Joe Cryan

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State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, above, is unhappy with the way Attorney General Anne Milgram handled the prosecution of a Democratic Councilman from their district

ELIZABETH - Union County party allies of Gov. Jon Corzine are leveling hard charges at someone who's used to doing the charging herself: Attorney General Anne Milgram, whose pursuit of a voter fraud case against Roselle Council President Jamel Holley this month resulted in a virtual dead end.

"Disappointment is an understatement," state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) said of Milgram, the Corzine administration's attorney general, for bringing charges against Holley in the first place.

Already feeling antagonized by the presence of corruption buster former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie in the governor's race, Democratic Party operatives in at least two or three of their base voter-rich regions, including Unon, have for months felt dogged by Milgram, who indicted Holley by accusation on Aug. 27th with illegally filling out portions of fewer than 30 absentee ballots.

In a Thursday letter to the Union County Local Source, Lesniak and his legislative colleagues, Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union Twp.) and Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Elizabeth), ripped Milgram over what they see as her unjust targeting of Holley, which might have had ruinous consequences for a young man seen by his allies see as a comer in Union County Democratic Party politics.  

State Party Chairman Joe Cryan (center) at last week's LG debate at Monmouth University.

Democratic State Chairman Joe Cryan today amplified news about next week's rally with President Barack Obama and a Monday appearance in Middlesex by Vice President Joe Biden by announcing an incoming procession of party leaders for Gov. Jon Corzine, including former President William J. Clinton, United States Congressional members Michael Honda (D-CA) and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, and Caroline Kennedy.

Clinton will attend a rally with state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) next Tuesday afternoon at the Collingswood Ballroom in Collingswood; and a rally with Corzine at Rutgers University in New Brunswick on Tuesday evening.

Honda is scheduled to bond with voters at a Saturday, Oct. 17 Filipino American Heritage Month Rally in Old Bridge, a Chinese Americans’ Moon Festival Rally in Princeton, and a Korean Americans’ Harvest Moon Festival Rally in Engelwood.

The chairman of Chris Christie’s campaign stood up for his fellow Republican today, taking a swipe at two top Democrats who called Christie fat.

State Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-Middletown) took issue with comments about Christie’s girth from state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) and Democratic State  hairman/Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union).

Lesniak told New York Magazine that Christie “looks hideous! And unhealthy... That doesn’t portray the discipline that’s necessary to lead this state.”

Cryan last night asked a crowd of Essex County Democrats “What would it feel like if the next governor weighs 350 pounds?”

Kyrillos today said the comments “shameful,” and blamed Gov. Jon Corzine’s campaign, which created the now famous ad that says Christie “threw his weight around” to get out of a traffic ticket. 

Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford), left, and Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo Wednesday night at Durkin's fundraiser.

BELLEVILLE - It was fitting that the main man at the microphone tonight at Nanina's in the Park was County Clerk Chris Durkin, a walking hybrid of two opposing political camps, which 20 days before a gubernatorial election can already see the delineations of a county executive battle in 2010.

"Dick Codey was ready to lead when he became governor and he made us all so proud to live, work and play in this state," Durkin said of the former governor and sitting senate president, in the next breath noting of his boss, the Essex County Executive, "Joe DiVincenzo has made Essex County the envy not only of the state but of the country. He is the taxpayers' best friend, and a bureaucrat's worst nightmare."

If it sounded like homage paid to opposing warlords, Durkin is indeed ensconced in the administration of the powerful county executive, but his mother, Joan, is a Codey, cousin of Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), who last month was unofficially forced off the senate throne in a north-south Jersey Democratic Party coup that hinged on DiVincenzo backing Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) as the new senate president.

Tonight, Durkin - an amiable presence belying a torturous Codey v. DiVincenzo undercurrent - greeted guests to his $150-a-plate fundraiser, including headlining speaker Newark Mayor Cory Booker and the governor himself, who posed for pictures with Durkin before ascending a staircase where South Jerseyan Sweeney stood in a milling, hors d'oeuvres munching crowd with DiVincenzo. 

