George Norcross

Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) greets Newark South Ward Councilman Oscar James II at President Barack Obama's rally this summer.

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts' retirement announcement means the north-south civil war just intensified, as veteran Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) looks to defend his chair at the head of the rostrum against Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford).
 
These two Democratic Party leaders come from different places, and not just geographically.
 
Ironworker Sweeney operates within the structure of the same South Jersey organization developed in part by Roberts and South Jersey Democratic Leader George Norcross III, which numbers 18 legislators strong. Roberts's departure at the end of the year places the burden on Sweeney - the next highest ranked South Jersey lawmaker - to wrest control of the upper house from the North Jersey-based Codey.
 
A insurance broker by trade with 35 years of legislative experience, Codey survives because of his ability to embody the solitary lawmaker who keeps his own counsel, who doesn't get bullied, and who relies on public appeal developed during his service as interim governor from 2004-2006 to counter the perception of statewide rule by machine politics.
 
If Sweeney's status as a dual office holder (he serves as freeholder director of Gloucester County in addition to senator) and machine product weaken his ability to stand convincingly on the Democratic Party's new era pedestal, Codey's image suffers as the former holder of multiple public sector insurance contracts, which made him a bundle of money during the course of his career in public service.

Members of the South Jersey Democratic Organization this afternoon officially closed ranks around Donald Norcross as their candidate to fill the 5th District Assembly seat being vacated by Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden).

An assistant business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 351 and president of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, which represents an estimated 85,000 workers, Norcross is the younger brother of South Jersey Democratic Party leader George Norcross III and a resident of Camden.

“I have known and worked with Donald Norcross for many years, and I can’t imagine a more capable, caring and determined person to represent the hard-working people in this district,” said Roberts. “I am gratified to know that with Donald’s election in November, our citizens will have a voice in Trenton with sound judgment, a solid record of achievement and a bold vision for the future.”

George Norcross, the leader of the South Jersey Democratic Organization, whose brother Donald has the organization's backing to run for the 5th District Assembly seat that Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden) will vacate at the end of this year, called Roberts's retirement a "sad day" for New Jersey.   

"He's the finest legislator in my lifetime to serve in the South New Jersey delegation," said the political boss who along with Roberts, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) and others built the party machine.

"Speaker Roberts's governmental legacy has to do with laws he's proposed and enacted augmenting services for those unable to provide them for themselves," Norcross said of his longtime friend. "On the political side, he led a South Jersey delegation from two assemblymen and a senator in the 5th District to 18 members strong. Most of those districts were occupied by Republicans and were Republican-leaning districts. Joe helped devise the blueprint for how Democrats capture suburban districts and helped elect Adler, Madden, Sweeney, and Van Drew."

Norcross's brother will have the party backing for Roberts's seat, and will attempt to occupy a place most Democrats say the 22-year veteran Roberts served with distinction.

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) thinks that Republicans will be looking for a new gubernatorial candidate before the ballots go to print in early October.  In a NJ Voices Op-Ed, Lesniak opines that First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Brown may have attended political meetings with the GOP candidate while Christopher Christie was still U.S. Attorney, suggests that a Justice Department probe of Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra will conclude that "Christie mixed politics and law enforcement," and that Brown gave Christie "a heads up" on the July political arrests.

Just a month ago, there was considerable speculation that Gov. Jon Corzine would be the one to drop out - WNBC-TV's Brian Thompson reported that South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross was urging the governor to end his re-election bid, and sources say that at least one other powerful Democratic leader had given Corzine until the end of the summer to repair his electoral woes.  Corzine made it clear he had no intention of dropping out, and Republicans close to Christie say he's not going anywhere either.

Mark Warren, a New Jersey Democratic political consultant, is the new Director of Candidate Services at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Warren has worked for numerous New Jersey candidates and has close ties to South Jersey Democrats.  In 2002, he was the campaign manager for Joseph DiVincenzo in a hotly contested Democratic primary for Essex County Executive.  According to an e-mail from Warren, his department "provides support and guidance for the campaign programs of Democratic Congressional candidates, Red to Blue candidates, and Frontline Members" and works closely with campaigns "to ensure their finance teams are adequately staffed and fundraising goals are met."

