Jeanne Fox

Jeanne Fox doesn’t have the votes to win Senate confirmation for another term as President of the state Board of Public Utilities, according to Senate Democratic sources.  The Senate Judiciary Committee has no plans to post Fox’s nomination for a vote, leaving her in holdover status for now.  Gov. Jon Corzine nominated Fox in February.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Adler, a candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s third district, has said he won’t consider the Fox nomination until after the trial of whistle-blower who claims retaliation for reporting a potentially illegal an $80 million ratepayer-funded Clean Energy account established by the BPU President. 

With Gary Rose set to leave his Corzine front office post by the end of the month, there are already a few names being mentioned as possible successors as Chief of the Office of Economic Growth: state Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri; Caren Franzini, the CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority; New Jersey Utilities Association President/CEO Karen Alexander.  A dark horse candidate: former Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Bill Gormley.

If Frank Lautenberg’s political consultant, Steve DeMicco, beats up on Rob Andrews – as he surely will – how will that affect the already controversial renomination of his DeMicco’s wife, Jeanne Fox, as President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities?  John Adler is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is holding Fox’s nomination until after the trial of whistle-blower who claims retaliation for reporting a potentially illegal an $80 million ratepayer-funded Clean Energy account established by Fox.  And South Jersey, Andrews’ base, has six Democratic Senators – which means if the GOP comes through with their pledge to oppose Fox, she can’t possibly get confirmed without the support of South Jersey Democrats.