Bill Pascrell

With the House likely to vote on the revised bailout package tomorrow, six of the seven New Jersey congressmen who voted against it on Monday have either not decided or not indicated how they will vote tomorrow. 

Only Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) has given any inkling as to how he’ll vote.  On Fox News this morning, he said that the bill has barely changed.

“Basically we’re getting the exact same bill with some pork added to it to sweeten things up.  And that doesn’t make matters better. It really makes matters worse,” he said. 

The New Jersey delegation's vote on the bailout bill was close, and did not occur along party lines.

But while there were some odd vote combinations, with liberal Congressmen like U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) voting the same way as his conservative neighbor, Scott Garrett (R-Wantage), they tended to cite different reasons.

Ultimately, New Jersey Congressmen voted against the bill by a 7-6 margin. None, however, enthusiastically supported it. Nor did any of its detractors express glee at its downfall, and some expressed more openness to voting for a new compromise package than others.

By far the most vociferous opponent of the bailout was Garrett, who yesterday took to the floor and excoriated his colleagues who supported it.

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.

Fairleigh Dickinson University's The Public Mind polling center released a poll today that offered statewide favorable and unfavorable ratings of several possible candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor in 2009. 

Photos by Getty Images

On the day of the filing deadline for the office of mayor of Passaic, five candidates have already submitted their petitions to the Clerk’s Office.

The candidates are physician Alex Blanco, city supervisor Vincent Capuana, Councilwoman Maritza Colon-Montanez, Councilman Joe Garcia and realtor Jose Sandoval.

Two other potential candidates - Ritzy Morales, who works for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), and bail bondsman Carl Ellen - have not yet submitted petitions.

The candidates vying for mayor in the Nov. 4th special election hope to succeed former Mayor Sammy Rivera, who earlier this year was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison on corruption charges.

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone doesn’t buy state Sen. Jen Beck’s explanation that she didn’t discuss the upcoming gubernatorial race with U.S. Attorney Chris Christie when the two met over the summer.

But even taking her at her word, Pallone said that it makes him wonder why Christie can meet with Beck, a Republican state legislator, and not him, a Democratic Congressman. Or, for that matter, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), who also pushed for a meeting.

“To me it’s abusurd. Because I’m sure they are talking about politics and his gubernatorial ambitions. But even if I take them at their word, I say that if you can talk amongst yourselves about what’s going on in your office with regard to Monmouth county and Marlboro, he can talk to us,” said Pallone.

Senate President Dick Codey is New Jersey's most popular politician, according to an FDU poll released today
New Jersey voters’ feelings about Gov. Jon Corzine remain tepid, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll released today. 

Survey respondents are split on whether they approve of Governor Corzine’s performance, with 41% approving and 43% disapproving.  16% had mixed feelings or didn’t know. 

31% of New Jersey voters think Gov. Corzine is doing an “excellent” or “good job,” while 41% rate his performance as “only fair.”  25% think that he’s done a “poor” job in office.  Those numbers are basically the same as they were in an FDU poll conducted in June.

Democratic committees from the three counties that comprise the 1st Congressional District will meet tonight to put U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews back (D-Haddon Heights) on the ballot.

Pretty much everyone acknowledges that's a foregone conclusion.  Everyone, that is, except Andrews.

Andrews said that he doesn't take his candidacy for granted, and has reached out to over 500 county committee men and women from Camden, Gloucester and Burlington counties.

"All I know is I've made an effort to reach out to as many county committee people as I can," he said.  "I just think people want to be asked, and these are the people that have been most instrumental in my political success.  The committee people are really the heart and soul of the party, and I wanted to make it known that I respect their judgment."

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell says he'd be interested in running for Governor if Jon Corzine doesn't, but his attitude toward fellow Congressman Rob Andrews could hurt his chances to assemble a statewide coalition.  New Jersey's House delegation united behind Frank Lautenberg in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, and of the group, Pascrell has been the toughest on Andrews, who announced last week that he would seek re-election to the House.  Pascrell has good relations with South Jersey Democrats, who remember that he bucked the establishment eight years ago and backed Jim Florio against Corzine in the U.S. Senate primary. But if South Jersey Democrats are, as some say, not exactly thrilled with Andrews' sudden return, maybe the digs won't hurt Pascrell at all.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), who butted heads with U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews when he decided to challenge Frank Lautenberg in the Senate primary, kept his statement on Andrews’s return to the ballot short and not-so-sweet.

“Mr. Pascrell has no comment at this point but was not surprised by the news,” said Pascrell spokesman Caley Gray.