Joseph Ferriero

Bergen Democrats say the status of the 37th district "changes hourly," but to expect State Senator Loretta Weinberg to run for re-election on the organization line.  Last Friday, the state Attorney General's office granted Weinberg, Assemblyman Gordon Johnson and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle approval to move to the BCDO line, as requested by their attorney, Angelo Genova.  But confusion remains, with Weinberg expected to go to court on Friday as part of a suit to be bracketed with her Freeholder candidates.  Ninteen days ago, Weinberg appeared at a news conference with County Chairman Joseph Ferriero to declare a peace treaty; the Ferriero-backed opponent to Weinberg, Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, dropped out of the race. 

Numerous credible sources confirm that considerable tension exists between Acting Governor Richard Codey and the staff of Governor Jon Corzine.  And other sources strongly suggest that the peace treaty of the 37th district -- the one Corzine helped forge between State Senator Loretta Weinberg and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero on the morning of his accident -- may also be in jeopardy.

HACKENSACK - A feud between the Bergen County Democratic Organization and a popular State Senator has come to an end.

"I wasn’t going to say it, but Cinderella did come to the ball finally," State Sen. Loretta Weinberg told a crowd of reporters, onlookers and party spear carriers in the Hackensack headquarters of the Bergen County Democratic Party.

It was a metaphor Chairman Joseph Ferriero delighted in embellishing, as the pair announced they would be reconciling after a Rizzo-Kenickie-like brawl that had seen Weinberg bucking the party hard for at least the last two and a half years.

In the wilderness, Weinberg always had a key ally in Corzine, who backed the rebel legislator’s successful bid for Senate in 2005. The move riled Ferriero and the county establishment, and the ongoing civil war was on the verge of another big cymbal clash this primary season, with battle lines drawn between Ferriero’s candidates - Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, former Assemblyman Charles "Ken" Zisa and Cid Wilson; and the Weinberg faction.

Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero will endorse State Sen. Loretta Weinberg tomorrow, ending a civil war in the 37th district. Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes will drop his challenge to Weinberg in the Democratic primary, as will Assembly candidates Ken Zisa and Cid Wilson.

Ferriero, along with Gov. Jon Corzine, is expected to announce his support of Weinberg and Assembly incumbents Gordon Johnson and Valerie Huttle, at a news conference on Thursday. The Democrats will instead launch a united front to unseat the Republican incumbents in the neighboring 39th district.