"He's one of the best. Meticulous to detail.  Smart, loyal, and knows the drill," Democratic strategist Steve Ayscue told PolitickerNJ.com.  "I've always been a huge fan of his."

Is Jon Corzine thinking about listening to George Norcross and dropping his bid for re-election to a second term?  Former Morris County Prosecutor and gubernatorial candidate Michael Murphy says he spoke to the governor today and asked him that question.  Corzine's response: "No fucking way."

Nearly 200 members of Jim Florio's campaign staff and administration gathered at Drumthwacket tonight to reminisce and celebrate the 20th anniversary of Florio's election as Governor of New Jersey.  Attendees included: Florio's first Chief of Staff, Joseph Salema; his State Treasurer, Douglas Berman; Daniel Dalton, who was the Senate Majority Leader and then Florio's Secretary of State; and South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross.

At this point twenty years ago, Florio had a 49%-32% lead over Republican Jim Courter, a six-term Congressman from Warren County, according to an Eagleton-Rutgers poll taken in June.  He went on to beat Courter by 541,384 votes.

One bit of trivia regarding Assemblyman Ernest Schuck, the former Camden County legislator who passed away over the weekend:  one of his legislative aides during his final term in the State Assembly was a young political operative with some promise - George Norcross.  Schuck's defeat in the 1981 Democratic State Senate primary against fellow Assemblyman Walter Rand was perhaps the last time Norcross backed the losing candidate in a legislative primary.

Jersey City is expected to consider a change to their form of government that would move from May non-partisan elections to partisan elections, with a June primary and a November general, according to sources close to the Hudson County Democratic leadership.  Democrats were slightly alarmed earlier this year when former Mayor Bret Schundler, a conservative Republican, was emerging as the strongest potential challenger to Mayor Jerramiah Healy, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman.  A partisan election would make only the Democratic primary relevant.

Sources say that the idea to switch from non-partisan to partisan was initially offered to Healy by George Norcross, the South Jersey Democratic leader.  Camden and Gloucester Township have also moved from non-partisan to partisan local elections.  Democrats feel their Gloucester Township mayoral candidate, former Assemblyman David Mayer, has a better chance to oust Republican incumbent Cindy Rau-Hatton in November than he would have in May.

ELEC Photo

Former Assembly Majority Leader Albert Burstein

Two Democratic members of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, who may play a critical role in deciding the fate of Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan, are Trenton veterans who have spent six decades in New Jersey politics.  Both Albert Burstein and Jerry Fitzgerald English have enjoyed successful political careers, although each fell quite short of achieving their full public service ambitions.

Burstein (D-Tenafly), now 86-years-old, was widely viewed as one of the most intellectually superior and independent members of the New Jersey Legislature, where he served from 1972 to 1982, but he was also a late bloomer who fell short in several opportunities to move up.  Burstein started out in politics in 1959 as counsel to the Jersey City Charter Commission and became active in Tenafly politics in the 1960's.  He was elected to the State Assembly in 1971, when legislative redistricting created a new Englewood/Teaneck seat that leaned toward the Democrats.  Running with Byron Baer, Burstein beat Jim O'Dowd (who would later serve as Bergenfield Mayor and Bergen County Freeholder) by 2,335 votes.

When legislative districts were redrawn for the 1973 elections, the newly-created 37th became even more Democratic.  But neither Burstein nor Baer got the chance to challenge the incumbent Republican Senator, Joseph Woodcock.  That opportunity went to Bergen County Democratic Chairman Matthew Feldman, a former Teaneck Mayor who had served in the Senate from 1966 to 1968.  Feldman easily beat Woodcock and Burstein and Baer coasted to win second terms.