Jon Bramnick

The Assembly Republican caucus this morning reelected Assembly Mniority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) to a fourth consecutive term. 

Support was unanimous.

After threatening, Assembly Conference Leader Pete Biondi (R-Hillsborough) ended up not challenging DeCroce, who is rumored to be a short list candidate for the cabinet of Gov.-elect Chris Christie.

Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) this morning received his caucus's backing to be conference leader and Assemblyman Dave Rible (R-Wall) moved up to become whip.

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany)

If Republicans fail to make significant gains in the legislature this year, the political fate of Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) becomes a question mark, despite the avowed strength he has in his own caucus.

A coup launched by Assemblyman Pete Biondi (R-Hillsborough), the Republican conference leader, and Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham Twp.) fizzled last month when Biondi, working in tandem with Merkt, couldn't scrape together sufficient support to threaten DeCroce.

But Assembly Republicans in conversation lay out the contests where they hope to win, and a list that has at various times included districts 14, 19, 36 and 22, now most emphatically begins with District 1, with the other theatres of endeavor offered more faintly in a hard luck economy where the GOP has failed to match the Democrats in fundraising.

Assemblyman Jon Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) called a public hearing on government waste chaired by Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick (D-Westfield) a "laughable... partisan sideshow" and in a clear shot at the gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie, criticized Republicans for  not talking about the cost of hotel rooms for law enforcement officials.

 "I also find it odd that the panel failed to discuss whether taxpayers would appreciate lifting travel restrictions that have saved taxpayer money in recent years," said Wisniewski, who is considered a possible candidate for Democratic State Chairman next year. "Then again, circuses are purely for entertainment, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised these Assembly Republican confabs are so out of touch with the public's concerns.

Bramnick said last week that the hearing would allow "citizens to come forward and offer their opinion and suggestions regarding government waste that occurs at all level."

Assembly MInority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsipanny)

Claiming to have short-circuited a rebellion before it mobilized - in fact denying there's anything there except a tiny - and stalled -minority of malcontents, the allies of Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) and Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) last night released a list of overwhelming support.

DeCroce and Bramnick released the signatures of 26 assembly people or prospective members who back DeCroce for another two-year term as minority leader and Bramnick for conference leader.

That efectively bounces Assemblyman Pete Biondi (R-Hillsborough), who now serves as conference leader, out of contention for caucus leadership, Bramnick and DeCroce argue.

The names include everyone except Assemblywoman Alison McHose, Assemblyman Mike Doherty, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, Assemblyman Richard Merkt (who adamantly wants DeCroce gone and supplanted with Biondi), and Biondi.

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany)

Not to be outdone by Democrats embroiled in a senate leadership battle, the lower-house Republican forces of Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) and caucus adversary Assemblyman Pete Biondi (R-Hillsborough) spilled their own brand of backdoor drama into the open this week.

"We should be focused on the gubernatorial contest and getting Chris Christie elected," said Biondi, a sentiment expressed by none other than his GOP caucus rival, DeCroce ally Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield).

In the meantime, it's a cloakroom imbroglio, Republican style.

A critic of DeCroce, conference leader Biondi has tag-teamed with retiring Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham Twp.) in an ongoing effort to dislodge DeCroce from a leadership job he's held since 2003. The two allies believe DeCroce has sleepwalked through his tenure, and it's time for a change.

"This is not a covert operation," said Biondi, who insists informal caucus polling proves discontent with the minority leader. "We need a message of smaller, smarter government, less taxes and no intrusion of government into our personal lives or personal property. ...We have not increased our caucus numbers since Alex has been there. We're stagnant."

Amplifying the attack, Merkt fired off a letter to DeCroce, dated today, which PolitickerNJ.com obtained.

Assembly Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), right, with GOP gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie earlier this year.

Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, on Monday will convene hearings throughout the state to examine and stamp out corruption. 

Republican Leader and Assemblyman Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) requested that Bramnick take the lead on the issue in the aftermath of a federal bust last month resulting in the arrests of 29 public officials and operatives.

Bramnick will convene the first hearing at the State House on Monday, August 17, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in Room 209. The public is invited to speak before the committee.

If Christopher Christie wins his race for Governor, look for Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) to actively seek a post in the new administration.  The 73-year-old Morris County Republican has been anxious to serve in the cabinet for several years; he was interested enough in becoming the Commissioner of Transportation that he discussed the job with then-Gov. James E. McGreevey. 

“I am singularly focused on winning a Republican majority in the state Assembly and helping Chris Christie become the next Governor of New Jersey. I am not interested in becoming Transportation Commissioner," DeCroce said in an e-mail to PolitickerNJ.com. "I am very interested in serving as Assembly Speaker and working with Governor Christie to restore fiscal sanity and make New Jersey affordable again. Any report to the contrary is simply false.”

A DeCroce move to the administration would create two new campaigns - one to replace him as the Assembly Minority Leader (assuming the GOP does not capture control of the Assembly in November) and the other to fill his District 26 Assembly seat.  Some Assembly Republicans believe a leadership battle could turn out to be contest between the GOP Conference Leader, Peter Biondi (R-Hillsborough) and Minority Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield).  Biondi has been eyeing the Minority Leader post for a while, and has reportedly considered challenging DeCroce.    Don't count out Assemblywoman Alison McHose (R-Franklin) as a leadership candidate.

ASBURY PARK - Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno walked onto the boardwalk here with GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie and stood at his side as he formally affirmed her as his choice for lieutenant governor.

"We are here to make history," announced Christie. "After a great deal of consideration, yesterday I called Kim Guadagno and I am thankful to say that she said yes."

Christie heralded the Iowa-born Guadagno's record as a crimebuster during her time as Assistant U.S. Attorney under Michael Chertoff in the 1990s, her past service on the Monmouth Beach local governing body, and what he cited as her aggressive one-and-half-year tenure as sheriff, during which time she has backed down unions and advocated for beefed-up federal powers for local law enforcement to combat illegal immigration.

Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno, thought to be a leading candidate for Lt. Governor, with State Sen. Sean Kean (R-Wall)

While it appears that Democrat Jon Corzine will go first (there is considerable speculation that he wants his running mate in place before President Obama campaigns with him in Holmdel next week), Christopher Christie continues to mull his own pick for a GOP Lt. Governor candidate.  The conventional wisdom, at least right now, is that Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno is at or near the top of the list.  Also under consideration: Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan, and State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park).

Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), right, at a GOP event earlier this year with Chris Christie.

GOP sources confirm that GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie is assessing Assembly Minority Whip Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) as a potential running mate.

Contacted about the information coming from three sources, Bramnick said, "no comment."

A moderate Republican and staunch longtime ally of Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr., (R-Westfield), who became whip two years ago, built some statewide campaign cred in the 2007 cycle and generated buzz as a possible 2008 candidate for U.S. Congress in the 7th Congressional District before electing not to run, Bramnick last year also founded the progressive policy committee as a way to focus Assembly Republicans on environmental, women's and other issues.

Bramnick backed Christie for governor before the U.S. Attorney's formal announcement last year, and in late January threw a $3,400-a-head fundraiser for the budding gubernatorial candidate at his Westfield home.