John Farmer

John Farmer, one of the Hall of Famers of New Jersey journalism, will retire from his post as the Star-Ledger's Editorial Page editor tomorrow.  The veteran reporter and columnist, who took over editorial responsibilities for the state's largest newspaper when Fran Dauth left last year, will be replaced by columnist Tom Moran.  Today is Farmer's last day.

Just a short and respectful note to John Farmer, Sr., the legendary Star-Ledger columnist-turned- editorial page editor:  the Izod Center is in East Rutherford, which has been in the 36th district since 1973.  Today's editorial takes a slap at State Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Demarest), who opposes letting the Nets out of their Meadowlands contract.  The Ledger: "Funny, but we haven't heard a peep out of Cardinale for years while the state propped up Izod - located in his district - and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority with tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money."  Cardinale represents the 39th district in northeastern Bergen County; it actually takes less time to drive to the Meadowlands from Farmer's Newark office than it would from Cardinale's office in Cresskill.  The Senator from the 36th is Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge).

John Farmer, Sr., the legendary but aging Star-Ledger editorial page editor, told the National Journal that GOP gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie was the front-runner for their newspaper endorsement before independent Christopher Daggett came into their editorial board and blew them away.  . "He was so good we brought him back a second time," Farmer told On Call, a National Journal publication.

Farmer said that Christie has played it safe - a reference to criticism that he has not been specific enough on his plans for taxes and budgets.  Christie's "arithmetic...didn't add up," Farmer told them, "and I think that hurt his credibility."  Calling him a "chaplain on a pirate ship," Farmer made it clear that Gov. Jon Corzine was never really in the running for an endorsement by the state's largest newspaper.

The Star-Ledger announced this week that they expect to cut another fifty full-time jobs amidst scary economic forecasts.  (There is, of course, a temptation to suggest that they ask Mark Matzen to help them become a bit more creative.) The newspaper's political team appears to be safe: the Star-Ledger has just invested in some billboards to expand the name ID of their "A Team" - Pulitzer Prize winner Josh Margolin, young rising star Claire Heininger, and Tom Moran, who rejoined the newspaper after a short stint at PSE&G.  The word is that Moran is Farmer's heir apparent.

There is some speculation in Star-Ledger circles that Tom Moran, the former columnist who is returning to his old job after an eighteen-month stint working corporate communications for PSE&G, is being groomed for higher office.  The word is that Moran is the crowned prince of the editorial page, and will become the Star-Ledger's soul after the aged John Farmer retires.  Farmer, a veteran reporter and columnist, began writing editorials after Fran Dauth took her buyout package last year.  Moran has some experience writing editorials, and the word is that's who editor Jim Willse wants.

An editorial in the state's largest newspaper this morning essentially beats the crap out of Gov. Jon Corzine for even considering a Reality TV star as the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor.  Since Corzine reportedly has Donald Trump's apprentice, Randal Pinkett, at the very top of his short list, this might make an interesting referendum as to the power of a Star-Ledger editorial under their relatively new editorial page editor, veteran columnist John Farmer, Sr.  If Corzine backs down and picks someone else, some political insiders might give Farmer credit for scaring the Governor off of his outside-the-box pick.  Of course, it's not just Farmer who opposes Pinkett; Corzine has heard the same thing from a number of leading New Jersey Democrats over the last few days.  Click here to read the Star-Ledger editorial.

Former Attorney General John Farmer is expected to be the new dean of Rutgers Law School

John Farmer, Jr., who was the Governor of New Jersey for a little more than an hour on January 8, 2002, is expected to be named Dean of the Rutgers University Law School today.  Farmer served as Chief Counsel to Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, and then as state Attorney General under Whitman and Donald DiFrancesco.   He was Governor for the hour between the end of DiFrancesco's term as a State Senator (which ended his tenure as Acting Governor) and the reorganization of the Senate.  Co-Senate Presidents John Bennett and Richard Codey each served 3 ½ day as Governor until James E. McGreevey was sworn in one week later.

John Azzarello is widely viewed as an extraordinary lawyer, the kind of guy who might wind up on a short list for U.S. Attorney or U.S. District Court Judge someday.  He's a partner at a politically influential law firm; his partners are Jack Arsenault, who was nearly James E. McGreevey's Attorney General, and John Farmer, Jr., who was Attorney General under Christine Todd Whitman and Donald DiFrancesco.  He's a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who was Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.  He went to Washington with Tom Kean as counsel to the 9/11 Commission.

On Friday, Azzarello did what other good white collar criminal defense attorneys do - he sought the mercy of a judge who was about to sentence his client - in this case a corrupt former public official, Mims Hackett.   And while he was ultimately successful - Hackett can serve his federal and state sentences concurrently and may only have to spend six months of his five year state sentence in prison - his argument wasn't exactly up there with Temple Houston.

Here's how the Star-Ledger reported it:

After the entire Star-Ledger editorial board opted to accept the paper's buyout offer, John Farmer, a 26-year veteran of the paper, was tasked with rebuilding its editorial page. Farmer, who has 50 years experience in the industry, is a safe choice and offers a measure of steadiness which might be welcome during this period of turbulence and transition.

On the flip side, those qualities could be less than optimal while the news business struggles to adapt to a rapidly changing media environment.

Last week, Star-Ledger reporter Kelly Heyboer conducted a video interview with the new editorial page editor on his first day on the job. The most interesting exchange came when Heyboer mentioned that "people can go on the Internet to get their opinions, to express their opinions," and asked Farmer how he felt about the fact that "a lot of people say there's no need for a newspaper editorial board or opinion pages anymore."

Governor's Office Photo

John Farmer, the new Star-Ledger editorial page editor, says he doesn't believe in giving one party more than eight years in office

The NJ Voices interview with John Farmer, the new Editorial Page editor of the Star-Ledger, is a must-read for the New Jersey political community.  Farmer says he’s an Independent (a political “agnostic”) who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 “because I don't believe in giving any one party more than eight years in office.”

On the Star-Ledger’s political leanings:

“The editorials over the past eight years have been largely liberal.  But that's as much a function of events as it is of any internal inclination of the paper.  Largely, it's been a reaction to the record of the Bush administration. He hasn't given us much to cheer. We supported him quite enthusiastically after 9/11. But as the record of the Bush administration has unfolded, we've been pretty critical.”

On newspapers competing with the Internet:

Among the Star-Ledger reporters who have accepted the buyout and will be leaving the newspaper: Jeff Whelan and his wife, Kate Coscarelli; John Martin, who covered the U.S. Attorney's office and is now reporting on the Ft. Dix trials; Trenton reporters Dunstan McNicholl, Joe Donohue, Tom Hester, and Robert Schwaneberg; columnists Fran Wood and Joan Whitlow; Middlesex County reporter Diane Walsh; editorial page editor Fran Dauth; Washington, D.C. reporter Robert Cohen; and Ron Marsico, who covers the Port Authority and is likely to wind up there as a staffer.