Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney could help Jon Corzine pick up working class voters from South Jersey.

Gov. Jon Corzine has a potential problem in South Jersey, where a new Quinnipiac University poll shows him trailing former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie by five points, 42%-37%. The poll defines the South Jersey region as Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.  In 2005, Corzine beat Republican Douglas Forrester in this part of the state by 49,825 votes, a 56%-44% margin, and lost only in Cape May County.

In South Jersey, Corzine has a favorable/unfavorable rating of 43%-43%, and an upside-down approval rating of 42%-44%.  Nearly half the voters (47%) say he does not deserve to be re-elected, and 70% say they are dissatisfied with the direction New Jersey is headed. 

Against conservative Steven Lonegan, the former Mayor of Bogota, Corzine is ahead by nine points, 42%-33%, among South Jersey voters - not a great showing against a Republican whose name is not recognized by 88% of the region's voters.

Some Democrats suggest that Corzine could boost his chances in the region by picking a South Jerseyan for Lieutenant Governor.  And some Republicans think Christie could enhance his lead by doing the same thing.

Curtis Jenkins, a labor leader and Camden City Councilman, is a possible candidate for State Senator if Dana Redd becomes the next Mayor of Camden.

If Dana Redd wins her race for Mayor of Camden, her departure from the Legislature in January would mean a special election convention for her State Senate seat – and possibly a second one for the State Assembly if Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts were to move up to the Senate.  One possible candidate to fill a legislative vacancy is labor leader Curtis Jenkins, a first-term Camden City Councilman.

Jenkins is the Business Manager for the Camden-based Laborers' International Union Local 222.  He is also Vice President of the Southern New Jersey Building Laborers' District Council, Vice-President of the Central Laborer AFL-CIO, and Trustee of the Southern New Jersey Building Trades Council.

State Sen. Dana Redd (D-Camden)

TRENTON - State Sen. Dana Redd (D-Camden) will run for mayor of Camden and plans to kick off her campaign this Saturday, Feb. 7th, she told PolitickerNJ.com.

Now serving her first term as senator, Redd, 40, is concurrently serving as vice president of the Camden City Council. She said she hopes to be able to work out a deal with Mayor Gwendolyn Faison, 82, who has served as Camden's chief elected official since 2000.

"I've had discussions with Mayor Faison and we're trying to put together a unity slate," said Redd. "I'm hoping she endorses me."

Faison's office issued a statement this afternoon.

The mayor has not officially made a decision about whether she intends to run for re-election.

"It's time to stop fighting and serve the people," Faison said.

State Sen. Dana Redd (D-Camden) is leaning toward running for Mayor of Camden in the May municipal election, South Jersey Democratic sources say.  Octogenarian incumbent Gwendolyn Faison, whose actual age varies among different news outlets, is expected to run again but has not yet announced her intentions.  The Camden mayoral post has been the one prize to elude powerful South Jersey political leader George Norcross. 

Redd, a City Councilwoman and Vice Chair of the Democratic State Committee, is viewed as a rising star in State Democratic politics.  She won Wayne Bryant's State Senate seat in 2007 and has just finished her first year in the Legislature.   Because she went to the Senate prior to February 1, 2008, the new state law banning dual office holding does not apply to her Council and Senate seats.  But if she were to be elected Mayor, she would be forced to give up her Senate seat.  That would create a July Special Election Convention to replace her in the Legislature, and a November 2009 Special Election to fill the remaining 26 months on her term.

If Redd runs for Mayor, she would effectively be taking herself out of the running for Lt. Governor.  It would be hard for Jon Corzine to pick her a week after winning the June Democratic primary.

SENATOR REDD REACTION TO GOVERNOR CORZINE’S STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS

TRENTON – Senator Dana Redd, D-Camden and Gloucester, and Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Governor’s State of the State Address delivered yesterday to a joint session of the State Legislature:

“In light of yesterday’s State of the State Address, and the challenges we face as a State in the midst of one of the worst economic meltdowns in the history of our nation, we must work together to effectively and efficiently do the people’s business.

TRENTON – A measure sponsored by Senators Fred H. Madden and Dana L. Redd, which allows domestic violence victims to break leases early without penalty, has been signed into law by Governor Corzine.

            “The signing of this bill will work to help protect domestic violence victims around the state, who, because of fear, insecurity or financial issues, still reside with their abusers,” said Senator Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester.  “By allowing them to break their leases early and ‘get out,’ they will be able to leave their abusers and get a fresh start.”

            “For too many domestic violence victims, safety and self-sufficiency seem too far out of reach,” said Senator Redd, D-Camden and Gloucester.  “This law now provides them with a way out, without reducing their chances of being able to secure new housing because they have a broken lease on their credit record.”

NEW BRUNSWICK - State Democratic Party Chair Joseph Cryan just pumped up the crowd here at the Heldrich Hotel.

"Yes, we can," he cried. "Yes, we can! And in New Jersey, yes, we did!"

The chant was a nod to the Garden State victory tonight of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.).

Cryan then introduced Party Vice Chair state Sen. Dana Redd (D-Camden).

“You have already spoken,” said the short list candidate for lieutenant governor in 2009. “You do not want divisive politics.”

Three women widely viewed as rising stars in the Democratic Party are likely to receive consideration for Lt. Governor next year when Jon Corzine picks a running mate: State Sens. Dana Redd (D-Camden) and Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark), and Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz. 

State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex)

JERSEY CITY - Asked about state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) said he liked the idea.

"She is one of several people in our party who would be an excellent candidate," Menendez told PolitickernJ.com at an Obama rally on Saturday. "It's the governor's decision ultimately, of course, and I do not envy him, because there are numerous qualified people."

Other potential lieutenant governor candidates among the Democrats include Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing).

REDD RESPONSE TO GOVERNOR CORZINE’S ECONOMIC STIMULUS PROPOSAL

TRENTON – Senator Dana Redd, D-Camden and Gloucester, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and Chairwoman of the School Facilities Subcommittee of the Joint Legislative Committee on Public Schools, issued the following statement today regarding Governor Corzine’s economic stimulus proposals, which were delivered in a joint legislative hearing in the Statehouse this afternoon:

“Particularly when State residents are worried about the nation’s long-term and short-term economic health, Governor Corzine today outlined a bold plan which will help New Jersey weather the worst of these uncertain times.