James E. McGreevey

In the three close New Jersey gubernatorial elections over the past three decades - 1981, 1993, and 1997, the Jewish vote has been a key factor. In the 2009 election, ironically due to the outcome of the Israeli election, the Jewish vote could be a decisive factor - in favor of Chris Christie, as far fetched as this may sound.

It appears likely that Likud leader Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu will serve as the next Prime Minister of Israel. A clash between him and President Obama over numerous issues, including Iran, Syria, borders, and the status of the Palestinians, is inevitable, regardless of recent protestations to the contrary on the part of key associates of both men. This would doubtless lead to a backlash against Obama in America's Orthodox Jewish community, ultimately negatively impacting Jon Corzine's vote totals from this segment of the Jewish electorate.

I emphasize the Orthodox Jews, because Israel is much more a factor in the voting decisions of Orthodox voters than among other elements of the Jewish community. This is not to disparage the strong support that Israel has among all sectors of American Jewry. By and large, however, studies have shown that the key determinants of the decisions of the non-Orthodox voters in all elections, federal and state, have been the various tenets of the liberal agenda, including social welfare spending, social justice for minorities, and, ironically enough, abortion - ironic, given the fact that Jewish law is far more pro-life than pro-choice : mandating abortion if necessary to save the life of the mother while viewing it as a serious breach of Jewish law in virtually every other case.

Gov. Jon Corzine's new Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Marilyn Davis and Mark Matzen.

Administration officials confirm that Marilyn Davis and Mark Matzen will join the front office as Deputy Chiefs of Staff, replacing Patti McGuire, who has taken a position with a lobbying firm. 

The Governor's office will split some of McGuire's duties between Davis and Matzen as part of a small reorganization.

Matzen will return to state government after nearly three years at MWW, where he served as senior vice president.  He served as Deputy Chief of Staff under Governors Richard Codey and James E. McGreevey, as Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, and as New Hampshire Political Director for John Kerrey's presidential campaign in 1992.

Independent candidates for Governor, left to right: Christopher Daggett (2009), Murray Sabrin (1997), Bill Schluter (2001), and Secaucus pig farmer Henry Krajewski (1953, 1957, 1961)

Dr. Christopher Daggett, the former Kean cabinet member who said today that he will run for Governor as an independent, will need to raise $340,000 in contributions of $3,400 or less in order to qualify for public financing and participate in the debate.  In New Jersey, independent statewide candidates traditionally do not fare well.

The only independent candidate to qualify for matching funds was Murray Sabrin, a Ramapo College Professor who ran as the Libertarian candidate for Governor in 1997.  Sabrin won 5% of the vote in his race against incumbent Christine Todd Whitman and her Democratic challenger, then-State Sen. James E. McGreevey.  A conservative, Richard Pezzullo, won 1% in the same race.

In 2001, Bill Schluter, an incumbent Republican State Senator from Mercer County, mounted an independent bid for Governor.  He used the same campaign team that had elected Jesse Ventura in Minnesota three years earlier, but won just 1% of the vote against McGreevey and Republican Bret Schunder, the former Mayor of Jersey City. 

Robert Meyner, campaigning for Governor in 1953, made seven original appointments to the New Jersey Supreme Court during his eight years in office.

Death and retirements gave Democratic Governor Robert Meyner the opportunity to make eight New Jersey Supreme Court appointments during his eight years as Governor - the most for any Governor under the current State Constitution, including Alfred Driscoll, who made seven appointments in December 1947.

But during the eight years that Meyner's successor, Democrat Richard Hughes, was Governor, he made no Supreme Court appointments.  But Hughes would himself serve as Chief Justice for nearly six years after leaving office.

Not including sitting Judges being renominated, Republicans William Cahill and Christine Todd Whitman nominated five Justices; Brendan Byrne picked four; James E. McGreevey and Jon Corzine named three; and Thomas Kean selected just two new Justices during his eight years as Governor.  James Florio made no Supreme Court appointments during his four years as Governor.

Left to right: Charles Sandman, Ralph DeRose, Anthony Imperiale, Raymond Bateman and Frank "Pat" Dodd.

If you are a New Jersey State Senator, you are more likely to die in office than to win higher elective office. Under the current State Constitution, 49 sitting State Senators have asked voters to promote them to a new office, but only twelve have won.

Nearly half of the State Senators seeking higher office have run for Governor and all 21 have lost: Malcolm Forbes (1957), Wayne Dumont (1965), Raymond Bateman (1977) and James E. McGreevey (1997) won major party nominations but list the general election -- each time to an incumbent; William Schluter ran as an Independent in 2001; and Walter Jones (1961), Charles Sandman (1965), William Kelly (1969), Frank McDermott (1969), William Ozzard (1969), Harry Sears (1969), Ralph DeRose (1973), Raymond Garramone (1977), Frank Dodd (1981), William Hamilton (1981), Joseph Merlino (1981), James Wallwork (1981), Bill Gormley (1989) and Gerald Cardinale (1989).

