Joe Ferriero

Steve Rothman narrowly defeated Joe Ferriero in Bergen County yesterday -- sort of. Rothman's congressional office softball team edged out the Bergen County Democratic Organization team 8-7. Ferriero played on the BCDO team, while Rotarian-American congressional candidate Paul Aronsohn played for Rothman.

One of the most popular themes in political campaigns of the early 21st century is government reform and there has been no shortage of candidates willing to tout their reform agendas in an effort to win votes. Earlier this cycle, Doug Forrester held a large orange broom during his Conga Line of Corruption ad, and Jon Corzine took on Joe Ferriero in a Special Election Convention for State Senate in Bergen County. That's why it's noteworthy to recognize the efforts of one candidate who doesn't seem to pander to the pro-reform newspapers: Paula Sollami Covello, the Democratic nominee for Mercer County Clerk. Covello had a meeting with the editorial board of The Trenton Times this week and so there would be no confusion as to her independence from party bosses, she brought Mercer County Democratic Chairman Richard McClellan with her.

Despite her best efforts, Covello might still oust two-term GOP incumbent Catherine DiCostanzo in predominately Democratic Mercer County. The party organization announced today that they will pay to air a new Covello TV ad over 1,200 times between now and election day. This is the same ad that got Covello into trouble last week when she was caught parking in a handicapped space after arriving late for the filming.

Ken Zisa, the winner of a State Senate seat less than three weeks ago, will return to Trenton if the New Jersey Supreme Court rules in his favor -- of if, for some reason, Tenafly turns out to have been Zisa Country. Zisa, according to several Democratic officials, is taking a pass on a race for the State Assembly seat his rival, Loretta Weinberg, is about to give up.

Weinberg's candidate to fill her seat in an election set -- for now -- to be held Thursday night is Bergen County Freeholder Valerie Vainieri Huttle. Huttle dropped her own Senate bid in exchange for Weinberg's support in a future Assembly race. Now another anti-organization Weinberg supporter has entered the Assembly race: Michael Wildes, the incredibly ambitious Mayor of Englewood.

Ironically, the competition for the safe Democratic seat might not even include a candidate from the Joe Ferriero wing of the Democratic party. Ferriero might be happier with the consolation prize: replacing Huttle on the Bergen County Board of Freeholders with a Democrat who won't annoy him.

Wildes was elected Mayor of Englewood in 2003 against Ferriero's wishes. Wildes was prepared to challenge incumbent Paul Fader (now Chief Counsel to Acting Governor Richard Codey, in the Democratic primary, and then beat aging State Senator Byron Baer in a vote of the Englewood Democratic County Committee. Last year, he opened a federal campaign account to prepare to run for Congress, if and/or when Steve Rothman runs for the U.S. Senate. A prolific fundraiser, he has over $100,000 in his warchest.

There is no great love between Wildes and Huttle. In 2003, Huttle threatened to challenge Wildes in the Democratic mayoral primary after she was asked to leave a fundraiser with Hillary Rodham Clinton at Wildes' home.

It won't come as a surprise to Bergen County politicians if one of the casualties of the Joe Ferriero vs. Jon Corzine war is Bergenfield Democratic Municipal Chairman Kevin Clancy. There was some fairly compelling evidence that the resignations of five County Committee members were forged in an unsuccessful attempt to increase votes for Clancy's candidate, Ken Zisa. Clancy, a former Mayor who was forced to leave office after a drunk driving arrest (and charges that he tried to bribe a police officer) might be just the type of small fish Attorney General Peter Harvey likes to go after, and there are unconfirmed reports that law enforcement officials have already made some inquiries.