Declan O'Scanlon

Newark Mayor Cory Booker on Election Day, 2008

Standing in the vanguard of opposing parties makes Gov.-elect Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker obvious political adversaries - a relationship made more intriguing by their agreeable history and the crisis demands on both of them to deliver reforms in their respective spheres of power - but whatever the dynamics of their personal and professional relations, allies of both men expect a coming collision between Newark and New Jersey.

Don't count Booker among them.

"I know people want to turn this into a rivalry but when you consider the monumental challenges we are up against right now, he is my greatest ally," Booker said of Christie, the Republican who on Nov. 3rd defeated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. "To characterize us as rivals would be like saying Democrats and Republicans were the chief antagonists during World War II. We're in a crisis."

"I would also say - and I use this word because it is accurate - that Chris Christie is my friend. We have been friends for three years and he can assume credit for things we have accomplished here these past three years."

Booker knows the buzz about how he's the Democratic Party's most likely nominee for governor in 2013, to which he gives the only politic response: he's focused on the city's crime problem.

Prodded on politics and Christie, he adds, "I'm focused on next year's mayoral election and on electing the Booker Team (of council candidates)."

Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (front row, left), with Monmouth County Republican Committee Chairman Joe Oxley (front, center) and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos (head bowed, over Oxley's left shoulder)

He sits on the budget committee as a member of the minority party calling into that chasm between himself and Democrats running both the executive and legislative branches.

But while the opposition last Tuesday maintained its hegemony on the legislative side, the GOP now has a governor-elect in Chris Christie, from whom Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (R-Little Silver) trusts there will be an invitation of engagement.

"I'm hoping the Chris Christie administration will work hand in hand with the legislature and I'm hoping folks like me will have a seat at the table policywise," O'Scanlon said. "The cabinet needs to be about real reform, not re-election four years from now. I'm looking forward to a cabinet created that way. I hope it's going to be an open administration.

"As a member of the budget committee I hope to be included and I would like to believe one won't need a cabinet position in order to have input," added O'Scanlon.

The Trenton Times has endorsed North Hanover Township Committeeman John Kocubinski in his bid to unseat Assemblyman Ronald Dancer (R-Plumsted) in the 30th district because he holds three government jobs.  The newspaper endorsed Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Bordentown) for re-election.  In District 12, the Trenton Times is backing two freshman Republicans for re-election to the Assembly: Declan O'Scanlon and Caroline Casagrande.

The Asbury Park Press has endorsed incumbent GOP legislators for re-election in Districts 10 and 12, supporting the re-election of David Wolfe (R-Brick), James Holzpapfel (R-Toms River), Caroline Casagrande (R-Colts Neck) and Declan O'Scanlon (R-Little Silver).

The race for Governor is a toss-up and Democrats are favored to retain control of the State Assembly, according to a new PolitickerNJ.com Battleground 2009 analysis of state and county campaigns.  This breakdown will include key municipal races in future weeks.

This week’s unemployment rates for the Tri-State region were released, and once again, New Jersey’s numbers remain the highest in the region at 9.3 percent for July, up from 9.2 percent in June.

New York has the second highest with 8.6 percent and Pennsylvania reported a rate of 8.5 percent for last month.

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RED BANK - Monmouth County Democrats, eager to hold the 3-2 Freeholder majority they won last year after being out of power for two decades, seldom use the words "Gov. Jon Corzine" in their campaign literature.

Democrats know it's going to be tough to win this year as Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie tries to flex base Republican voters and suburban independents in his challenge of Corzine, whose focus is mostly elsewhere in Democratic strongholds like Essex, Hudson, Bergen, Union and Middlesex.
 
So Democrats here keep their focus on the Freeholder Board and build around their candidate, Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes.

"We had 23 years of Republican rule - we can't go backwards. They're doing everything they can to pull the plug on us," longtime Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vic Scudiery told a crowd of party members at a fundraiser here at the Downtown Wednesday night for Byrnes, the man Democrats see as their most important player on the field in Monmouth County this season.

It's Byrnes' face, not Corzine's that fronts the party's website in Monmouth.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie in between state Sen. Kevin O'Toole (R-Cedar Grove), left, and state Sen. Brian P. Stack (D-Union City).

News about GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie's failure to disclose a loan to a former employee and report the income on his federal income tax and fallout from his pre-campaign discussions with Karl Rove have Democrats alert to shifting terrain in the gubernatorial election even if they remain guarded about the outcome.

Ahead by double digits through the bulk of the summer, Republicans say the headlines are inevitable campaign turbulence, and not even close to death spiral spasms.

"We'll continue to work contrasts between Jon Corzine and Chris Christie," said Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan, who wouldn't identify this week as the first time in the cycle that Gov. Jon Corzine has appeared to have climbed off the political cold slab, a condition some polls have shown the governor to be in since he and Christie officially started their head-to-head rivalry back in June.

State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) today stepped up the optimism.

"At this point it's a horse race, but I'm feeling very confident the governor will be successful," said the chair of the Senate Budget Committee and a prospective candidate for lieutenant governor until Corzine picked her colleague, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck).

Buono toured Indian-American businesses with Corzine today on Oak Tree Road in Edison in her first campaign appearance with the governor since failing to lock up the LG spot.

Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, Jr. and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande today sent letters to every State Legislator requesting support and sponsorship of two bills that will address the existing loophole, which allows public officials convicted of corruption crimes to receive pensions for public positions they held that were unrelated to the crime committed.

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Officials from Local, County, State and Federal Governments Worked Together to Save Facility

The 12th District Legislators, as well as officials from Freehold Borough, Monmouth County and House Representative Chris Smith, are happy to announce that the U.S. Post Office located in Freehold Borough, the county seat, will remain open.

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