Jim Florio

Raymond Zane, left, spent 28 years in the State Senate before losing his seat to Stephen Sweeney, right, in 2001.

Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford), who announced yesterday that he has the votes to depose Richard Codey (D-Roseland) as Senate President, went to the Senate eight years ago after prevailing in an internal political war in South Jersey.

The Inside Edge first reported political unrest in a deeply divided Gloucester County Democratic organization in early 2000 amidst a feud between Democratic County Chairman Michael Angelini and eight-term State Sen. Raymond Zane (D-Woodbury).  Angelini was backing former Gov. Jim Florio in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senator, while Zane was supporting a political newcomer, a mega millionaire Wall Streeter named Jon Corzine.

The feud between Angelini and Zane began during the 1999 general election.  Democrats were angry with Zane's refusal to back Paulsboro Mayor John Burzichelli in his campaign to oust two Republican Assemblymen: Speaker Jack Collins (R-Elmer) and Gary Stuhltrager (R-East Greenwich).  Political observers had long believed that an informal arrangement existed between the three District 3 legislators; they have not become involved in campaigns against the other for several years.

In retaliation for Zane's actions, some Gloucester County municipalities stripped the Senator of more than $100,000 worth of legal work, and Zane's son, Gloucester County Freeholder Raymond Zane III lost his position as Freeholder Vice President.

The split between the two widened in 2000 when Zane attempted to switch local party organizations from Florio, a former South Jersey Congressman, to Corzine. Zane was heavily criticized when Salem County Democratic Chairman Thomas Pankok went public with allegations that Zane offered campaign contributions to Salem Democrats on behalf of Corzine in exchange for dropping their support of Florio.

Paulsboro Mayor/Assemblyman John Burzichelli

PAULSBORO - Mantua Creek hugs the northern border of this blue collar river town where in years past, the locals say, you either worked for Essex Chemical, DuPont, Mobile or BP, companies that once had a toehold on this 190-acre sandy stretch - vacant now on the Delaware side with the dockworks rusting as the tankers drift by with the seagulls, and the Mantua empties.

"I worked here as an electrician," said Donald Norcross, gazing at the dunes as top-to-bottom dignitaries, labor leaders, workers, and politicians tottered down steps, disgorged mini buses and crowded the area around a makeshift stage where shovels stood at attention in a packed mound of sand with the river and the distant outline of Philadelphia in the background.

Tired of watching the tankers pass on their way to Philly, South Jersey wants to bring this place back as a working port, which will economically impact this area long-term - a projected 2,500 jobs onsite, 20,000 jobs in the region; and short-term, gin up 3rd District votes - 46,845 Democrats against 27,372 Republicans with 59,000 undeclareds, for a polls-harried Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, who's losing a dogfight with Republican challenger Chris Christie, according to the latest numbers from Quinnipiac University.

The two major party candidates for governor are not likely to agree on a rather complex issue: does the private investment firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG) have a clear connection to TPG-Axon, a hedge fund run out of the same office?

Gov. Jon Corzine has some of his personal fortune invested with TPG-Axon, which sounds similar to TPG.  Corzine maintains that the two companies have separate identities, and that it is unfair to accuse him of having a financial interest in casinos when it's TPG, not TPG-Axon, that invests in the gaming industry.   Republican Christopher Christie thinks that two companies run by the same people sharing the same office are essentially the same company.

The 2009 campaign includes other allegations where both sides have very different views of the world.  And New Jersey politics has a history of similar unsolved mysteries:

Another story on the office of Register of Deeds and Mortgages comes from Camden County, where Republicans scored an upset victory in 1990.  The Democratic incumbent, Robert Yost, did not seek re-election.  The GOP was strengthened by the tax increases of the Democratic governor, Camden hometown hero Jim Florio.  Republican Susan Rose, advocating the elimination of the Register post, defeated Democrat Linda Rohrer.

Working with Rose, Assemblyman John Rocco (R-Cherry Hill) sponsored legislation to repeal the 1875 legislation that created the Camden County Register of Deeds and Mortgages.  It was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Christine Todd Whitman.

With her office eliminated and Democratic County Clerk Michael Keating ousted following his conviction in a case involving bogus ballot printing contracts, Rose ran for County Clerk in 1995.  She lost narrowly to James Beach (D-Voorhees), who held the post until his election to the State Senate earlier this year.

Barack Obama's visit to New Jersey marks the fourth time a President has come to campaign for the re-election of an incumbent Governor. 

Bill Clinton stumped for Jim Florio in 1993, Ronald Reagan for Thomas Kean in 1985, and Jimmy Carter for Brendan Byrne in 1977.  Lyndon Johnson did not visit New Jersey when Richard Hughes ran for re-election in 1965, although the First Lady did join Hughes for a tour of a Head Start center in Newark.  And Richard Nixon did not come to New Jersey in support of William Cahill, who lost the Republican primary to a White House ally, U.S. Rep. Charles Sandman.

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.

Two politicians with new jobs: former Assemblyman Anthony "Skip" Cimino is the new CEO of Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in Hamilton and West Caldwell Mayor Joseph Tempesta is the new East Hanover Township Administrator.

Cimino takes the helm of the hospital even though he has never run a health care company.  He operated a small flooring business before becoming running for the Legislature, and after he lost in 1991, he became Gov. Jim Florio's Commissioner of Personnel.  Later he worked for Schoor DePalma, the politically active engineering firm, and ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate.  His son is now a Mercer County Freeholder.

Tempesta, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for State Assembly in 2001 against John McKeon (D-West Orange) and Mims Hackett (D-Orange), spent less than two years as the administrator in Mountain Lakes before getting the East Hanover job this week.  He told The Star-Ledger that he will "waive his health insurance benefits in East Hanover," an act of tremendous sacrifice, since the taxpayers of West Caldwell give him full health benefits.

Again in an act of personal sacrifice, Tempesta supports Republican Christopher Christie for Governor despite Christie's pledge to end dual public office holding and health benefits for part-timers.

Gov. Jon Corzine today named Sharon Harrington, the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), to the Casino Control Commission.  Harrington is a former State Director for U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, and was Deputy Campaign Manager for Jim Florio's campaign for Governor.  There is still one open seat on the Casino Control Commission.

Residents of Strathmore and Whale Beach want to secede from Upper Township and join Sea Isle City, and have hired former Gov. Jim Florio to help them do it.  The two Cape May county communities were rejected by the Upper Township Planning Board earlier this month, and the Council rejected them this week.  Florio is a partner at a politically active North Jersey firm.  Local residents think they can reduce their tax bill through secession.

Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin has become a partner in the politically-connected law firm Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Fader, the firm announced today.

The firm, which was founded by former Gov. Jim Florio, a Democrat, counts many insiders of both political parties as partners.  They include Warren County Republican Chairman Doug Steinhardt; Bergen County Democratic insider Paul Fader, who was chief counsel to Governor McGreevey and Codey and a two-term mayor of Englewood; and former Bergen County Republican Chairman Rob Ortiz, who is currently the Republican State Committee's finance chair. 

Morin most recently worked at Saul Ewing.  Before that he worked with  LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP and as a sole practitioner.