Joseph Charles

Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne), indicted today on charges that he that funneled legislative paychecks for aides into a campaign account, stands an excellent chance of winning re-election if he refuses to drop out of the race.  It might be impossible for a Democrat to lose District 31, which includes Bayonne and part of Jersey City.

Democrats have a 8-1 voter registration edge in the 31st district.  Chiappone was unopposed in the 2007 general election; in 2005, Democrats won by more than 18,000 votes.  Bayonne delivered a margin of nearly 5,000 and the plurality in Jersey City was over 13,000.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie and his new running mate, Kim Guadagno, will campaign together today in Cherry Hill, Hamilton, Toms River, and Hillsborough.  

Christie announced yesterday that Guadagno, the Monmouth County Sheriff, would run on his ticket for Lt. Governor.  He made his announcement on the Internet, and then the two campaigned together in Asbury Park, Woodbridge and Garfield.

Gov. Jon Corzine, the Democratic incumbent, continues to mull his selection of a running mate.  The deadline is six days away.  State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) is now the front runner, with State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen), Passaic County Freeholder Tahesha Way, and Superior Court Judge Joseph Charles continuing to receive some consideration.  Last week's front runner, Reality TV star Randal Pinkett, has reportedly fallen from the top of the list.

Another name to help Gov. Jon Corzine as he searches for an African American running mate: Superior Court Judge Joseph Charles, a former State Senator and Assemblyman from Jersey City.  

Charles was first elected to the State Assembly in 1981, defeating incumbent Charles Mays in the Democratic primary.  He moved up to the Senate in 2001 after six-term incumbent Edward O'Connor retired; he ran on a ticket with Joseph Doria eleven times.  Charles left the Senate after less than two years to take a judgeship.  His retirement triggered an epoch Senate primary between then-Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham and the Hudson County Democratic Organization.

Charles is well respected in Trenton and bridges gaps between the various factions of Democrats in Hudson County.  As a Judge and former Deputy Attorney General (under a Republican Governor), he helps offset Christie's law enforcement experience.  And he's old enough to not be a political threat to would-be contenders for the 2013 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, like Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

Even if Corzine wanted him, it might be a tough sell to coax the 65-year-old Charles off the bench with five years left before his retirement.

Burlington County Republicans are saying that they expect Gov. Jon Corzine to nominate State Sen. Philip Haines (R-Springfield) to the Superior Court this month, and that Haines has told party leaders he could be out of the Senate as early as June 25.  Republican sources say that Christopher Myers, a former Medford Mayor who won 48% in a bid for Congress last year, has emerged as the leading candidate to win a July special election convention to fill Haines' seat.

Haines would become the third Senator in recent years to resign from the upper house to become a Superior Court Judge: Garry Furnari (D-Nutley) did it in 2003, clearing the way for Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) top move up to the Senate; and later that year, Joseph Charles (D-Jersey City) left the Senate after less than two years to become a Judge.  It was the Charles seat that led to a rancorous primary between then-Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham and the candidate backed by the Hudson County Democratic Organization, then-Jersey City Council President L. Harvey Smith.