Donald Trump

Reality TV star Randal Pinkett will hold a news conference tomorrow to make "an official statement regarding the speculative reports on the lieutenant governor position."  It is expected that the business executive and Rhodes Scholar, the winner of Donald Trump's Apprentice competition, will announce that he will not be a candidate for public office this year.  If Pinkett was Gov. Jon Corzine's pick, he would not be addressing the media on his own.

Democratic sources say that Pinkett was Corzine's first choice before key party leaders strongly opposed the idea.

An editorial in the state's largest newspaper this morning essentially beats the crap out of Gov. Jon Corzine for even considering a Reality TV star as the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor.  Since Corzine reportedly has Donald Trump's apprentice, Randal Pinkett, at the very top of his short list, this might make an interesting referendum as to the power of a Star-Ledger editorial under their relatively new editorial page editor, veteran columnist John Farmer, Sr.  If Corzine backs down and picks someone else, some political insiders might give Farmer credit for scaring the Governor off of his outside-the-box pick.  Of course, it's not just Farmer who opposes Pinkett; Corzine has heard the same thing from a number of leading New Jersey Democrats over the last few days.  Click here to read the Star-Ledger editorial.

Newark West Ward Councilman Ronald C. Rice campaigns for Barack Obama in 2007.

NEWARK - President Barack Obama lands on a stage today against the backdrop of a party frantically trying to figure out what to do about Gov. Jon Corzine's apparent number one choice for lieutenant governor, an African-American reality TV star with degrees from MIT, Oxford University and Rutgers University and CEO of a successful technology consulting firm in Newark who nonetheless has never held public office.

Corzine confidantes kept kicking other names around on Wednesday even as Pinkett's supporters argued in favor of his selection.

"The establishment is always wary of change and something new," said state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth). "The establishment lined up behind Hillary, not Obama, even the black establishment. They also backed Dick Leone over another Rhodes scholar who did well, Bill Bradley."

By contrast, when state Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D-Newark) peeked at Pinkett's resume - heavy on corporate cred and thin on grassroots  - he received an early negative vibe.

His son, Newark West Ward Councilman Ronald C. Rice, a Joshua generation leader who was one of Obama's first impassioned  supporters among New Jersey elected officials, celebrates Pinkett's decision to open his firm in Newark where he participates in a business incubator program with the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).

Hal Brown Photo

Randal Pinkett, who went to work for Donald Trump after winning Season 4 of The Apprentice, is receiving serious consideration to become the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, according to Democrats connected to Gov. Jon Corzine.   Corzine has been actively searching for an African American running mate.

Pinkett, a 38-year-old Rhodes Scholar who runs a Newark-based management, technology and policy consulting firm, joins State Senators Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) and Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) as the leading contenders to run with Corzine in November.  The Franklin Township resident is a graduate of Rutgers University and received a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He worked for General Electric, AT&T Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies before launching his own company and working for Trump's Atlantic City casino.

According to his website, Pinkett's firm "works with corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the areas of housing and community development, economic development, human services, nonprofit and community technology, healthcare and education."

Coastal Marina will purchase the Trump Marina Hotel Casino in Atlantic City for $316 million, and re-brand and refurbish the property under the “Margaritaville™” brand. The deal also ends unrelated litigation between the two companies.

“Together with Jimmy Buffett’s team at Margaritaville™, our plans are to create an exciting new property that we believe will tap its full potential and make it one of the most successful destination gaming resorts in Atlantic City,” said Coastal Marina Chairman Richard Fields. “In the weeks and months ahead, there will be additional announcements and more details about the transition of ownership and our new resort concept.”

A Trump official says the transaction will give them greater financial flexibility at Trump Taj Mahal, including a new 782-room hotel tower.

The Trump Marina Hotel Casino includes the lease for the Senator Frank S. Farley State Marina.

-- Has the BCRO sold out to Trump??

NA DEMS DEMAND LOCAL GOP REFUSE TRUMP CAMPAIGN CASH

Councilman Steve Tanelli, North Arlington’s strongest and most consistent opponent of the EnCap overdevelopment housing project, said the Bergen County Republican Party has “sold out” to developer Donald Trump and called on the NA GOP to announce they will not accept contributions from the county organization.

Tara Dowdell, the former McGreevey aide who sought a job as Donald Trump's Apprentice, is teaching a course at The Learning Annex on how to get free money from the government. "Tara has insider information on cutting through the bureaucracy and intimate knowledge of funding programs. She'll tell you about some of the over 15,000 government programs and all the methods you can use right now to get grants, loans and free direct payments to start a business, go to school, train for a new job or do just about anything you can imagine."