Joe Ferriero

Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson challenged Gov. Corzine and Democratic State Chairman Joe Cryan to drop all support for Bergen County Democratic candidates unless or until Bergen Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero resigns. 

Corzine and Cryan have both said that Ferriero, who was indicted last week on eight counts of corruption, should resign.  But at a meeting this morning, leaders of the Democratic organization, including U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, said they would not seek Ferriero’s resignation.

“The true test of their commitment to rooting out corruption within the Democratic Party is whether their actions reflect their words.  Corzine and Cryan should make it clear to the Democratic candidates in Bergen that there will be no financial support for a slate that supports corrupt party leadership,” said Wilson in a statement.

After a raucous meeting that insiders present said seemed more like a family gathering after a tragedy than a typical political meeting, the Bergen County Democratic Organization’s Executive Committee agreed not to ask Chairman Joe Ferriero to resign – at least not until after the November election.

Tensions and emotions were high as Ferriero loyalists and critics argued it out over the fate of their Chairman, who’s been indicted on eight corruption counts. Old scabs were reopened and expletives flew unhindered among the roughly 30 members present.

Ferriero is currently on a temporary leave of absence while Vice Chair Kay Nest has been elevated to become Acting Chairwoman for the time being.

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin was so incensed by Freeholder David Ganz’s defense of indicted Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero that he called on the freeholder himself to resign this morning.

Yudin said that, while Ferriero remains innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, an indictment is cause enough to remove him from his chairmanship of the Democratic organization.

“This is a person running a political organization, and an indictment is damning enough that he should resign,’ he said. “If there is a prima facie case as there is here, it is outrageous that an elected official like Ganz says he should not resign. Not only is it outrageous, but if that’s his position, then he honestly doesn’t understand what being an elected official means. He’s betraying the voters’ trust.”

Dennis Oury stepped down yesterday as general counsel of the Bergen County Democratic Organization, according to party spokesman Bill Maer. 

Oury who was indicted Tuesday on an eight-count corruption charge along with BCDO Chairman Joe Ferriero. 

Party Vice Chair Kay Nest has appointed Paul Kaufman, a former mayor of Leonia, to take over the position.  Kaufman’s name was initially floated as a potential replacement for Ferriero, who has not resigned.

In October, 2007, Dennis Oury gave the Bergen County Democratic Organization a $25,000 interest-free loan. 

At the time, Oury was the BCDO’s general counsel.  Yesterday, he stepped down after Tuesday’s indictment charging him and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero with eight corruption counts. But the loan remains on the books.

Kay Nest, the party’s vice-chair who’s acting as chairwoman while Ferriero takes a leave of absence, said that she didn’t know about the loan, but it’s something that the party will be sure to address in the coming weeks, when top officials will pour over its finances.

When asked whether the BCDO should return the loan, Nest said “you just gave me a good idea. I didn’t even know about that.  I’ll definitely look into it.” 

With potential candidates already angling for the job of Bergen County Democratic Chairman, U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Englewood) said that there’s no need to elect a new chairman until after the November election.

“Many of us feel that there’s no need to rush to choose a new chairman. We are in the process of finding out the true condition of the party and its finances,” said Rothman, who emphasized that indicted Chairman Joe Ferriero hasn’t even resigned yet.  “And then examining what legal requirements exist with regard to new elections for chairman.” 

Indeed, Democratic Bergenites acknowledge that the party is facing significant debt – a feeling that in recent years has been much more familiar to their Republican counterparts. 

Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero and counsel Dennis Oury are set to appear in federal court today at 2:00PM. 

Ferriero and Oury were indicted yesterday on eight corruption counts of influence peddling with a grants consulting firm both held a financial stake in. 

They’ll appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo at the Martin Luther King Jr. Courthouse in Newark. 

Dennis Oury was indicted yesterday on federal fraud chargesDennis Oury, the powerful Democratic attorney who was indicted on eight corruption counts yesterday, has resigned from his post as chief counsel of the Bergen County Improvement Authority, according to the agency’s chairman, Ron O’Malley.

Oury’s employment with the agency had been a point of contention among some factions of the Bergen County Democratic Party. State Sen. Loretta Weinberg mentioned it as a reason why she would not support O’Malley for county chair if and when Joe Ferriero, who was indicted along with Oury yesterday, resigns. Others, however, said that there was no reason to push Oury out before there was even a formally recognized investigation.

But O’Malley today took his name out of the mix, saying that, even if there is a vacancy, he won’t run. If he became chairman, he would have to step down from his position at the BCIA. O’Malley doesn’t believe this is an opportune time to do that.

Bergen County Democratic spokesman Bill Maer issued a statement today expressing confidence that the indictment of two of its leaders -- Chairman Joe Ferriero and counsel Dennis Oury -- will not hurt the organization in the November election. 

“The Bergen County Democrats are going to run a great election in November with great candidates. We don’t think this will affect the results.  We’ve run a great government and we’ll run on our record,” he said. 

Asked today about the indictment of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero and local Democratic counsel Dennis Oury at a bill signing shortly before U.S. Attorney Christ Christie announced it, Gov. Corzine said that “it’s always disappointing when there are public corruption issues in the state.”

But Corzine had not yet heard official word of the indictment, and limited his comments.

“First of all, I don’t know about it. I’ve heard rumors of that. I will wait to look at the actual indictment and what other circumstances come up,” he said. 

Corzine has not made a statement since the indictment was made public.