James E. McGreevey

Paul Fader says Wally Edge is wrong, and insists he won't run for Bergen County Democratic Chairman
Former Englewood Mayor Paul Fader strongly denies an Inside Edge report that he is interested in becoming Bergen County Democratic Chairman, if Joseph Ferriero steps down. "The entire report is wholly unfounded," said Fader, in a joint statement with U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn).

"Your recent post in this morning’s edition of PolitickerNJ that Paul T. Fader is running for Bergen County Democratic Chairman is completely false. “ I am not running for Bergen County Democratic Chairman, I have no plans to run for Bergen County Democratic Chairman, nor have I called anyone seeking their support or advise on whether I should run for Bergen County Democratic Chairman,“ said Paul Fader, a law partner of former Gov. Jim Florio and a former Chief Counsel to Gov. James E. McGreevey.

Editor's Note: Paul Fader has indicated that he is not interested in seeking the Bergen County Democratic Chairmanship, and told PolitickerNJ.com that he has not made any phone calls indicating his interest or seeking support.  The Inside Edge gives him the benefit of the doubt and accordingly, retracts our report.

Joe Ferriero's recent legal woes -- allegations that he assaulted a woman at a Labor Day barbecue at his home, and a federal probe of a grants business in which he is a part owner that resulted in the FBI seizing records from his law office -- have resulted in his taking a leave of absence from his post as Bergen County Democratic Chairman.  Sensing a possible vacancy in the powerful post sometime in the near future, Paul Fader, a former Mayor of Englewood who served as Chief Counsel to Governors James E. McGreevey and Richard Codey,has begun making calls to seek support for Ferriero's job. 

Former First Lady Dina Matos McGreevey, now known as Dina Matos, may have fared poorly in a Superior Court Judge's decision not to award her alimony, but it's likely that John Edwards' admission of an extramarital affair will get her some TV appearances anyway.

The New Jersey Legislature is often the breeding ground for gubernatorial candidates, but by 2009 it will have been 81 years since a sitting state legislator has been elected Governor -- the last time was in 1928, when Morgan Larson, a Republican State Senator from Middlesex County, won.

Over the last fifty years, only four incumbent legislators -- State Senators Malcom Forbes (1957), Wayne Dumont (1965), Raymond Bateman (1977) and James E. McGreevey (1997) -- have won gubernatorial primaries, and all four have lost their general elections.

Has anyone squandered public sympathy more thoroughly than Dina Matos?  She went from being Snow White to Imelda Marcos in a very short period of time.

Gov. Jon Corzine today nominated Amos Saunders, a 76-year-old retired Superior Court Judge from Passaic County, to serve as the new Republican member of the Election Law Enforcement Commission. The Republican seat has been vacant since December 2006. Corzine’s last attempt to fill it was in October 2007, when his nomination of Gabriella Morris was quickly withdrawn after realizing that Morris, who handles government affairs for Prudential, could not hold the post because ELEC also regulates lobbyists.

Paul Aronsohn, the former press secretary to Gov. James E. McGreevey who lost a bid for Congress in 2006 by eleven percentage points, is now a Ridgewood Councilman-elect. He was among three challengers who ousted two incumbents in Tuesday’s non-partisan municipal races. Aronsohn’s election to public office makes it more likely that he’ll seek higher office again in the future; that could be as early as July, when the new five-member Council meets to elect a Mayor.

Ivan Zapien will leave his post as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Robert Menendez to accept a position in the private sector.  He will be replaced by Danny O’Brien, who served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Joseph Biden and as Political Director of Biden’s presidential campaign.  O’Brien served as Chief of Staff to U.S.  Senator Robert Torricelli, and was Co-Director of gubernatorial candidate James E. McGreevey’s coordinated campaign in 2001.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg defended Gov. Jon Corzine at a Mercer County Central Labor Council event tonight.  "He was dealt a dirty hand by his predecessors,” Lautenberg told the group, apparently forgetting that Corzine’s predecessors were Democrats Richard Codey and James E. McGreevey.

If Dick Zimmer had won his race for U.S. Senate in 1996 – our premise is purely hypothetical because he did not – who would be running this year? 

The first question is this: would Zimmer have won re-election in 2002?  Rob Andrews, Bob Menendez and Frank Pallone would have probably declined to challenge him – it’s fair to assume that if they were unwilling to give up their safe House seats to run against Doug Forrester, they would have been less likely to risk a race against an incumbent in post 9/11 New Jersey, when George W. Bush was actually off-the-charts popular in New Jersey.  

Here is one scenario how this might have played out: