Jim Florio

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. 

Pat Kramer, former mayor of Paterson, right, with state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth).: Politicker photo 

MINNEAPOLIS - Among those at the Republican National Convention stand two venerable members of the Grand Old Party who once slugged it out in a gubernatorial primary.

The title "former governor" in front of the name Thomas Kean provides the most obvious evidence for his 1981 statewide victory over Lawrence "Pat" Kramer, former mayor of Paterson.

But the man who unwittingly helped Kean beat Kramer isn’t a Republican, and was actually in attendance last week at the Democratic National Convention.

He’s former Gov. Brendan Byrne, whose hand-picked successor - then-attorney general, John Degnan - didn’t have the backing of the Democratic Party chairs.

DENVER - Addressing the New Jersey delegation this morning, former Gov. Jim Florio told his fellow Democrats that they need to brush up on the harder-edged passages of the Hebrew Scriptures to get toned for what’s coming.

"We can’t afford to have this as a New Testament campaign," Florio told the crowd. "This is not turning the other cheek. This has got to be an Old testament campaign."

The way the Republicans demolished John Kerry four years ago, twisting a war hero, in Florio’s words, into a coward, should provide sufficient preview for GOP campaign tactics. But the Democrats have to huddle up and get ready to fight back with the obvious arguments.

"This president has to slither in and out of a foreign country before anyone knows he’s there, because he’s shredded our relations with the world," Florio said of President George W. Bush. "It’s an embarrassment."

U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and his niece, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg: Getty Images Photo

• Roberts: Lonegan is 'preposterous'
• Roberts mum on Andrews replacement
• June and Jun
  
• Warren County is in the house
• In the belly of the Spotted Dog
• Healy allies dream of an Obama visit
• Some Jewish delegates sit on their hands for Carter
• Biden won't change Van Drew's mind about running
• Codey and Roberts come out swinging with 'us' versus 'them' battle cry
• Menendez would be a great boost as convention speaker, Rothman says
• For Torres, the streets of Paterson lead to Denver
• Passaic ready to go big for Obama, says Currie
• Tom Byrne is not sitting on a $1 million campaign account for nothing
• Frank Lautenberg introduces his son to the delegation
• Pounding the 'One America' theme on day one
• Shulman makes the rounds in Denver
• In a crowded Passaic field, Morales says she has fire in the belly
• Report: Springsteen and Bon Jovi to perform at Obama speech
• Gusciora: 2004 couldn't have been this good
• Other states take note: New Jersey rules
• Vega doesn't want to go back to the legislature, but isn't happy with Rodriguez
• Rothman seeks to appease Clinton supporters
• Corzine speaking out to get Menendez a chance at the podium
• Florio talks up Biden, weighs in on Andrews replacement
• If it's not to be Rone, mayor prefers a woman replacement in Central Ward
• It was 20 years - and 18 points ago
• Primary hurt still lingers in Obamaland

Former Gov. Jim Florio used to ride the Amtrak train to Washington with Joe Biden, now the Democratic VP candidate: Politicker photo
DENVER – Standing in the lobby of the Inverness Hotel this morning flanked by Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, former Gov. Jim Florio said that he’s very excited to see his former commuting-mate tapped for the Democrats’ Vice-Presidential nomination.

“I’m very enthusiastic. He’s a personal friend,” said Florio, a superdelegate who originally supported Hilary Clinton.

During his years in Congress from 1975 to 1990, Florio, who commuted to Washington daily from the 1st District, would occasionally find himself on the same train as Biden, who commuted from Delaware. That led to a friendship and the occasional campaign function attended by Biden.

Out of the public eye since Jim Florio lost re-election in 1993, Stephanie Bush-Baskette returned to a prominent role in New Jersey politics with her election last night as a Democratic National Committeewoman.  She defeated Christine “Roz” Samuels, a Montclair Democratic official and former Newark Teachers’ Union leader.

Bush-Baskette was 34-years-old when she first won public office in 1987.  She was elected to the State Assembly in the old Oranges district (Richard Codey was the State Senator) when the Essex County Democratic organization decided to drop five-term incumbent Mildred Barry Garvin.  Held in fairly high regard as a legislator, Bush-Baskette was re-elected in 1989 and 1991 with little trouble in a heavily Democratic district.

Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka has endorsed John McCain for President, but declined to say who he would support for Congress in the hotly contested seventh district race between Democrat Linda Stender and Republican Leonard Lance.  Part of Linden is in the seventh.  Gerbounka was a Democratic Councilman until launching an Independent bid to unseat longtime Mayor John Gregorio in 2006.

Back in 1984, another Democratic Mayor from Union County endorsed a GOP presidential candidate.  In a much heralded announcement, Ronald Reagan won the backing of Thomas Dunn, who spent 28 years as the Mayor of Elizabeth.  That year, Reagan beat Walter Mondale in Elizabeth by nearly 4,000 votes, 56%-44%.  Reagan carried Linden by slightly less than 2,000 votes, also 56%-44%.  In other Democratic Union County strongholds, Reagan won Rahway by almost 2,000 votes (58%-42%), but lost Plainfield by almost 7,000 votes, 72%-28%.  But Reagan had no coattails: Democrat Bill Bradley, seeking a second term in the United States Senate, carried Elizabeth, Linden, Rahway and Plainfield by wide margins.

When New Jersey Judges get in trouble, their colleagues may tend to go a little easy on them. Superior Court Judge Rosemarie Williams, arrested from drunk driving in 2006, received the minimum sentence yesterday from Judge John Sweeney, a $631 fine and loss of her license for seven months. Five years ago, Williams was suspended from the bench for three months after a fight with her then-boyfriend. She claimed that she was suffering from battered woman's syndrome.

In March 1991, Administrative Law Judge Florence Schreiber Powers was convicted of shoplifting a pair of $29 watches from T.J. Maxx in Lawrenceville. Powers, the daughter of retired state Supreme Court Justice Sidney Schreiber, admitted that she stole the two watches but claimed diminished mental capacity. A psychologist who testified at her trail outlined nineteen different stresses, including an "ungodly" vaginal itch.

The announcement today that Dr. Frederick Herrmann will retire after 23 years as Executive Director of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission prompts speculation on his successor.  While Herrmann had built a reputation as a non-partisan enforcer of campaign finance laws, his three predecessors came from political backgrounds – and while the new Executive Director will be named by the four ELEC Commissioners (two Democrats and two Republicans), it’s more likely that Gov. Jon Corzine will influence the process. 

With some senior Star-Ledger reporters being offered buyouts, one possible candidate for Herrmann’s $125,000-a-year job is Robert Schwaneberg, who spent years covering state government, including the Judiciary and ELEC.  Schwaneberg, the husband of New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Helen Hoens, is well-liked by Corzine and by Democratic and Republican leaders.  One front office insider suggested that several soon-to-be former Star-Ledger reporters will find their way into the administration.