The law firm whose contract with the Delaware River and Bay Authority Gov. Christopher Christie vetoed on Friday is run by the brother of political power broker George Norcross.

In a press release today, the Christie administration did not name the firm but said that it vetoed the minutes of the DRBA’s Feb. 16 meeting in which it authorized the contract because it “fails to specify any material terms of the contract – including the hourly rate of legal services, the term, or maximum annual compensation under the contract.”

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said that the firm was Parker McCay in response to an inquiry from PolitickerNJ.com.

Parker McCay is run by Philip Norcross, a prolific Democratic campaign donor who is the brother of both George Norcross and state Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Camden).  The firm lists him on its web site as its managing shareholder and chief executive officer

Drewniak cautioned that Christie’s decision to veto the contract had nothing to do with the firm’s leadership.  .

“It doesn’t matter whatsoever what law firm it is or who is associated with it,” he said.  “That’s not the point of our inquiry.  The problem is that the DRBA approved an open-ended contract with no indication at all in its resolution or meeting minutes or what the cost of that contract would be.”

Just days after Republican Scott Brown notched an improbable victory in Massachusetts by declaring that the U.S. Senate seat he sought did not belong to the late Teddy Kennedy, newly sworn-in Assemblyman Gilbert "Whip" Wilson (D-Camden) used similar language in defending Donald Norcross's move up to claim the 5th District seat vacated by Camden Mayor Dana Redd. 

"I don't think anybody can claim any seat," said Wilson, when asked about the South Jersey Democratic Organization's decision to back labor leader Donald Norcross, brother of Democratic Party power broker George Norcross III, as the replacement for Redd, in a district dominated by the City of Camden, where over half the residents are black.

"If you give the 5th District senate seat to an African American, you're eliminating Latinos and everyone else," Wilson said. "I think what you're getting here now with this team is balance, as you have a Latino (Assemblyman Angel Fuentes (D-Camden), an African American (Wilson), and a European American (Norcross). The bottom line is that senate seat should go to a person who wants the job."  

Sworn into office today, Wilson, who retired as a lieutenant in 1995 from the Camden Police Department after 26 years, described the last couple of months as a whirlwind.

Republicans are ecstatic that, for the first time in recent memory, their senate leadership PAC finished the year with more cash on hand than their Democratic counterparts. 

But the reason for that has more to do with internal Democratic drama than with a Republican fundraising resurgence. 

As a lame duck senate president, Richard Codey (D-Roseland) took $185,000 from the Senate Democratic Majority PAC and distributed it to his own election fund and the funds of a few key allies.

In November, Codey gave $75,000 to his own campaign, $50,000 to state Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Woodbridge), $30,000 to state Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Newark) and $30,000 to state Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence).    All three remained supporters of Codey for senate president, even after it was clear that state Sen. Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) had the votes lined up to topple him.  All three of them also lost their committee chairmanships to senators who supported Sweeney. 

Codey said he decided to distribute the money to those senators because they were listed as possible redistricting targets in an Inside Edge item on PolitickerNJ.com.  

“They were just the ones who were threatened in what we call the Norcross Gazette – Wally Edge,” said Codey.  

Codey, a mortal enemy of South Jersey power broker George Norcross – who worked for years to remove him from the senate leadership post – said the column’s speculation was a clear signal that Norcross and his South Jersey Democratic had those senators in the crosshairs (An October 7 Inside Edge listed state Sen. John Girgenti (D-Hawthorne) – a Codey ally – as a possible target, but he was not a recipient of the funds). 

Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer prepares to leave office with no successor ready to effortlessly inherit the 20-year boots he leaves behind. In such a vacuum, as many as 11 candidates clamor for the right to succeed him, as his coming absence also creates the opportunity beyond the street level contest, for new power brokers to play in a city Palmer ran for five successive terms.

