Jim McQueeny

Lobbyist/cable TV host Jim McQueeny is strongly denying an Inside Edge report that he was one of three people who worked on a plan for U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg’s campaign to buy premium seats to a Bruce Springsteen concert for $108 and resell them to campaign contributors for $1,500. "This story is utterly and completely untrue, but you don't have the balls or the ethics to print the retraction it requires,” McQueeny wrote in a statement, printed in its entirety, to PolitickerNJ.com. “Wally was obviously using this political science fiction in an obvious competition with the X-Files movie opening for bizarre plots. Congrats, Wally, you won!"

Jim McQueeny, a lobbyist who hosts News 12 New Jersey’s Power & Politics, was one of the organizers of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg’s now controversial plan to buy 40 premium seats to a Bruce Springsteen concert for $108 and resell them to campaign contributors for $1,500. Lautenberg cancelled the fundraiser yesterday after The Record broke a story detailing the event, which involved a deal with the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, a state agency, to obtain concert tickets set aside for VIP’s and political insiders. McQueeny, who served on Lautenberg’s staff in the 1980’s, worked on the event with Dan Katz, the Senator’s Chief of Staff, and Samantha Maltzman, the campaign finance director.

Lobbyist Michael Murphy is wearing two hats these days. One Murphy is working as campaign chairman and paid spokesman for Rob Andrews’ campaign for the United States Senate, while the other Murphy is appearing on News 12 this weekend as a supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. And the former Morris County Prosecutor and ’97 gubernatorial candidates boss, Andrews, is backing Hillary Clinton. (Of course, Andrews’ boss, South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross, has endorsed Obama) And further complicating matters: the guy interviewing Murphy the Obama man is lobbyist Jim McQueeny, a member of Frank Lautenberg’s circle of friends.

To casual News 12 viewers—no jokes about the tens of them—Jim McQueeny appears as a fulltime newscaster, especially when he has served as a moderator for partisan political debates. But unlike other news analysts, he pays the mortgage working for clients actively wheeling and dealing in Jersey politics. His firm, Winning Strategies, has an extensive list of corporate and public clients. This creates an actual conflict: he books quests for his weekly cable TV show and asks questions without a full disclosure to viewers that he is a lobbyist.

READ THE POLITICKERNJ.COM 2007 YEAR-END REVIEW

In a recent taping of Power and Politics, I was asked by Jim McQueeny to list the top five political stories of 2007.  I invite readers to share with me their lists.

In reverse order, the top five political stories for 2007 were:

PoliticsNJ.com media blogger Debbie Borie-Holtz has a tough, but fair, column up today on the many hats of the multi-talented Jim McQueeny.  There is no doubt that McQueeny is a key member of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg's political team, and has been for more than two decades.

Jim McQueeny is many things to many people. Only I'm not so sure the media always portrays him that way. In some cases, they may actually be contributing to the distortion.

Let’s start with his “unabashed fan” admiration for Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) that he touted in his Star-Ledger op-ed on Tuesday. In his own words, McQueeny told the readers he “served in the 1980s as his spokesman and state chief of staff and also regularly continuing to break bread with him ever since.” But the relationship is really much deeper than that.

Jim McQueeny is many things to many people. Only I'm not so sure the media always portrays him that way. In some cases, they may actually be contributing to the distortion.

Let’s start with his “unabashed fan” admiration for Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) that he touted in his Star-Ledger op-ed on Tuesday. In his own words, McQueeny told the readers he “served in the 1980s as his spokesman and state chief of staff and also regularly continuing to break bread with him ever since.” But the relationship is really much deeper than that.

Over the years, the Star-Ledger has sourced McQueeny as “a longtime Lautenberg adviser” and “longtime friend”. In 2002, the Ledger and The Record both reported on McQueeny’s high profile role in Lautenberg’s campaign inner circle. No one knows for sure what role he’ll be play during the current election cycle.

Whether or not you believe the Ledger adequately disclosed the Lautenberg-McQueeny relationship at the end of the op-ed piece, I for one think McQueeny disclosed himself.

That said, let’s move on to News12 New Jersey.

McQueeny calls himself a ”television political analyst” for the station. Well he’s certainly qualified for the job. That’s not the problem.

To casual viewers, McQueeny likely appears as a full-time newscaster, particularly when he has served as a moderator for partisan political debates. But unlike other news analysts, he pays the mortgage working for clients actively wheeling and dealing in Jersey politics.

New Jersey Network has hired Winning Strategies to lobby for them in Washington. One of the principals of Winning Strategies is James McQueeny, who hosts a weekly show, Power & Politics, on the rival News 12 New Jersey.