Jim Saxton

The New Jersey delegation's vote on the bailout bill was close, and did not occur along party lines.

But while there were some odd vote combinations, with liberal Congressmen like U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) voting the same way as his conservative neighbor, Scott Garrett (R-Wantage), they tended to cite different reasons.

Ultimately, New Jersey Congressmen voted against the bill by a 7-6 margin. None, however, enthusiastically supported it. Nor did any of its detractors express glee at its downfall, and some expressed more openness to voting for a new compromise package than others.

By far the most vociferous opponent of the bailout was Garrett, who yesterday took to the floor and excoriated his colleagues who supported it.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- By law, retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton can’t tell the National Republican Congressional Committee what to do with the $400,000 he just donated to them.

But Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson has a good idea of where the money should go: to the cash strapped Chris Myers, who’s running as Saxton’s choice to fill his 3rd Congressional District seat. Myers is running against Democratic State Sen. John Adler, who as of the last filing period had about 10 times Myers’s cash-on-hand.

So far, the NRCC hasn’t made any public commitments to the district. When asked if he would be disappointed if the NRCC didn’t commit any resources to the 3rd District, Wilson was candid.

“If they don’t, I’ll be more than disappointed. I’ll be sickened, and I’ll be pissed,” he said. “I can tell them to. They don’t have to listen to me. Once the money is in their treasury it’s theirs to do what they will with, but hopefully his colleagues will be respectful of his commitment to the caucus and make sure that his seat stays in Republican hands.”

Retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton is giving $400,000 of his roughly $1 million war chest to the cash strapped National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), by far the largest donation he’s ever made to the organization.

If the NRCC chooses, they can pour some or all of that money into ad buys in the 3rd Congressional District, where Saxton’s heir apparent, Medford Mayor Chris Myers, is outfunded by opponent John Adler by a margin of 10-1. As of the last FEC report, Myers had $155,000 on hand to Adler’s nearly $1.5 million.

The problem is that Saxton can’t even suggest to NRCC officials where they should send the money.

“He can’t do that. There are absolutely no strings attached by law,” said Saxton Communications Director Jeff Sagnip, who used to work part-time for the Myers campaign as well. “There’s no guarantee that they could send it here.”

State Sen. John Adler (D-Camden), who’s running for Congress in the Adler in Mount Laurel today3rd District, this morning officially received the endorsement of the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey (PFANJ) at a press conference at Mount Laurel Fire Headquarters.

"I am honored that the firefighters of New Jersey have decided to support my candidacy and stand with me in my campaign to bring common sense solutions and real change to Washington," Adler said in a release.

"Every day the brave men and women who comprise the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey risk their lives to keep us out of harms way," the candidate added. "In Congress, I will fight to make sure that all firefighters have access to affordable health care and the prescription drug coverage that they so rightly deserve."

State Sen. John Adler (D-Camden): Politicker photo 

Democrats digested the 3rd District fund-raising totals with glee today as second quarter campaign coffers show state Sen. John Adler (D-Camden) with a $1.9 million to $155,406 advantage over Medford Mayor Chris Myers, the Republican nominee to succeed U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-3).

Myers shook off the news this week by trying to turn Adler’s positive report into a negative.

"He’s going to need every penny to defend his terrible record," Myers told PolitickerNJ.com.

Temporary fund-raising totals aside, the Medford mayor believes Adler’s Trenton establishment background should sink him with property tax-bedeviled voters as the Democrat attempts his climb toward Washington.

Medford Mayor Chris Myers, foreground, stands with Lumberton Mayor Pat Delany: Politicker photo 

MOUNT LAUREL - Standing in the middle of 153 acres of preserved open space, Republican Chris Myers upbraided his 3rd Congressional District opponent today for voting in favor of changing New Jersey’s affordable housing guidelines.

"I’m for affordable housing," said the Medford Mayor, who’s running against state Sen. John Adler (D-Camden) for the right to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-3), "I’m just not for Trenton affordable housing."

The rule changes for the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) in the successfully passed S-1783 last month include the government imposition of fees on non-residential development in order to build an affordable housing fund.

Democrat John Adler’s congressional campaign says that groups that used to support outgoing Rep. Jim Saxton (R-Mount Holly) are falling in line behind Adler as opposed Saxton’s heir apparent, Republican Chris Myers.

The latest group to jump to Adler, according to a press release issued by Adler’s campaign today, is The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council #73. Adler’s campaign also has the endorsement of three other groups that used to back Saxton: The Fraternal Order of Police, Sierra Club, and the Recreational Fishing Alliance.

State Sen. John Adler (D-Camden) on Monday evening in Mount Laurel: Politicker photo 

MOUNT LAUREL - "It’s the economy, stupid," proved a winning formula for Bill Clinton, and now state Sen. John Adler (D-Camden) runs with the same background theme in this 3rd Congressional District.

It might be a tough slog here for Adler, 48, where a Democrat has not represented the district since 1882. But in the waning Bush era, there is opportunity; and Adler means to make a sagging economy in W’s last months the primary issue as he heads toward his Nov. 4th general election showdown with Medford Mayor Chris Myers.

With 15,000 newly registered Democrats coming out of the Feb. 5th Democratic Primary, the figures embolden Adler and his allies as the long-serving senator hopes to truss a seat vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Jm Saxton (R-3).

Registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans in the 3rd -111,298 to 100,640 - in a year when the presence of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) at the top of the ticket means Adler’s people are making strategic forays into the district’s bigger blue vote strongholds - Willingboro and Pemberton - to register even more new voters.

Congressional candidate Chris MyersThird Congressional District candidate Chris Myers is taking a leave of absence from his job as a vice-president at Lockheed Martin through the remainder of the campaign season.

The Republican will now be a full-time candidate through Nov. 4th, according to a news release issued by his campaign on Wednesday.

"Anyone who knows me, knows that I have never been one to do things half-way, and this campaign will be no different," said Myers. "The residents of this district deserve nothing less from someone seeking to earn their support, their trust and their vote for Congress."

Sen. John Adler (D-Camden)

TRENTON - The general election race to succeed U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-3) has opened up in earnest now, with GOP Medford Mayor Chris Myers charging his Democratic opponent, state Sen. John Adler (D-Camden) with being part of the Trenton spending beast, and Adler arguing that Myers has been hapless at the local level.

In the face of a letter from Myers urging him to vote "no" on the state budget this evening, Adler defended the $32.9 billion document, and seized the opportunity to criticize Myers for what he sees as the Medford mayor’s failure to harness local spending.

Myers fired first in the letter he mailed to the state senator last week, in advance of the full Senate’s consideration of the budget. He specifically targeted the budget’s spending cuts for small-sized towns.