Ultimately, who becomes mayor of New Jersey's capital will impact not only local politics, but conceivably create a power projection platform for the 2011 election in the 15th Legislative District, where state Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrenceville) and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton) have run afoul of George Norcross III and state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) and set up the prospect of a power-boss infused new mayor to run against the pair of longtime Mercer County Democratic Party standard bearers.

Essentially toothless between the power squeeze of North and South Jersey - and with neighboring Middlesex absorbing the consolation prizes of state party chair and senate majority leader for Central Jersey - the political no man's land demarcations of Mercer County stand even more starkly now in Trenton. As Palmer leaves, who will succeed him as mayor also begs the question: who will be the power behind the mayor?

Sources say the power brokers have poked around Palmer to determine if he would be interested in running against Turner.

Contacted today on that question, the mayor wouldn't deny it's true, and ducked the point blank query about whether he would do it with a hasty, "Right now, I'm just concentrating on these last few months in office." 

Neither will the mayor publicly back anyone for mayor, although sources say he's eyeballing - at least - the candidacies of Council President Paul Pintella and Department of Public Works Director Eric Jackson.

Born in Perth Amboy and raised in Sayreville in the state's blue collar, old factory fountainhead, Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) stands poised to succeed Joe Cryan as state chairman of the Democratic Party, having secured the support of all 21 county chairmen heading into a Jan. 27th state party committee convention at the Forsgate in Jamesburg. 

He arrives at the party's top dog spot in a different environment than did Cryan four years ago.

Riding Bush agony through the first part of the 21st Century, New Jersey Democrats felt the surge of successive victories leading all the way up through the 2008 presidential campaign, but as Wisniewski released a statement yesterday indicating his lock-up of key party support, Democrats simultaneously were either reeling or about to be dealt a double reel in the form of concussive losses: one here in New Jersey with the defeat last November of Gov. Jon Corzine.

The other hit came just last night in Massachusetts, - an hour or so after Wisniewski's press release - as Republican state Sen. Scott Brown wrested from Democrat Martha Coakley what many observers - until the Coakley campaign bore signs of unraveling last week - believed was a safe seat occupied for five decades by the late Edward Kennedy.

"I cant speak to the specifics of what happened in Massachusetts last night, as I wasn't on the ground," the 47-year old Wisniewski told PolitickerNJ.com. "But clearly, the winner was able to capitalize on the feeling of uncertainty and apprehension in the country as people do not exactly have an optimistic view of the future. People have concerns with unemployment at ten percent and so this was a unique opportunity for the Republican. I would exercise restraint before drawing large scale patterns from one or two elections. Corzine and Coakley obviously had similarities as candidates, I think, more than this spelling large-scale problems for Democrats."

Donald Norcross (D-Camden) was sworn in as the new State Senator from the 5th district today, one week after taking his seat as an Assemblyman.  Norcross won a special election convention to replace Dana Redd, who left the Senate earlier this month to become the new Mayor of Camden.

Norcross, the brother of South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross, is the South Jersey AFL-CIO president and the Camden County Democratic Co-Chairman.  His Assembly seat will be filled by Gilbert “Whip” Wilson, a Camden City Councilman who was elected on Saturday.

In moving up to the Senate, Norcross promised to cooperate with the new Republican governor, Christopher Christie, who also took office today. 

“Our citizens are practically begging us to put aside the petty political infighting and work in a bi-partisan fashion to ease the burdens they face in their everyday lives,” Norcross said.   “I will support him in making the tough decisions that must be made. At the same time, I will stand up to him if he strays from our shared principles of reducing government spending, creating jobs for our citizens, and providing quality schools, hospitals and other services for those who need them.”

Cooper University Hospital will send a medical team to Haiti in a mission funded by South Jersey political leader George Norcross’ charitable foundation.  The mission will be headed by Anthony Mazzarelli, M.D., the Director of Emergency Medicine at Cooper.

