Bret Schundler

Bret Schundler on running for Mayor of Jersey City in 2009: "I never say never." 

Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler has endorsed Joseph Pennacchio for the 2008 Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

"I think Joe would make a great United States Senator. He's been fiscally responsible in Trenton and fought for the concerns of average New Jersey citizens. If he now runs for the United States Senate, I think he'd make not only a great candidate, but a great Senator, because he has a clear vision for the direction we need to proceed in as country, and is articulate in describing that attractive vision to the voters," Schundler said in a statement released by the Pennacchio campaign this morning.

Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler is telling friends and supporters that he will not take sides in the race for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination because his new position as an Assistant Adjunct Professor The King's College in New York requires him to be "less partisanly active."

The 2001 Republican candidate for Governor is teaching a class in Rhetoric: "This course offers instruction on how to write short persuasive essays such as those suitable for publication as op-ed articles in newspapers or commentary in political magazines. Students are equipped to compete in the marketplace of ideas by honing their skills to write essays that can win a place in the secular media and attract the attention of a mass audience."

Hiring Bill Pascoe won't always guarantee you'll win an election, but it's a fairly sure bet that your opponent will lose. In 2001, Pascoe managed Bret Schundler's campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination against incumbent Donald DiFrancesco. When polls began to show Schundler ahead, DiFrancesco dropped out of the race. Pascoe was the Campaign Manager for Douglas Forrester in 2002 when Robert Torricelli, likely to lose, dropped out of the U.S. Senate race. Democrats instead nominated Frank Lautenberg, who defeated Forrester by ten percentage points. Pascoe's own U.S. Senate candidate, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race in Illinois two years ago amidst some controversies.

Now, Pascoe is a top strategist for Tony Peraica, the Republican nominee for the powerful post of Cook County Board President. Pascoe's stealth campaign has already helped force the incumbent, John Stroger, to drop out of the race; Democrats replaced him with Stroger's son, Chicago Alderman Todd Stroger. Now, with Peraica leading in the polls (something that hasn't happened in 40 years -- in Cook County, Democrats outnumber Republicans by 3-to-1), senior Democrat powerbrokers are talking about yet another replacement candidate -- even though Stroger the Younger has only been the official nominee for a month.

Bret Schundler could have won a 2004 special election for Mayor of Jersey City, and his return to the post he held from 1992 to 2001 might have made him a viable candidate for Governor in 2009. A top Hudson County Democrat and a Republican close to Schundler both confirm that Schundler was offered the chance to regain his old job following the June '04 death of Mayor Glenn Cunningham -- Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise, who was a Schundler ally when he served on the City Council and Schundler's choice to succeed him in 2001, was the intermediary between Democrats and Schundler in their attempt to convince him to run. When Schundler said no, Democrats rallied behind then-City Councilman Jerramiah Healy, who had lost to Schundler in 1997. Schundler apparently was interested in returning to City Hall, but was not willing to skip a run for Governor this year.

Some Republican insiders are calling Morris County Freeholder John Murphy one of the leading candidates for the 2009 gubernatorial nomination. Murphy, who finished third in the June primary, was perhaps the only second-tier candidate to break out of the pack, and party leaders were impressed by his ability to carry Morris County over the two leading candidates, Douglas Forrester and Bret Schundler. Murphy's '05 test run that enabled him to develop relationships with party leaders across the state -- the last four elected Governors had run statewide before. Perhaps wisely, Murphy recognized that Forrester was unlikely to beat Corzine; his campaign team has been meeting monthly since the June primary to make plans for the '09 campaign and are in constant telephone contact. "John has been working the 'rubber chicken' circuit since June and has a tireless work ethic that immediatly puts him at an advantage at this early stage," a Murphy for Governor campaign staffer told PoliticsNJ.com.

"John Murphy ran a solid and well-respected primary campaign and I think its only natural to think he would be on the shortest of lists in 2009 if he decided to make another run," said Jeffrey Booker, the former Camden GOP Executive Director and a Forrester supporter in 2005. "His natural political skills are obvious and he would represent the GOP very well. His presence in a potential primary field would be greeted very warmly by the party's rank and file."

The other Republicans most often mentioned by insiders for '09: U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, whose record of taking on corruption as federal prosecutor has won him considerable acclaim; and Assemblyman Bill Baroni, whose pro-labor, pro-life positions helped him win a landside re-election bid in a Democratic-leaning district. Schundler has refused to rule out a third gubernatorial bid.

From Rich Zeoli, the chairman of the Sussex County GOP:
"I am hearing reports that turnout is high all across the county and we are feeling incredibly confident. But just to be certain, we have phone banks running all the way up until the polls close tonight. Since over 65 percent of our residents commute out of county, we expect a huge Republican surge after rush hour."

Here are the Sussex results from '01; this was Schundler's second-strongest county:
Bret Schundler (R) 23,478
Jim McGreevey (D) 14,641

Heard from someone in the Corzine campaign that turnout may be low in Somerset County-- Bret Schundler's fifth strongest county in '01. Of course, it's too early to say anything concrete about turnout, so this could just be wishful thinking or mischief by Camp Corzine. And even if it's true, turnout may be just as low elsewhere. But it does bring back the issue of Forrester's move to the middle on abortion and stem cells.

Obviously, Hudson County is a huge part of Jon Corzine's formula for victory, just like it is for any Democrat who runs statewide. Consider the '01 results from Hudson:

Jim McGreevey (D) 85,074
Bret Schundler (R) 37,440

If you're keeping score at home, that's a 47,634-vote plurality for McGreevey-- almost 1/4 of his entire statewide plurality. And don't forget, Schundler was Jersey City's mayor-- Hudson was his turf.

The Corzine campaign's goal today is a 60,000-vote plurality out of Hudson (that may be like asking $1 million for a house in order to get the $750,000 you really want), which makes an e-mail I just received from a Democrat who checked out the Corzine operation in Hoboken this morning rather interesting:

"The surprising thing was the tension between the 'neutral' poll workers and the Corzine challenger. Usually these folks are all one big happy family. Another fact is that in contrast to prior elections there have been virtually no signs in Hoboken this election. I could be wrong, but my guess is that Hoboken will be A LOT closer than anyone expects."

This is purely anecdotal, but it makes you wonder....

With so many hurting from high taxes here in New Jersey, Assembly candidate Catherine Barrier (District 17) today announced that she has signed the Americans for Tax Reform's TAXPAYER PROTECTION PLEDGE. Surrounding Ms. Barrier as she signed was a group of diverse supporters who want real fiscal responsibility in Trenton--for a change. Co-signing as witnesses to her signing of the PLEDGE were former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler and the Middlesex County State Committeeman Donald Katz. Subsequent to the signing, the campaign released these statements:--