Bill Martini

Gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie is expected to pick Jay Webber, a freshman Republican Assemblyman from Morris County, as the new GOP State Chairman.  Webber, a strong conservative, would replace Tom Wilson as head of the state party organization.

Webber's selection, which must be ratified by a vote of the Republican State Committee, will likely please conservatives who made up most of Steven Lonegan's 42% in Tuesday's primary election.

Webber, 37, was an early supporter of Christie's bid for the Republican nomination for Governor.  He was elected to the State Assembly in 2007, four years after losing a primary challenge to State Sen. Robert Martin.  A Harvard Law School graduate, he served as a Law Clerk to New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Peter Verniero and as an aide to U.S. Rep. Bill Martini.

In ten years, Roland Straten went from being Bill Pascrell's contributor to his opponent
When news broke that Republican Roland Straten would run for the 8th  Congressional District seat, Straten got a call from his old acquaintance and new opponent, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson).

According to Straten’s recollection, the exchange went something like this:

Pascrell: “Rollie, are you mad at me?”

Straten: “Bill, no.”

Pascrell: “Why are you running against me?”

Straten: “I don’t agree with your votes and your policies.’

Pascrell: “Then I’m going to beat your tail.” 

If Straten’s campaign turns out like those of Pascrell’s five previous challengers, then Pascrell probably will beat his tail. Since Pascrell narrowly unseated Republican Bill Martini in 1996, no Republican has gotten more than 35 percent of the vote against him.  Last year, Republican Jose Sandoval only got 28 percent to Pascrell’s 71 percent.

Confessions of a Republican Operative: How to Rig an Election, written by Allen Raymond, to be released by Simon and Schuster on January 8, will take some shots at New Jersey political figures.  Raymond started out in politics as the campaign manager for Bill Martini's successful 1994 bid to unseat Democratic Congressman Herbert Klein, and then served as Martini's Chief of Staff.  (Martini is now a Federal Judge; Sharpe James' trial has been assigned to him.)  Raymond was also, briefly, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, and worked for Dick Zimmer's campaign for Congress.

When then-Essex County Executive James Treffinger was indicted in 2002, there were allegations that his U.S. Senate campaign made dirty tricks calls on Super Bowl Sunday seeking support for Diane Allen, his primary rival.  Raymond was the consultant referred to in the Treffinger indictment, sources told PolitickerNJ.com.

The United States of America v. Sharpe James has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge William Martini, who is no stranger to politics.  Before his appointment to the federal bench, Martini served as a Clifton Councilman, Passaic County Freeholder, and from 1995 to 1997, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Martini defeated Democrat Herbert Klein to win the eighth district congressional seat in the 1994 GOP landslide, but narrowly lost his bid for re-election in 1996 to Democrat Bill Pascrell, Jr.  Assignments of federal court trials are done randomly.