“We are proud to be able to respond to this devastation by providing transportation for the medical team to Haiti so that they can address the critical needs of the hundreds of thousands now reported to be injured,” said Norcross, III, who is the Cooper chairman.

Two Cooper nurses have already been deployed as part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) operation.  The rest of the medical team will go to Haiti within the next few days.

“Cooper’s credo since it opened its doors has always been to serve those in need,” said hospital president John P. Sheridan, Jr. “This medical mission is in perfect alignment with the philosophy that has guided Cooper for more than a century.”

Riverside Democratic Chairman Gary Haman today released a list of 32 elected and party officials who have endorsed him to chair the county’s Democratic Party. 

Haman decided to run in place of Lumberton Democratic chairman Chris Fifis, who dropped out of the race.  Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D-Delanco) is also running in what is becoming a messy internal party struggle, and he claims a significant amount of support.

“I am deeply honored and humbled by this overwhelming support,” said Haman in a written statement.  “I sincerely appreciated Chris Fifis’ kind words last week and after sleeping on the decision I have decided to actively pursue the role of party chairman.  This is a crucial year for Burlington County residents and they deserve a Democratic Party committed to completing the change that Chris Brown and Mary Anne Reinhart were elected to effectuate.”

Below is the full list of endorsements:

Assemblyman-elect Donald Norcross (D-Camden) is set to go to the State Senate in January, when Dana Redd resigns her Senate seat to become the new Mayor of Camden.  Norcross' ascension to the Senate comes as no great surprise; he has been widely expected to get the seat.  Camden City Councilman Gilbert "Whip" Wilson is likely to get Norcross' Assembly seat.

Redd must leave the Senate before she takes her oath of office on January 1.  The Democratic County Committee in the fifth legislative district must hold a special election convention between January 8 and February 11 to fill her seat.  If he's picked before January 12, he'll go directly to the Senate without ever serving in the lower house.  Wilson won't take his Assembly seat until after the Assembly reorganizes for the next session; state law requires special election conventions to be held no less than seven and no more than 35 days after the vacancy occurs.  And the seat cannot become vacant until the start of the new session.

Norcross became an Assembly candidate in September after Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) decided not to seek re-election to a thirteenth term.  He is the South Jersey AFL-CIO President, the Camden County Democratic Co-Chairman, and the brother of Democratic powerbroker George Norcross.  He has already set fundraising records for a first-term legislative candidate.

The decision of Assemblyman Herbert Conaway (D-Delanco) to run for Burlington County Democratic Chairman could complicate a 2010 special election for State Senator if Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) were to leave the Legislature.  Allen is battling an aggressive form of cancer and recently had surgery.  She has a tough road ahead.  If Allen were to resign, the Republican County Committee from the seventh district towns in Burlington and Camden counties would hold a special election convention to name a new Senator.  There has been speculation that Rev. Aubrey Fenton, a minister and former Burlington County Freeholder, could take the seat.  That would set up a November 2010 special election to fill the remaining fourteen months of Allen's term - an early referendum on Republican Christopher Christie's first months as Governor in a Democratic-leaning district Allen has won five times.  It would also be an early test for the new Senate President, Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford), who topped Richard Codey largely because of the size of the South Jersey Democratic delegation.  A special election could be enormously expensive Sweeney and Democratic leader George Norcross battle the new Republican governor for a valuable Senate seat.The high profile State Senate race would also come as U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) campaigns for a second term; there is substantial overlap between the third congressional district and the seventh legislative district.  Three names have been prominently mentioned on the Democratic side: Conaway, Assemblyman Jack Conners (D-Pennsauken), and Troy Singleton, a former Deputy Executive Director of the Assembly and now the Director of Policy and Planning for the New Jersey Regional Council of Carpenters.  Singleton, who took a leave of absence this year to run Loretta Weinberg's campaign for Lt. Governor, is a favorite of Camden County Democratic leaders who are not huge fans of Conaway.