DOUGLAS PALMER

Two Republican mayors joined former President Bill Clinton at a fundraiser for Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer's new non-profit organization, Trenton First - an event that turned out to be a virtual love fest for Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign.  John Bencivengo of Hamilton and David Fried of Robbinsville, both supporters of Republican Christopher Christie, attended the $150-per-person fundraiser in support of Palmer.  Fried came within four votes of ousting Mercer County GOP Chairman Roy Wesley in 2008, and has been a frequent critic of Wesley's leadership this year.

Possible Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor: Passaic County Freeholder Tahesha Way and Reality TV star Randal Pinkett

As some establishment Democrats voice resistance to Reality TV star Randal Pinkett as their candidate for Lt. Governor, there is some speculation that Gov. Jon Corzine's search for an African American running mate includes Passaic County Freeholder Tahesha Way, the wife of former Giants fullback Charles Way.

Corzine appears to be having a hard time finding an LG candidate who will satisfy the multitude of factions within the New Jersey Democratic Party.  Two State Senators under consideration, Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) and Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), have substantial intra-party opposition.  Corzine, sources say, has been actively shopping for a Black LG candidate.  He was reportedly turned down - several times - by his first choice, Newark Mayor Cory Booker.  Other potential candidates, including Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) and Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, were apparently non-starters.   Trial balloons for Montclair State University President Susan Cole and New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Joan Verplanck did not go well.  Corzine emissaries even approached former State Sen. Joseph Charles (D-Jersey City), who said he was not interested and hoped to remain as a Superior Court Judge.

While it appeared yesterday that the Pinkett nomination is nearly done, it now looks as though Corzine is having second thoughts.  Since the Governor will not announce his pick before President Barack Obama campaigns for him in Holmdel tomorrow, it is looking more likely that Corzine will take at least another week to choose a running mate.

As Gov. Jon Corzine continues his search for a Democratic Lt. Governor candidate, it seems that he is ruling out more potential running mates than he considers.  Part of the problem is that every legitimate contender comes with a group of Democrats opposed to his or her candidacy.  That appears especially true for State Senators Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) and Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who for a time looked like the front runners.  Corzine also faces considerable pressure to pick an African American for the post, although Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Newark Mayor Cory Booker, State Senators Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence), Nia Gill (D-Montclair), Ronald Rice (D-Newark) and Sandra Cunningham (D-Jersey City), Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells, Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer, Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), and Assemblyman Herbert Conaway (D-Delanco) are, for a variety of reasons, not under serious consideration.

Corzine might be missing one LG candidate with enormous gravitas and few political enemies: U.S. District Court Judge Anne Thompson, who was the first woman and the first African American to serve as a federal judge in New Jersey.  She became the first Black to serve as a county prosecutor when Gov. Brendan Byrne appointed her in 1975 (after a stint as a public defender and as the Trenton Municipal Court Judge), and has spent the last thirty years as a federal judge.   Thompson is 75, slightly older than Weinberg and a decade younger than U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.  Attorney General Anne Milgram was Thompson's law clerk.

With the Primary Election now past us and the General Election still seemingly far in the future for most folks, the hot topic in New Jersey politics centers around who will be chosen to represent the major parties in the newly-created Lieutenant Governor post. 

The gubernatorial candidates have 30 days from the Primary Election to name their choice for running mate.  This letter is an open argument as to why a leader from Mercer County ought to be at the top of the list for consideration, at least on the Democratic side of the aisle.

As with most state-wide offices, the selection of a lieutenant governor nominee will play out not only based on the accomplishments of the persons being considered, but also on the geo-political balance of the state.

New Jersey has been traditionally divided politically between the north and the south.  Recently, Mercer has become the key stone between the two, bridging the arc of oft-competing interests to play an important role, especially in Democratic politics.  In the hotly contested US Senate Primary last year, it was Mercer that delivered the third highest percentage of support in the stat e for Senator Frank Lautenberg, the ultimate winner of that contest.

New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Joan Verplanck is reportedly under consideration to become Jon Corzine's running mate

Democratic sources say that Gov. Jon Corzine is seriously considering Joan Verplanck, the President of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce for the last fourteen years and a Republicna, for Lt. Governor.  Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) is also reportedly in contention to become Corzine's running mate.

Verplanck and the business advocacy group she heads have become closely allied with Corzine over the last few years.  She angered Republicans by endorsing Corzine's plan to raise tolls, causing some GOP legislators to call on local businesses to leave the group. Earlier this year, GOP gubernatorial candidates skipped the organization's annual train trip to Washington, D.C., criticizing the traditional event that offered access to the state's political leaders.  Verplanck called the GOP protest "stupid."

Lawrence Mayor Pam Mount is a potential Assembly candidate in the 15th district, if Bonni Watson Coleman runs for Lt. Governor this year.

If Jon Corzine picks Bonnie Watson Coleman to run for Lt. Governor in June, Democrats in the Mercer County-based fifteenth district would need to hold a special primary convention to pick a new candidate for State Assembly.  Watson Coleman could keep her Assembly seat, but she would not be permitted to seek both offices in November 2009.

Democrats will feel some pressure to replace Watson Coleman with another African American candidate, but in a district that has not had a legislative vacancy since 1997, it might be hard for state Democratic leaders to dictate anything.

Possible candidates include: Trenton City Council President Paul Pintella; Trenton Councilwoman Cordelia Staton; Lawrence Mayor Pam Mount; Mercer County Freeholder Lucy Walter (D-Ewing); and Kelly Ganges, the former Executive Director of the Assembly Democratic Office and now the Chief of Staff to Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes.

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Five-term Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer could face a challenge in 2010 from Keith Hamilton, a longtime Mercer County Freeholder

Mercer County Freeholder Keith Hamilton met with members of his political team yesterday to tell them that he will soon form an exploratory committee to run for Mayor of Trenton in May 2010.  The incumbent, Douglas Palmer, has not yet announced his plans.

The 53-year-old Hamilton, who moved to Trenton from Hamilton Township earlier this year, was first elected Freeholder in 1995 after three years on the Hamilton school board.  He has sought to become the Democratic candidate for State Senator and Assemblyman in the 14th district, always without success.

Palmer has been mayor since 1990, when he defeated interim Mayor Carmen Armenti for the post.  He was re-elected in 2006 by a 53%-22% margin over Freeholder Tony Mack.  This year, he helped Democrats dump Mack from the Freeholder Board.

If Gov. Jon Corzine picks Bonnie Watson Coleman to run for Lt. Governor in 2009, it would spawn two new campaigns: one to replace her on the Democratic ticket for State Assembly in the fifteenth legislative district, and one to pick a new Assembly Majority Leader.   While Watson Coleman lives in Ewing, her seat is widely viewed as the Trenton seat; her brother, Bill Watson, is a top political insider there, and her late father, John Watson, served many years as a City Councilman and Assemblyman.

Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer may be so excited about Nancy Pelosi’s visit to our state capital on Friday that he may be a little off on his history. “I don’t know if a speaker of the House has ever come to Trenton before but this is a major honor for our city,” Palmer told the Trentonian. Palmer has forgotten William Pennington, a New Jerseyan who served as Speaker of the House during the Buchanan administration and almost certainly visited Trenton.

Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean has picked three New Jerseyans to serve on key committees for the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver: M.