Grace Spencer

Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer (D-Newark) this evening in the South Ward.

NEWARK - The late push has begun in Newark's five wards. Anything slow early was explained away with the emphatic point that after work numbers will swell the outcome.

In the East Ward, after playing basketball with children outside a polling place, Mayor Cory Booker climbs into a car and squeals away - bound for East Side High School.

On Adams Street, in party headquarters, the core of the East Ward Democratic Party brain trust sits in their usual Election Day chairs around a table in a back room: veteran political operative Joe Parlavecchio, Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Newark), and East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador, among others.

"We are projected to do a little better than the 2005 gubernatorial election," says Coutinho.

In the troubled Central Ward, which lost its party chairman this past summer, Councilman Charles Bell says their numbers are not tracking as well as the 2005 election.

West Ward Councilman Ronald C. Rice

NEWARK - The crowd spilled out onto the pavement following the rally with President Barack Obama and just in case there was any doubt about why he was in town, a TV truck broadcasting flatscreen images of Gov. Jon Corzine in action started circling the arena blasting out the message, "Corzine, Corzine, Corzine."

The crowd, of course, was still talking about Obama.

"Awesome," said Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer (D-Newark), who was positioned on the floor in front of the stage where the president spoke at the Prudential Center said in response to a PolitickerNJ.com question. "There is a humility to him - unmistakable. It's easy to see that he worked his way up the hard way."

"I'm writing a book called 'Obama Chicks,'" said Pam Jasper, a certified pilot, wearing a hat with "Obama Chicks" printed on it in pink letters.

But with less than 40 hours to go before Election Day, the president is delivering more than inspirational presence to Newark. 

Essex County Corzine Campaign Coordinator Leroy Jones, left, and Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Newark) Thursday in the East Ward.

NEWARK - After months of mostly unobservable underground movements and five days in front of President Barack Obama's appearance at the Rock, there is evidence of effort on behalf of Gov. Jon Corzine in a city the governor needs to win amply in order to land another four years in office.
 
Of course, Democrats are leaning heavily on Corzine-Obama linkage.

In 2005, Corzine defeated Republican challenger Doug Forrester in Newark, 39,573 to 3,336, while carrying Essex County overall, 131,312 to 45,789 on his way to statewide victory.
 
By comparison, Obama punished Republican Sen. John McCain in Newark by a vote of 77,112 to 5,957 last year, as he carried Essex County, 240,127 to 73,975, recording a larger number of votes here than in any other county on his way to winning New Jersey by a 15% margin. 

"Certainly for Obama, people had a clear and distinguishable reason for coming out," says Essex County Democratic Party chairman Phil Thigpen. "Now, it's not as visible when you talk about quality of education or property taxes and you're a renter, for example. So we've got to jazz it up."

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.

RUIZ/COUTINHO/SPENCER: CHRISTIE'S REFUSAL OF $2 BILLION IN EDUCATION FUNDS WOULD SHATTER STATE’S EDUCATON SYSTEM, WORKFORCE & ECONOMY

(NEWARK) – Senator Teresa Ruiz, Assemblyman Albert Coutinho and Assemblywoman Grace Spencer today decried Bush Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie for his rejection of billions of dollars from President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to assist the State in its recovery from the current global economic crisis.

CAPUTO/TUCKER/COUTINHO/SPENCER SLAM CHRISTIE’S
REJECTION OF FEDERAL FUNDS TO HELP
OUT-OF-WORK NEW JERSEYANS

(BLOOMFIELD) – Assembly members Ralph Caputo (D-Belleville), Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex), Albert Coutinho (D-Essex) and Grace Spencer (D-Essex) today joined local elected officials and unemployed North Jersey residents to take Bush Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie to task for aligning with prominent Bush Republican governors to reject billions of dollars in federal funding from President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

WISNIEWSKI / SCHAER / SPENCER BILL SETTING 20-YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR FORECLOSURES NOW LAW

(TRENTON) – Legislation Assembly members John Wisniewski, Gary Schaer and L. Grace Spencer sponsored to codify a timeframe under which a lender can file a foreclosure action against a borrower who in is default is now law.

The law (A-3269) gives a mortgage lender 20 years from the date of a borrower’s default to bring a specific foreclosure action. It ensures that decades-old defaults – which under previous law could still be acted against – do not remain as clouds on a property’s title, which can grind a sale to a halt.

“Given the current volatility in the housing market, there is no room for ambiguity,” said Wisniewski (D-Middlesex). “A distinct path to a clear title can be the difference between allowing a property to be sold or requiring it to languish in legal purgatory.”

*** REMINDER ***

ASSEMBLYWOMAN SPENCER TO LEAD CROSS-STATE BIKE RIDE TO PROMOTE CYCLING SAFETY LEGISLATION

More than 100 Riders Expected to Participate In Aug. 9 120-Mile Round Trip Tour from Newark to Lambertville

(NEWARK) – Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer will lead more than 100 bicycle riders through a cross-state tour on Sunday to highlight the need for a state law that would provide cyclists with heightened safety on New Jersey’s roadways.

The tour is slated to leave Newark’s Penn Station at 7 a.m. and pass through Elizabeth, New Brunswick and Princeton before ending in Lambertville.

“’Share the road’ has been the mantra among bikers and motorists for years, but recently that tradition has begun to break down,” said Spencer (D-Essex), an avid cycler and member of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of New Jersey, which is sponsoring the ride. “Increasingly, road rage and impatience have put more and more bikers in dangerous positions. Cyclists, whether on a pleasure ride or their daily commute, deserve some guarantee to their small part of the road.”

SPENCER TO LEAD CROSS-STATE BIKE RIDE TO PROMOTE CYCLING SAFETY LEGISLATION

More than 100 Riders Expected to Participate In Aug. 9 120-Mile Round Trip Tour from Newark to Lambertville

(NEWARK) – Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer will lead more than 100 bicycle riders through a cross-state tour on Sunday to highlight the need for a state law that would provide cyclists with heightened safety on New Jersey’s roadways.

“’Share the road’ has been the mantra among bikers and motorists for years, but recently that tradition has begun to break down,” said Spencer (D-Essex), an avid cycler and member of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of New Jersey, which is sponsoring the ride. “Increasingly, road rage and impatience have put more and more bikers in dangerous positions. Cyclists, whether on a pleasure ride or their daily commute, deserve some guarantee to their small part of the road.”

WISNIEWSKI / SCHAER / SPENCER BILL SETTING 20-YEAR STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR FORECLOSURES CLOSER TO BECOMING LAW

(TRENTON) – Legislation Assembly members John Wisniewski, Gary Schaer and L. Grace Spencer sponsored to codify a timeframe under which a lender can file a foreclosure action against a borrower who in is default is closer to becoming law.

The bill (A-3269) would give a mortgage lender 20 years from the date of a borrower’s default to bring a specific foreclosure action. It would ensure that decades-old defaults – which under previous law could still be acted against – do not remain as clouds on a property’s title, which can grind a sale to a halt.

“Given the current volatility in the housing market, there is no room for ambiguity,” said Wisniewski (D-Middlesex). “A distinct path to a clear title can be the difference between allowing a property to be sold or requiring it to languish in legal purgatory.”