Bill Maer

William Maer, a lobbyist and Democratic political consultant, will be joining Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign full-time, presumably to watch over operations in Bergen and Passaic counties.  Maer is a veteran of Bergen politics and has been a consultant and spokesman for the Bergen County Democratic Organization for the last seven years.

Maer is one of several veteran operatives that are expected to join the Corzine campaign now that Jamie Fox is coming aboard as an unpaid advisor.  Philip Alagia, the Chief of Staff to Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, will start this week as the campaign's political director.

Speculation that Democratic strategist Steven Ayscue will be joining the Corzine campaign is not accurate, Democratic sources say.  Ayscue, a top advisor to South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross, was on the list of experienced operatives the Corzine campaign was looking to recruit.  But sources close to Ayscue say he did not receive an offer.

Assemblyman John Rooney says he may retireAfter serving in the Legislature since 1983, Republican Assemblyman John Rooney calls himself the Dean of the Assembly, having been there longer than any other current member.

But a combination of health issues and weariness of the way he says business is done in Trenton today has led Rooney to consider retirement, even after he won a solid victory in last month’s hotly contested election. Rooney, who at 68 is the youngest of the three 39th district legislators, will evaluate his political future after undergoing hip replacement surgery later this month. Depending on how his recovery goes, he may decide to retire early or not to seek another term in 2009.

Reflecting on his legislative record over the last 25 years, Rooney admitted that the current state of Trenton politics had him dispirited. And he had already been dealt a painful blow in 2006, after a well-funded Democrat tossed him out of the Northvale’s mayor’s office – a seat that he had held from 1979-1986, and again from 1991 until his defeat.

For Release: Immediate
Date: September 20, 2006

Contact: Bill Maer
Tel: 732-233-2584

WHERE'S TARDY TODD?

50 Seniors Forced to Wait for Debate as Caliguire Just Can't Get to the Church on Time

Hackensack - The Bergen County Democratic Organization called on Todd Caliguire to apologize to the more than 50 seniors who were forced to wait until he strolled in more than 20 minutes after the scheduled start of today's Westwood AARP Candidate Forum.

In a sign that Congressman Steven Rothman continues to gear up for a future U.S. Senate bid, he has hired veteran political consultants Julie Roginsky and Bill Maer to help him with political and media strategies, and Danielle Leigh -- who was until recently U.S. Senator Robert Menendez's chief fundraiser -- to step up his fundraising operation. Roginsky and Maer, whose firm is based in Rothman's congressional district, have been involved in key statewide and national campaigns over the last few cycles.