Connie Wagner

In case you missed it: New Jersey's three newest Assembly candidates were effectively annointed by individual party leaders, unencumbered by the need to present themselves to voters -- in this case, elected members of the County Committee.  Elease Evans, a Passaic County Freeholder who was elected to fill Alfred Steele's unexpired term, was picked by County Chairman John Currie; Bergen County Freeholder Connie Wagner, who will be the Democratic candidate for Assemblywoman in the 38th district (replacing Bob Gordon, who is running for Joseph Coniglio's Senate seat) was selected by County Chairman Joseph Ferriero; and Mila Jasey, a South Orange Board of Education member, was handpicked by Senate President Richard Codey to replace Mims Hackett in the Legislature. 

Former First Lady Mary Jo Codey doesn't get involved in many political campaigns -- it's been about two years since she went stumping for candidates.  But last night, Codey went to Bergen County to headline a fundraising event for River Edge Councilwoman Esther Fletcher, one of the Democratic Assembly candidate in the 39th district against incumbents Charlotte Vandervalk and John Rooney.  Also in attendance: Freeholder Connie Wagner, who just won the Democratic nomination for Bob Gordon's open Assembly seat in the 38th.

If Connie Wagner is successful in her bid for the State Assembly, there will be no shortage of potential candidates to replace her in January.  A short list includes: Bergen County Improvement Authority Commissioner Cid Wilson, who was seeking an Assembly seat in the 37th district earlier this year, but withdrew when the party united behind the incumbents; Fort Lee Council President (and Acting Mayor) Ila Kasofsky; Rev. Vernon Walton, a former Englewood Councilman; Little Ferry Councilman Thomas Sarlo, the brother of State Senator Paul Sarlo; Bergen County Improvement Authority Chairman Ronald O'Malley, and former Assemblyman (and Hackensack Police Chief) Ken Zisa.  

It was a big happy event, by the looks of it from the outside. They looked like an extended family in there, with the Jets game on in the background and a few of the men shamelessly turning sideways in their chairs as they watched Gang Green lose.

But when Assemblyman Robert Gordon stood at the podium and accepted their unanimous backing to succeed District 38 Sen. Joseph Coniglio, Bergen County Democrats emptied their seats and gave him their face-forward attention amid sustained applause.

Gordon had some longtime allies in the Sunday evening crowd at party HQ in Hackensack, guys with whom he went back a long time.

Assemblyman Robert GordonThe Bergen County Democratic Organization’s meeting tonight went off without a hitch, with the county committee men and women essentially confirming Chairman Joseph Ferriero’s choice for the 38th district’s two new legislative candidates.

In a closed meeting, the committee members unanimously elected Assemblyman Bob Gordon to fill the state Senate ballot spot left open after Joe Coniglio decided not to seek re-election. Freeholder/Paramus Councilwoman Connie Wagner will fill the slot left open by Gordon’s elevation. Incumbent Assemblywoman Joan Voss will remain as the 38th district’s other Democratic Assembly candidate.

Bergen County Freeholder Connie Wagner will be the Democratic nominee for Bob Gordon's Assembly seatConnie Wagner will likely be the next Assemblywoman for district 38.

Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero has endorsed Wagner to fill the Assembly spot for Bob Gordon, who Ferriero endorsed earlier today to replace state Senator Joe Coniglio, according to Bergen County Democratic Organization spokesman Bill Maier.

Wagner, a Bergen County Freeholder and Paramus Councilwoman, will resign from both of those positions if she’s selected by the county committee and then elected as an Assemblywoman, said Maer.

Ferriero originally offered the position to Jim Tedesco under the condition that he give up his seat as mayor of Paramus. Tedesco declined.

It might not be a coincidence that the last three state Senators from district 38 have been from Paramus.

There was Paul Contillo, then Louis Kosco, and finally Joseph Coniglio.

Now, two of the four contenders for the position are from Paramus – Mayor James Tedesco and Bergen County Freeholder Connie Wagner (who, unlike the other three, has not yet declared an intention to run for the seat).

The Bergen County Democratic Organization has announced the meeting at which they’ll pick the replacement for State Senator Joe Coniglio. 

The meeting will be held on Sunday at 6 pm at BCDO headquarters in Hackensack.  It will be closed to everyone except staff, municipal chairs, candidates and county committee members. 

The timing of Joseph Coniglio's announcement was terrible for Robert Gordon, a Democratic Assemblyman from the 38th district with an interest in seeking Coniglio's State Senate seat. Coniglio, the target of a federal corruption investigation, dropped his bid for re-election to a third term around 5:30 PM yesterday, just as Gordon, who is Jewish, was preparing to start his observance of the Rosh Hashanah holiday. That means Gordon might not be able to begin campaigning until Friday afternoon for an election that might come on Monday evening. (Monday is the deadline to replace candidates on the ballot, although over the last five years, the courts have made that deadline highly flexible.)

Bergen County Democrats have picked two women to run for Freeholder this fall: Paramus Councilwoman Connie Wagner and former Ramsey Councilwoman Julie O'Brien. Wagner was re-elected to a second term in 2005, while O'Brien lost her bid for re-election to a second term. Wagner and O'Brien will compete with the lone Republican Freeholder, Elizabeth Randall, and for the seat being vacated by Valerie Vainieri Huttle, who was elected to the State Assemby last year. Randall is running with Robert Yudin, a former member of the Wyckoff Board of Education.