Dennis Levinson

If Dennis Levinson loses his bid for re-election as Atlantic County Executive, that would mean that Democrats would control all five County Executive offices in New Jersey.  Five years ago, Republicans had four County Executives: Atlantic, Bergen, Essex and Mercer. 

Hudson County has always had a Democratic County Executive.

Bergen went Democratic after William "Pat' Schuber retired in 2002 (Democrat Dennis McNerney beat Henry McNamara), Essex moved to the Democratic column the same year when James Treffinger gave up the post to run for the United States Senate (a campaign that endedfollowing an FBI raid of his offices), and Democrats won Mercer following Robert Prunetti's retirement in 2003; Brian Hughes just narrowly defeated Republican Catherine DiCostanzo.

The last time one party held all County Executive posts was in 1979, when Democratic incumbents were unseated in Atlantic and Mercer.

Newsflash out of Atlantic County.

County Executive Dennis Levinson and Sheriff James McGettigan sat at a table in Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in front of a small crowd and refrained from feasting utterly on each other.

You know the most vicious teeth gnashing has been had when these two bruisers are able to exchange civil barbs in a public forum sponsored by the Atlantic City Mainland Chamber of Commerce, which is what happened Thursday night.

On the county level this election cycle, Democrats are on the offensive.

The biggest battlegrounds this year are Monmouth and Atlantic Counties, where beneath competitive legislative races in the 12th and second districts, control of county government is up for grabs. The former is also seeing a competitive race for Sheriff, and the latter for County Executive.

In both counties, Republicans are left defending their territory, while Democrats are also looking to bolster their minorities in Burlington and Somerset Counties, with the potential to put them in play next year.

Monmouth County may be the one place Democrats can benefit from Christopher Christie’s recent corruption busts. Several of the “Operation Bid-Rig” defendants, most of them former Republican public officials, are scheduled to be sentenced this week. State Democrats are taking special notice of the district, hoping to turn the tide by delivering a message that the Republicans’ grip on power has led to widespread corruption of the type seen in Operation Bid rig.

The Press of Atlantic City has endorsed Dennis Levinson for Atlantic County Executive: READ

In Atlantic County, the tangled web of friendships and political alliances has reared its ugly head again.

Today’s example is Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson, whose good friend Frank Barbera, a real estate broker and former Atlantic County GOP treasurer, was arrested earlier this week for allegedly paying bribes to disgraced former city council president Craig Callaway. Talk about Barbera being under federal investigation had circulated for months, and his suicide attempt last month only heightened expectations that he would soon be arrested.

Democrats hit Levinson hard this afternoon on behalf of his opponent, Sheriff Jim McGettigan, with County Chairman Ron Ruff calling Barbera his “closest confidant and fundraiser.”

Frank Barbera, the former Atlantic County GOP Treasurer, was arrested on bribery charges
Frank Barbera, the former Treasurer of the Atlantic County Republican Party and a political ally of County Executive Dennis Levinson, was arrested by FBI agents this week on bribery charges, a month after a suicide attempt. He was found in his car with what police described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his chest.

Barbera is accused of offering a $5,000 bribe to Craig Callaway in 2005, while Callaway was serving as the Atlantic City Council President. Callaway is now serving a 40-month sentence following his own bribery conviction.

Atlantic Sheriff Jim McGettigan isn’t particularly selective about the guests he invites to the fundraisers for his county executive candidacy.

Invited to a $1,000 per head McGettigan fundraiser last month was Eric Bernstein, the labor and first amendment attorney who McGettigan denounced as a “porn lawyer” in July. McGettigan had criticized his opponent Dennis Levinson for hiring Bernstein, even though Bernstein specifically worked as McGettigan’s labor counsel (McGettigan said he did not know that Bernstein did work on behalf of the porn industry).

McGettigan Skips Debate with Levinson

Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson and the three Republican candidates for the County Board of Freeholders said today that “by admitting that he had no idea how the county tax rate was established, Democrat county executive candidate Sheriff Jim McGettigan effectively removed himself from any serious consideration for the executive post.”

It’s said that a reporter should never become part of the story.

But Virginia McCabe, a self-published journalist who runs a website called the Atlantic Daily Sentinel, has found herself in that awkward position. Currently, she’s being criticized by Democrats as a tool of the Dennis Levinson County Executive Campaign.

On Saturday, McCabe broke a story about the use of the term “wetbacks” by Sheriff and Atlantic County Executive candidate Jim McGettigan at a candidates’ forum. Her lede read: “Atlantic County Sheriff Jim McGettigan said he wanted to get rid of ‘wetbacks,’ Saturday referring to Mexicans who have crossed over the boarder illegally.”