Bonnie Watson Coleman

In the last 24 hours: Steve Sweeney appears to have beaten Dick Codey in the race for Senate President; Sheila Oliver looks like she has the votes to become the next Assembly Speaker; and new Quinnipiac poll shows a close race for Governor, with Chris Christie leading Jon Corzine by four percentage points.

PolitickerNJ.com's coverage of today's news:

Governor
Quinnipiac poll has Christie ahead by 4 points as Corzine gets closer
Christie camp highlights Corzine's QPAC negatives
Cryan heartened by poll numbers showing closer race
Webber focuses on Corzine's 39%
Daggett brings out the impersonators again

Senate President
Sweeney has dinner with Cunningham... and Cardwell
Opposition researcher says OLS tipped off Codey
Codey absorbs news of Sweeney's backers, won't give up
Sweeney announces endorsements of majority of Democratic Senators in bid for Senate President
Lesniak: having a Speaker and Senate President from the same county would be 'unprecedented' and 'not good'
Bowser reminded DiVincenzo about the consequences of opposing Codey
Labor group backs Sweeney

Assembly Speaker
Oliver: 'I am the most independent person ever elected'
Coleman not ready to give up on speakership
South Jersey Democrats back Oliver for Speaker
Wisniewski drops bid for Speaker and endorses Oliver

Assembly Minority Leader
DeCroce/Bramnick flex overwhelming support in face of Biondi faction

Legislative Races
40 Assembly candidates seek 'return the Legislature to regular citizens'
FOP releases endorsements

Local
Former Irvington mayor pleads guilty to taking kickbacks
Healy files with ELEC for 2013

Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange)

ORANGE - Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver's (D-East Orange) first foray into Essex County politics was as a kamikaze freeholder candidate in the 1990s running on a line with renegade state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Roseland).

Codey won and Oliver lost, and now years later it looks as though Senate President Codey's headed for a leadership defeat in his caucus as Oliver musters support on top of support in her quest to be the first African American woman speaker of the Assembly, but in the process faces a home county in which a Codey defeat could mean civil war.

Oliver has yet to announce the support of any assembly people from Essex County, but she's working on it, while also respecting, she says, political protocol and the reality that Essex County Democratic Chairman Phil Thigpen still stands with Codey.

"I am attempting to ameliorate Essex County; I believe Chairman Thigpen will avert a civil war and at the end of the day Essex County will be together," she insisted, speaking to the stunning news this morning that Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) summoned enough Democratic caucus backing to beat Senate President Codey when the senate reconvenes after the gubernatorial election on Nov. 3rd.

Among the fourteen backers (including Sweeney himself), two senators declaring their support for South Jerseyan Sweeney over Essex County's own Codey are county employees, state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark) and state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Montclair).

The fact that Oliver also works for the county as an assistant county administrator sent waves of anxiety through those Codey forces concerned with the concentration of too much power in the office of County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo. seeking a third term next year - probably not without a fight at this point.

Now with the real threat of a Codey retaliation against DiVincenzo, Oliver said the boss factor - namely DiVincenzo's closeness to North Ward Leader Steve Adubato and Adubato's alliance with South Jersey Democratic leader (and Sweeney-backer) George Norcross III - is a non-issue.

"I am the most independent person ever elected," said the assemblywoman from East Orange whose five and a half years in the legislature make her the second longest-serving assemblyperson from the Essex delegation after Assemblyman John McKeon (D-West Orange).

Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman says she's not giving up on running for Speaker, even though the momentum seems to be with Sheila Oliver

Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Trenton) says she’s still interested in becoming Assembly Speaker, but she doesn’t want to talk about it until after the November general election.

“In order for us to have any discussion on November the 4th, I need to be focused on returning our majority,” she said.  “I think that any of the discussion about who’s going to be what, who’s got what and who’s going to do what is a family discussion that will be had at the appropriate time.”

Watson openly announced that she was interested in the leadership position as soon as current Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden) announced his impending retirement.  But today her chances of winning the spot diminished as a host of legislators lined up behind Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange).

“My position has not changed about my interest.  My focus is still on getting the governor reelected and our majority reelected,” she said.

The unexpected announcement late this evening by John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) that he would drop his fledgling campaign for Assembly Speaker and support Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) is a clear sign that key North Jersey Democrats will back Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) for Senate President, Oliver for Speaker, and possible Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan (D-Union) for Assembly Majority Leader.

Support for Oliver, a relatively obscure Essex County Democrat, is reminiscent of the surprise move in 2001 to dump Joseph Doria (D-Bayonne) as the likely Speaker and replace him with freshman Albio Sires (D-West New York).  Oliver is a protégé of Newark Democratic leader Stephen Adubato, who is a close political ally of South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross.  She is the Assistant Essex County Administrator. 