Badgered for months by poll numbers showing Gov. Jon Corzine trailing badly, New Jersey Democratic State Chairman Joseph P. Cryan celebrated the results of today's Farleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Poll, which shows Corzine in a statistical tie with Republican challenger Chris Christie.

“Today’s poll shows the strength and ongoing support for Governor Jon S. Corzine, Senator Loretta Weinberg and the Democratic Party that continues to grow each day," Cryan said in a statement. “Together, we are fighting for what matters most to New Jersey voters. New Jerseyans recognize that Jon Corzine is fighting for our families – he has ensured nearly 100,000 more New Jersey children have health coverage, he is a strong advocate for a woman’s right to choose and is one of only a handful of governors who have made paid family leave the law to make sure New Jerseyans can care for newborns and sick relatives while still getting paid."

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville), right, with Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange)

PATERSON - Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) won't deny that he's the missing link from Middlesex as part of a new legislative leadership package that would make him the next state Democratic Party chairman and successor to Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union).

"'If there's anyway I can augment that team, let me know,'" is how Wisniewski sums up his communications with the power brokers, describing the ins and outs of those talks as "internal party politics."

Appearing tonight at the Brownstone in Paterson at a fundraiser for Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), he said he would be interested in the job.

"One of the things that the state party chair needs to do - and this goes for whoever holds that position - is to build the roots of the party and encourage among young voters and new voters an identification with the Democratic Party," said Wisniewski.

CRYAN: NEW STUDY SHOWS PROGRESS FOR N.J. CHILDREN

(TRENTON) – Assembly Education Chairman Joseph Cryan on Thursday welcomed a new study that showed New Jersey public schools making progress toward closing achievement gaps. Cryan (D-Union), released the following statement:

“We know we still have much work to do improve educational opportunities for every child, but this study is a positive trend that comes after Gov. Corzine and legislative Democrats made educating all children throughout New Jersey a top priority..."

State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Cryan this morning said Republican Chris Christie's narrowed lead in the latest Quinnipiac University Poll shows a candidate who's failed to gain traction against incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.

"Folks have taken a look at him and don't like him," said Cryan, referring to Christie's 38-38% favorable/unfavorable rating, which is nonetheless still better than the governor's upside-down (34-56%) numbers on that front, according to Quinnipiac.

"We're happy," said the state party chairman.

Regarding tight battlefronts in Mercer, Bergen, Union and Mercer, Cryan said, "Democrats in this state have a history of breaking late. It's nothing we haven't expected."

Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-South Brunswick), left, campaigning in 2007.

Clarifying a release issued yesterday concerning the Middlesex County delegation's endorsement for Assembly Speaker of Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville), Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-South Brunswick) said she has made no endorsement in that emerging contest, and does not intend to endorse anytime soon. 

"I'm focused on my election and the governor's election and I have made it clear that I wont issue any public endorsement until after the election," said Greenstein.

In addition to Wisniewski, sources say Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union Township), Assemblyman Lou Greenwald (D-Cherry Hill), Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), and Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) are all potential candidates for the Speaker's chair to be vacated at the end of this year by retiring Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden).

Corzine, right, and Gore.

ATLANTIC CITY - Identifying the touchstone values of their party, Democrats bucked one another up here at the Trump Plaza Casino, trying to build feeling for what amounts now to the last 38 days of their campaign effort to maintain control of Drumthwacket and deliver another four years to Gov. Jon Corzine.

"I love you all," Corzine told his supporters in a room packed with party insiders, stirring into his speech humanizing buzz notes - farm boy, soccer coach, parent teacher conference attendee - to offset the image of an aloof leader who landed in Trenton three and a half years ago with comparatively little time honed at the street level of New Jersey politics.  

Corzine noted his commitment to the vulnerable and poor - his move to enact the country's first economic recovery plan, broaden early childhood education and healthcare, and build new schools.

Echoing Bill Clinton with former Vice President Al Gore in the room, "I still believe in the family values my family taught me back on the family farm," said Corzine, who told the crowd that in his battle with GOP candidate Chris Christie "every value we hold dear is at stake."