McGreevey wanted to name ethically challenged developer Charles Kushner to head the Port Authority. Other times, Bill Gormley just seemed bored and looking for action�a competitor to the end. It's probably because at the core he is an athlete who loves to compete.

I wish you well, Bill, and I know that while you are leaving the legislature, you are probably planning to run a triathlon or swim across some large body of water in the next couple of years. Take care, Senator. You are one of the good guys in Trenton -- a dying breed, I fear.

LESNIAK ON GORMLEY: A "GIANT OF THE LEGISLATURE"

TRENTON - Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, made the following comment today after Senator Bill Gormley, R-Atlantic, announced he would not seek re-election.

“Bill Gormley’s energy, intelligence and compassion made him a true giant in the Legislature for more than a quarter of a century.

“Bill’s remarkable political prowess was evidenced by his ability to keep his influence regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats were in control of the Governor’s Office or the Legislature.�

The two Senators began their legislative careers together when both were elected to the Assembly in 1977. Both won special elections to the Senate before winning full Senate terms in the 1980s.

Atlantic County has had just four State Senators over the last 65 years: the legendary Frank "Hap" Farley, who held the seat from 1941 to 1972; Joseph McGahn, who unseated Farley in 1971; Steven Perskie, who ousted McGahn in 1977; and William Gormley, who won a 1982 special election when Perskie left to become a Superior Court Judge.

Governor Jon Corzine is the early loser in the race for Bill Gormley's second district State Senate seat. Corzine has enjoyed a much more friendly relationship with the retiring Republican Senator than with his fellow Democrats in Atlantic County over the past year, and a heated contest between the two parties in November will almost assuredly result in a new Senator less willing to work with the Democratic Governor.