Lafayette College Special Collections & College Archives Photo

Robert Meyner was elected Governor in 1953, two years after he lost his State Senate seat to Wayne Dumont.

Of the seven Democrats and Republicans running for Governor, only two have never lost an election: Democrat Jon Corzine won a race for U.S. Senate in 2000 and was elected Governor in 2005; and Republican Brian Levine was elected to the Franklin Township Council in 1997 and 2001, and Mayor in 2003 and 2007.

On the Republican side, Christopher Christie was elected to the Morris County Board of Freeholders in 1994, and lost GOP primaries for State Assembly in 1995 and for Freeholder in 1997.  Steven Lonegan was elected Mayor of Bogota in 1995, 1999 and 2003, but lost races for State Senator (in 1997 to incumbent Byron Baer) Congress (in 1998 to incumbent Steve Rothman), Bergen County Executive (2002 convention) and Governor (2005 primary).  Rick Merkt lost a 1995 primary for State Assembly (he was Christie's running mate) before winning the first of six terms in 1997.  Jim Murray lost a 2006 primary for Morris County Freeholder and then won in 2007.

Corzine's Democratic primary opponent, Carl Bergmanson, was elected three times to the Glen Ridge Council before losing a 1999 bid for Mayor.  He was elected Mayor four years later.

Of New Jersey's ten elected Governors under the current State Constitution, six had lost previous elections: James E. McGreevey ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 1997; Christine Todd Whitman lost a 1990 bid for U.S. Senate; Jim Florio lost a race for Congress in 1972, a gubernatorial primary in 1977, and a race for Governor in 1981; Thomas Kean, Sr. lost Republican primaries for Congress (1974) and Governor (1977); Richard Hughes lost a race for Congress in 1938; and Robert Meyner was defeated in a re-election bid for State Senator two years before he was elected Governor in 1953. 

John Azzarello is widely viewed as an extraordinary lawyer, the kind of guy who might wind up on a short list for U.S. Attorney or U.S. District Court Judge someday.  He's a partner at a politically influential law firm; his partners are Jack Arsenault, who was nearly James E. McGreevey's Attorney General, and John Farmer, Jr., who was Attorney General under Christine Todd Whitman and Donald DiFrancesco.  He's a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who was Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.  He went to Washington with Tom Kean as counsel to the 9/11 Commission.

On Friday, Azzarello did what other good white collar criminal defense attorneys do - he sought the mercy of a judge who was about to sentence his client - in this case a corrupt former public official, Mims Hackett.   And while he was ultimately successful - Hackett can serve his federal and state sentences concurrently and may only have to spend six months of his five year state sentence in prison - his argument wasn't exactly up there with Temple Houston.

Here's how the Star-Ledger reported it:

The New Jersey Supreme Court

The GOP seems to be gearing up for a real Senate confirmation hearing if Governor Jon Corzine reappoints Barry Albin to the New Jersey Supreme Court later this year.  The Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked Chairman Paul Sarlo to set aside "at least three days" for hearing on Albin's potential nomination.  This would be a huge change for a committee that typically spends just a few hours reviewing Supreme Court nominees.

Some insiders say Albin could have a problem if two unrelated constituencies wind up opposing his renomination. Albin angered progressive Democrats when he wrote the Supreme Court decision opposing same sex marriage.  And he has a potential problem with conservatives over his votes in support of Abbot school district funding.  Republicans and liberal Democrats could forge an interesting coalition. 

Under the current State Constitution, no sitting Justice has been denied reappointment or confirmation.  Chief Justice Robert Wilentz barely survived in 1986, winning Senate confirmation by a narrow 21-19 margin.  Peter Verniero, whose renomination was viewed as potentially problematic, saw the handwriting on the wall and resigned before the end of his first seven-year term.

Albin, 56, was appointed to the top court by Gov. James E. McGreevey in 2002.  If he is renominated and confirmed by the Senate in 2009, he can serve until he turns seventy in 2023.

Another member of the Star-Ledger buyout group has moved over to the partisan side: Diane Walsh, a veteran reporter who covered Middlesex County, is the new press secretary to Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick.  Walsh, who started as a Hudson Dispatch reporter, was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005 for their coverage of Gov. James E. McGreevey.

Take a look at PolitickerNJ.com's first Winners & Losers of the Year, published in December 2000.  CLICK HERE