Diane Allen

Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno

In recent years, a few inter-party contests stand out as wars, and as George W. Bush's numbers threatened to flat-line in New Jersey, Democrats felt a surge of confidence in Monmouth County, where they ramrodded GOP excess and Bush backlash into annual wins on the freeholder board and a Senate victory by Ellen Karcher for territory that could be described as leaning in their favor but finally uneasy.

2007 proved the Democrats' penultimate chance to squeeze as much citizen angst as possible out of the GOP's control of Monmouth and Bush's perceived deepsixing of his own party, and nowhere was the countervailing intensity better demonstrated than Jennifer Beck's challenge of Karcher in the 12th District and, in less publicized if no less intense fashion, Kim Guadagno's battle with Belmar Police Chief Jack Hill for a vacancy at county sheriff.  

Both women won - Guadagno narrowly - and in the process earned reputations as tough, well-prepared campaigners.

Consequently, at various stages of Chris Christie's journey as a Republican gubernatorial candidate, Beck and Guadagno have been mentioned in GOP circles as potential candidates for lieutenant governor, with the former's name surfacing as early as last summer while Christie was still U.S. Attorney, then fading for the most part; and Guadagno's coming louder late in the process here.

Don’t expect Governor Jon Corzine to make a lieutenant governor pick this week.  

“We don't expect an announcement this week,” said Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy.

Until last week, the widely held perception was that candidates had to pick a running mate within 30 days of the June 2 primary, which is Thursday.  The campaigns of both Corzine and Republican challenger Chris Christie were apparently under that impression as well.  

But gubernatorial candidates actually have until 30 days of the certification of the primary results, which happened only Friday.  Last week, a source involved in the Corzine campaign said that they were relieved to be able to push the selection past Independence Day weekend. 

New Jersey Right to Life Executive Director Marie Tasy is taking a wait and see approach on Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie’s running mate.

Although Christie has said that he converted to a pro-life viewpoint in the 1990s, both the women most talked about as his candidate for lieutenant governor – Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan and state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) – are pro-choice.  

Tasy, however, said that she will withhold judgment until a pick is made, and would not say whether her group would withhold an endorsement from Christie if he picked a pro-choicer. 

Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie has publicly sworn off political considerations in making his eventual Lieutenant Governor pick, arguing that the public will vote largely based on who occupies the top of the ticket.

But the two women said to be at the top of Christie’s shortlist – state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) and Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan -- each has a history of running strong in regions that are crucial to Christie’s electoral prospects, and both could help Republicans down-ballot in their respective counties.  

Christie alone will have the say on his choice for the number two spot, so he could surprise observers with his pick.  But media speculation about who he will choose has come down to Allen, who repeatedly wins reelection in a South Jersey legislative district that has a two-to-one Democrat registration advantage, and Donovan, who over the last decade has been the one Republican bulwark against the Bergen County Democratic Organization’s complete dominance and last year won reelection the most votes of any county-wide candidate, Democrat or Republican.  

“These are counties that have gone Democratic in many cases over the last few years in statewide races after having been solidly Republican for a while,” said Monmouth University pollster and political science professor Patrick Murray.  “These are counties that Christie must win.”

State Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton)

TRENTON - Confronting a tableful of testifying labor backers who agree that the State Legislature should lean on Washington, D.C., to create universal healthcare, state Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton) stepped gingerly.

The longtime labor-friendly lawmaker noted his support of the Paid Family Leave Act, which passed in the state Senate despite every Republican except Baroni voting"no."

But today he raised a question aimed at the underpinnings of the opposition party when he said, "Barack Obama opposes single-payer healthcare. Is he wrong?"

Laughter filled the chamber as people waited for the answer.

The senator followed up with a "just wondering" question about whether Obama's rejection of single-payer healtchcare means he is too conservative on this issue.

Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to nominate State Sen. Philip Haines (R-Springfield) as a Superior Court Judge within the next two weeks, setting the stage for a special election in the Republican-leaning eighth district this November.  Burlington County Republicans say they expect Haines to be out of the Senate by next month, and are preparing for a special election convention in July.  Former Medford Mayor Christopher Myers, who won 48% of the vote in his 2008 race for Congress against Democrat John Adler, could emerge as a leading candidate for Haines' Senate seat.

These are interesting times in Burlington County politics, where Republicans are defending their control of the Board of Freeholders for the first time in decades.  The GOP now has a 3-2 majority, and two of their seats are up in 2009.  The two Republican incumbents are not seeking re-election.  State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) is reportedly under consideration to become the GOP candidate for Lt. Governor - something that would likely help Republicans keep control.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie, potentially auditioning running mates, will join Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan on a tour of downtown Rutherford on Thursday morning.  Donovan is widely considered to be one of the top candidates on Christie's short list for Lt. Governor.   Last week, Christie campaigned with another LG aspirant, State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park).  Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield), widely viewed as a top contender for the number two spot on the Republican ticket, said last Friday that he was not interested in running for Lt. Governor.

Governor Corzine should tell districts now if they are going to lose $35 million in debt service aid. Stalling until after the budget is passed isn't fair to the school children of New Jersey.

Steve Lonegan fired a clear and direct warning shot at Chris Christie today, suggesting that the endorsement he offered in his concession speech one week ago is based upon the continuation of his conservative agenda during his general election campaign against Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.  But if Christie seeks a move to the political center, as many GOP primary winners do in New Jersey, he could alienate Lonegan and his core political supporters.

One interpretation of Lonegan’s intentions: that Christie needs to proceed with caution as he considers pro-choice running mates.  State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) and Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan are reportedly the leading candidates for Lt. Governor on the GOP ticket.  Instead, some Lonegan backers are telling Christie to look at three other candidates: Assemblywoman Alison McHose (R-Franklin) and Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno.

Lonegan is taking some heat from supporters for his conciliatory primary night endorsement of Christie, according to sources close to the former Bogota Mayor.  Also taking some heat is New Jersey Right to Life (NJRTL) Legislative Affairs Director Marie Tasy, whom some Lonegan supporters insist backed Christie.  Sources say that Tasy stopped returning Lonegan’s telephone calls in January, and even prevented Lonegan volunteers from handing out literature at a NJRTL dinner.

State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Burlington)

If they're bound for opposing camps in the general election as candidates for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Burlington) and Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) checkmated each other today with a piece of party reform leglislation approvedby the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Tired of going toe-to-toe with the bosses in their respective counties and in their respective parties - Glen Paulsen in Burlington for Team GOP and Joe Ferriero in Bergen for the Democrats - Allen and Weinberg joined forces in Trenton.

Under the provisions of their bill, municipal clerks would be required to file an official list of committee members with the county clerk within 20 days after a committee's first meeting after the primary. Moreover, the bill requires committee constitutions and procedural guidelines for "removing committee officers who are unwilling or unable to serve in their office," acccording to the Senate Majority Office.