DNCC

U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn): Politicker file photo

DENVER - It's not in his hands now, but U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) would love to see Sen. Robert Menendez (D-Union city) receive a speaking role at the Democratic National Convention.

"It would be great for Obama, great for New Jersey and great for the party," said Rothman, Obama's Northeast Regional campaign co-chair, who is in attendance at a party in the Inverness Hotel in honor of Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden).

Paterson Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres: Politicker file photo 

DENVER - If he felt any angst about his first choice not landing a place on the Democrats’ presidential ticket, Paterson Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres didn’t show it as he landed in the lobby of the Inverness Hotel on Monday, and turned his attention on the Republicans.

"We are fighting a war in our cities, but we are not putting the resources in to fight those wars internally," said Torres, who noted the fall-off in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding during the Bush years.

Failing in a 2005 fight to terminate the program that administers urban aid, the Bush administration sought unprecedented cuts - up to 20%, the highest percentage proposed cuts since the program’s inception in 1982.

Party Chairman John Currie and Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Paterson): Politicker photo 

DENVER - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) romped in Passaic County in the Democratic Primary, essentially blowing up the candidacy of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) there with a 59-38% victory.

"He didn’t win a single town in Passaic," said Democratic Party Chairman John Currie, and that includes the county’s biggest city.

"In my ward, he lost handily," recalled Sixth Ward Paterson Councilman Andre Sayegh, a longtime Obama supporter. "A lot of Latinos in my ward told me, ‘We’ll vote for you, but not Obama.’ It wasn’t a landslide, but he lost Paterson, and got trounced in my ward."

Now old school Democrat Currie, a onetime Clinton backer, wants to mobilize his troops behind Obama for the general election, where Democrats number 47,807 to the Republicans 38,662 registered voters.

Former Gov. Brendan Byrne, right, and Chief Justice Stuart Rabner. Byrne may do what Tom Kean and Dick Hughes could not: elect their son Governor
DENVER – There are surely other father and son duos here in Denver, but perhaps none as recognizable as former Governor Brendan Byrne and his son Tom.

And Tom Byrne, the former Democratic State Chairman who currently works as a financial advisor, admits that having another Governor Byrne in the future is a possibility, though perhaps vague and distant.

Like U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo and State Sen. Stephen Sweeney, Byrne admits that he would weigh running for Governor in the unlikely event that Gov. Corzine was offered and accepted a position in an Obama administration.

Byrne said he’s interested, but warned not to read into it too much.

“I think probably every third person in here is [interested],” he said

When Sen. Frank Lautenberg seemed parched a few minutes into his speech to the New Jersey delegation today, a man, as if on cue, walked up from the audience with a glass of water.

“This is my son Josh. This is what he does for a living,” said Lautenberg.

Lautenberg’s son Josh, 40, lives here in Colorado – in Vail, to be exact – the same town where his father was originally sworn in for his first term in office in 1982.

Jersey City Deputy Mayor Kibili Tayari: Politicker photo 

DENVER - Seated on a park bench in front of the Inverness Hotel, Jersey City Deputy Mayor Kibili Tayari looked out across the expansive courtyard and parking lot dotted with the recognizable faces of New Jersey politicians zig-zagging in different directions.

"What’s going to make us unified coming out here?" he asked. "Obama’s got to pound that one nation theme. He’s just got to keep pounding that all week long. There are enough Americans who have that in their hearts. That’s the message, man. America."

It’s not going to be easy coming out of the convention, said Tayari.

"Dr. King used to say that in order for evil to triumph, all we have to do is sit back and do nothing," said the deputy mayor, who’s been with Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) since the start.

DENVER – The Democratic Party already knows Dennis Shulman, who’s running for Congress against Republican incumbent E. Scott Garrett, exists. 

Shulman, a blind rabbi and psychologist who’s not a delegate, is attending the Democratic National Convention.  And he said he’s been doing the same thing in Denver he’s been doing at home in Bergen County – shaking hands and trying to convince influential politicians that his district is winnable, even against an entrenched incumbent. 

Pretty much all of the New Jersey delegation in Denver knows who Shulman is, and many politicians from other states may have heard of him from news accounts in several national publications.  But convincing them that winning is a realistic prospect is another matter.

Ritzy Morales of Passaic: Politicker photo 

DENVER - You can’t stray far from New Jersey’s ward politics here, not if you’re at the Hotel Inverness, where Ritzy Morales told PolitickerNJ.com that she definitely intends to run for mayor of Passaic.

A longtime director of constituent services for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), Morales, 41, said she plans to submit 700 petitions to the municipal clerk in advance of the Sept. 12th filing deadline, and expects to have at least 400-500 of them certified to earn well over the required 200.

"The public has known me for a long time," said Morales, born in Paterson and a resident of Passaic for ten years. "I have strong values, and I wouldn’t even accept a cup of coffee from someone as mayor, because of the negativity left by Sammy Rivera. I would definitely stop corruption."

DENVER -- As of right now there are no speakers from New Jersey slated for the Democratic National Convention. But two of the most famous musicians to ever come out of the state are scheduled to perform not just at the convention, but at Barack Obama’s big night. 

The Rocky Mountain News reports that Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi will bracket Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Invesco Field on Thursday night.

Governor Corzine, who's said to have invited the two to perform at the convention, couldn't confirm the report.

"I don't know that they're coming," he said while walking out of the Inverness Hotel. 

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton): Politicker photo

DENVER - The deep freeze feelings Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) fiercest supporters have reserved for the Obama-Biden ticket simply contributes to the convention’s drama, acknowledged Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton), a member of the New Jersey delegation.

People have deep-seated feelings this year, and it’s not always that way.

"I wasn’t at the 2004 convention, but I can’t imagine people getting as excited then as they are now," said Gusciora. "I just can’t imagine what the mood would have been like for John Kerry."

Maybe not everyone is ready to run straight to the barricade for Obama-Biden, but there’s a thrill in the sense of the unknown at this Democratic National Convention; white-knuckle suspense over whether the party will emerge truly unified.