If there is a deal with South Jersey, Oliver could potentially start the race with between sixteen and eighteen votes, depending on who wins the hotly contested first district Assembly race.  And if there is a deal with Cryan, Oliver could add four more votes out of Union County.   Wisniewski could put her at 21.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) has dropped out of the race for Assembly Speaker and endorsed Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange).

"After careful consideration, and in an attempt to strengthen the unity of the Assembly Democratic caucus, I have decided to end my bid to become the next Speaker of the General Assembly.  I will instead be supporting Assemblywoman Shelia Oliver to succeed Joe Roberts as our next Speaker," Wisniewski said in a statement released late this evening.

Wisniewski's withdrawal comes four days after four Democratic Assemblymen from Middlesex County said they would back his bid for Speaker.

Frank "Pat" Dodd (D-West Orange), above, wanted to serve as second two-year term as Senate President, but dropped out when Majority Leader Matthew Feldman (D-Teaneck) had the votes.

Post-Election Day politics in New Jersey might feature as many as five contested races for Legislative leadership positions: Senate President, Assembly Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, Assembly Majority Leader, and Assembly Minority Leader. 

Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) faces a challenge from Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford).  Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) is retiring; Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman is running for Speaker against John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville), and possibly against Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan (D-Union) and Sheila Oliver (D-Adubato).  Those races create openings for Majority Leader; perhaps more importantly, the contests create campaigns for Senate Judiciary Chairman and for Budget and Appropriations committee chairmanships in both houses.

Some of New Jersey's best leadership fights:

The race for Assembly Speaker is causing political headaches for Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro),  who will  steer clear of an endorsement until her own re-election campaign is over.  On Friday, Middlesex County Democratic Chairman Joseph Spicuzzo announced that the entire Middlesex Democratic Assembly delegation would back John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) for Speaker.  That put Greenstein, a five-term Democratic lawmaker from Middlesex, in hot water with Mercer County Democrats, who are backing Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) for the post.  Greenstein's district is evenly divided between Middlesex and Mercer.

Spicuzzo's announcement that Greenstein was backing Wisniewski upset Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, who is backing Watson Coleman.  Hughes convinced Greenstein to back off her pledge to Spicuzzo and remain comfortably on the sidelines.    For Wisniewski, it means that a campaign that was just hours old already had a defection.

This is bad news for Watson Coleman, who was assuming the support of Greenstein and hoping for the backing of Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton).  With African American legislators sidelined as another candidate, Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) mulls a bid for Speaker, all Watson Coleman really has at this point is one vote from her running mate, Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton), and her own. 

Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-South Brunswick), left, campaigning in 2007.

Clarifying a release issued yesterday concerning the Middlesex County delegation's endorsement for Assembly Speaker of Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville), Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-South Brunswick) said she has made no endorsement in that emerging contest, and does not intend to endorse anytime soon. 

"I'm focused on my election and the governor's election and I have made it clear that I wont issue any public endorsement until after the election," said Greenstein.

In addition to Wisniewski, sources say Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union Township), Assemblyman Lou Greenwald (D-Cherry Hill), Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), and Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) are all potential candidates for the Speaker's chair to be vacated at the end of this year by retiring Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden).

WATSON COLEMAN: MORE N.J. FAMILIES INSURED UNDER GOV. CORZINE

(TRENTON) – Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) on Monday released the following statement after Gov. Jon S. Corzine announced that the number of New Jerseyans without health insurance has decreased by more than 11 percent:

“Quality health care, especially for our children, is a core value shared by Gov. Corzine and legislative Democrats, and while we still have work ahead, this is welcome progress that shows our initiatives are working.

“Thanks to Gov. Corzine’s leadership, the number of New Jerseyans without health insurance was slashed by more than 11 percent through 2007 and 2008, a remarkable number considering how the number of people without insurance increased by 1.5 percent nationally..."

WATSON COLEMAN / CRUZ-PEREZ / JASEY / EVANS / GUSCIORA & POU BILL ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS SIGNED INTO LAW

(TRENTON) – Legislation sponsored by six Assembly Democrats to give counties the ability to establish grant programs to address homelessness was signed into law today by Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

The law (A-3101) is sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) and Assembly members Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Camden), Mila Jasey (D-Essex), Elease Evans (D-Passaic), Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) and Nellie Pou (D-Passaic).

“The number of homeless, in New Jersey – especially women and children – is unacceptably high and may go even higher as more families face the very real and scary prospect of losing their homes to foreclosure,” Watson Coleman said. “State and local governments must work together to provide more funding and better services to provide access to affordable housing and ensure families have another option to living in a shelter or on the street.”