Dennis Shulman

If Republicans Scott Garrett, Christopher Myers and Leonard Lance win hotly contested House races next week, it is unlikely that Democrats would invest heavily in these traditionally GOP districts again in 2010.  But Democratic victories would make these districts battlegrounds in the 2010 mid-term elections.

If Garrett survives -- Politicker.com's The Pindell Report has the seat as Leans Republican -- he'll have a firm lock on the 5th district seat until at least 2012, when mapmakers draw new congressional districts.  But if blind Rabbi Dennis Shulman upsets Garrett, he'd immediately become one of the nation's most vulnerbale Democratic Congressmen. There is already talk among some Bergen County Republicans that Assemblyman David Russo would enter the race to challenge Shulman in 2010.  Russo sought the seat six years ago when Marge Roukema retired and lost to Garrett 45%-24% after splitting the Bergen GOP vote with State Sen. Gerald Cardinale.

Basing his endorsement mainly on gun control issues, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Dennis Shulman for Congress against U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) in the 5th Congressional District.

“I’m endorsing Dennis Shulman because I’m impressed by his pragmatic, sensible approach to the tough issues, including how we strengthen the economy and how we keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals,” said Bloomberg in his opening statement to a twenty minute conference call.

But don’t expect Bloomberg to cross the river for Shulman, a blind rabbi/psychologist any time soon. Nor will Bloomberg film any commercials for Shulman like he already has for U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.). The Mayor downplayed the possibility that he would do any more to campaign for Shulman, and said he had not written him a check.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to endorse Dennis Shulman for Congress this morning

None of the presidential candidates could win his endorsement, but an up-‘til-recently long-shot Congressional candidate just did. 

Fresh off his City Council legislative victory that will allow him to run for another term, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will endorse Democrat Dennis Shulman in the 5th Congressional District today. 

Bloomberg and Shulman plan a conference call with reporters at 9 a.m. to discuss it.

There’s plenty of outrage to go around in the 5th Congressional District.

Today, the Dennis Shulman campaign decried a mailer from incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) that put a small picture of Shulman, a rabbi, in front of a much larger picture of a Hamas member carrying an AK-47.

“Should we be talking with terrorists,” it reads in large, blood red letters.  “Dennis Shulman thinks so.”

Garrett also put out a commercial asking “What do we really know about Dennis Shulman, the man spearing Scott Garrett?,” and referring to him as an “extremist who believes America must negotiate with terrorists.” 

In a fundraising letter, former U.S. Sen. Bob Torricelli praises Dennis Shulman's integrity.: Getty Images Photo
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Torricelli has endorsed blind Rabbi Dennis Shulman in his race against three-term U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage).  

"Dennis' integrity and unique background of identifying and solving problems leave him well-equpped to oppose Garrett -- and to serve in Congress honorably and effectively," Torricelli wrote in a letter seeking to raise money for Shulman's campaign.  "Garrett sat idly by in his seat on the House Financial Services Committee, while the housing bubble burst, all the while pocketing thousands of dollars in contributions from Countrywide Financial and leaving his day-to-day operations to his Chief of Staff, a former Countrywide lobbyist.  

Torricelli also slammed Garrett for claiming an erroneous exemption on his state tax return, "cheating his fellow citizens out of up to $40,000 a year."  He called Garrett an "extremist whose values are not those of his constituents, nor of the nation."

“Bob Torricelli has always been most comfortable wading around the sleaze and slime of the corrupt Bergen County Democrat machine.  Guess you take Torch out of the slime, but you can’t take sleaze out of the Torch.  Torricelli was forced to leave the United States Senate because his ethics and values told him to use his office to get himself a Rolex, a closet full of $5000 suits, a grandfather clock, an expensive oriental rug, a jumbo plasma screen TV, and thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions," said Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson.  "Now his ‘ethics and values’ tell him to slander, malign, and lie about Scott Garrett.  Asking Bob Torricelli to be your ethics watchdog is about as smart as asking Michael Vick to watch your dog. “

As Barack Obama hovers around the 60% mark in New Jersey, Democrats could be the beneficiary of some significant coattails. While Democrats are already favored in two key congressional races where Republican incumbents are retiring, an Obama landslide could offer coattails in several other competitive races: in Bergen County, where County Clerk Kathleen Donovan is seeking a fifth term, and where Democrats are defending three Freeholder seats following the indictment of County Chairman Joseph Ferriero; in Monmouth County, where Democrats need to win one Freeholder seat to win majority control; in Somerset County, where Democrats now have an edge in voter registration for the first time in state history; in races for County Clerk and Freeholder in Burlington County; in races for Atlantic County Sheriff and Freeholder; and in Freeholder contests in Cumberland and Salem counties.

WOODCLIFF LAKE – At a temple on a hill overlooking the Bergen County portion of the 5th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) and his challenger, Dennis Shulman, engaged in an occasionally contentious 90-minute debate focused heavily on the economy, health care, foreign policy, energy and even a little scripture.

Over 200 people showed up to watch tonight’s debate at Temple Emanuel, the first of three between the two candidates.

It could have just as easily been a match of wits between President Bush against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), however, with each candidate trying to link the other to his respective party leader.

State Sen. Paul Sarlo, who last year was subpoenaed during a federal probe of “Christmas tree” items, today called for an investigation of the tax status of the farm where U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett’s brother grows actual Christmas trees.

Garrett (R-Wantage) lives on a large estate in Wantage that is mostly classified as farmland – earning Garrett a large property tax break. The campaign of Democratic rival Dennis Shulman has been mocking that classification for weeks and using it in television advertisements.

Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) said that Garrett told the state that his farm produced more than $520 in revenue in order to get the tax break, but he didn’t report any farm income on his federal financial disclosures. Garrett has defended the charge by saying the income goes to his brother.

"Ordinary taxpayers know they can't play a 'get out of taxes free' card with their local assessor, and they have a right to be confident that their elected representative is no different,” said Sarlo, who’s also the mayor of Wood-Ridge. “We need to make sure that the Wantage Township Tax Assessor is complying with the law, can justify her decision to give Scott Garrett this enormous tax break, and is not giving Garrett special treatment because he is a Congressman."

The fundraising race is neck-and-neck in the 5th Congressional District, where Democratic challenger Dennis Shulman raised almost exactly as much money as incumbent Scott Garrett (R-Wantage).

Shulman raised $274,231.85 last quarter to Garrett’s $276,589. That brings Shulman’s total raised so far to $823,462, and Garrett’s to $1,259,604.

Shulman also kicked in $50,000 of his own money into the race.

Garrett does have a larger war chest remaining, however, with $570,777 on hand to Shulman’s $279,096.