Joe Kyrillos

Tom Kean, Jr.: Getty Images

Tom Kean, Jr. was unanimously selected by Senate Republicans today as the new Minority Leader, replacing Leonard Lance.

Lance told PoliticsNJ.com that he allowed Kean to ascend to the position unchallenged, and said that he will become the party's ranking member on the Budget Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Joe Kyrillos said that he nominated Kean for the position.

Inzerillo defends Freeholder Little in "Rastaman" controversy

Inzerillo: Kyrillos, GOP Tied to Notorious Anonymous Blogger

Says Depleted Guard Presence in NJ Endangers Homeland Security

Will Joe Kyrillos Continue to Stand with Bush Republicans in face of
New Jersey funding shortfall?

And Joe Kyrillos Contributed to Our Collective Fiscal Woes!

Former New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Chairwoman Anne Evans Estabrook took the first step toward her bid for the 2008 Republican nomination for U.S. Senate by announcing the formation of an exploratory committee that includes a Congressman, four GOP County Chairs, three state legislators and several key Republican fundraisers.

Backing Estabrook’s bid to unseat four-term Democrat Frank Lautenberg are Rep. Mike Ferguson, former Republican National Committee Finance Chairman Lewis Eisenberg, State Senators Diane Allen and Joe Kyrillos, Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, Monmouth County GOP Chairman Adam Puharic, Union County GOP Chairman Phil Morin, Gloucester County GOP Chairman Loran Oglesby, and Camden County GOP Chairman Rick DeMichelle.

Richard Perr and Elia Pelios filed ethics complaints today against seven state legislators.

The two Democratic County Chairmen alleged State Senators Joseph Kyrillos, Bob Singer and Peter Inverso, and Assemblymen Kevin O'Toole, David Wolfe, Christopher Connors and Rick Merkt may have profited by state budget items that supported. Democrats are alleging that a federal probe of how legislators might personally profit off specific state budget items is unfairly targeting just one party by looking only at actions since 2004, when Democrats first had complete control of both houses of the Legislature.

"These complaints are nothing more than a pathetic attempt by the Democrat machine to divert attention away from the fact that a laundry list of Democrats is being investigated by the FBI and US Attorney for using their office to enrich themselves. By their own admission, their complaints lack any merit or substance," said GOP State Chairman Tom Wilson. "Their failure to provide a shred of evidence to support their claims demonstrates that this is nothing more than a couple of political bosses looking to sully the good names of honest legislators to help their campaigns. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, though, since Chairman Perr has a history of filing bogus complaints. The ethics committee will undoubtedly see this as yet another baseless, politically inspired stunt and dismiss it just as they have his past complaints."

Seven Republican legislators will be the targets of ethics complaints to be filed tomorrow by two Democratic party leaders: State Senators Joseph Kyrillos, Bob Singer and Peter Inverso, and Assemblymen Kevin O'Toole, David Wolfe, Christopher Connors and Rick Merkt.

O'Toole, is running for State Senate in a contested GOP primary against former Bergen County Freeholder Todd Caliguire and Wayne attorney Victor Rabbat. Inverso is retiring, but comes from the politically competitive 14th district. Connors, in a safe GOP district, is running for the State Senate seat his father has held since 1981.

Governor Jon Corzine may not be back to work for a while, but this doesn't mean that there should not be any serious discussions or civil disagreements about state politics and public policy. Two veteran legislators and party leaders demonstrated that there can be both at the annual public policy forum of the Chamber of Commerce of South Jersey in Cherry Hill last week. Assemblyman Joe Cryan, the chair of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, and Senator Joe Kyrillos, the immediate past chair of the Republican State Committee, sparred about the state budget, the upcoming legislative primaries and general election, and the clean elections program and ethics reform.