Assemblyman Joseph Vas (D-Perth Amboy), who was indicted on Wednesday on state corruption charges, has notified Middlesex County Democrats that he will not seek re-election to a fourth term in the State Assembly this year. 

Democratic leaders, including Gov. Jon Corzine, Speaker Joseph Roberts, State Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Woodbridge), and Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan, have called on Vas, the former Mayor of Perth Amboy, to resign his Assembly seat immediately.  Vas has had no public comment since his indictment.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Woodbridge) today called on his indicted district-mate, Assemblyman Joseph Vas (D-Perth Amboy), to resign.

“In light of the variety and extent of the charges, Assemblyman Vas should resign his seat immediately so the people and voters of the 19th Legislative District can have their government serve them in a way that’s unencumbered by these charges,” Vitale told PolitickerNJ.com in a phone interview.

Vas was charged with 11 corruption counts today related to his time mayor of Perth Amboy.  He was defeated in an upset last year by current mayor Wilda Diaz.  

Vas is already facing a primary challenge for his assembly seat from South Amboy Mayor Jack O’Leary.  Middlesex County Democrats will award the party line to two assembly candidates at a convention this month.

The DCCC is on the air with a radio ad attacking U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance, who has been in Congress about a month.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will begin running a radio advertisement today attacking newly-elected U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton) for voting against President Obama's $89 billion economic stimulus plan.  The DCCC did not disclose how much they are spending on the Lane ads, but Democratic party sources said it was not an expensive media buy.

Lance easily held the 7th district House seat last November (51%-42%) despite substantial financial help from the DCCC for Democrat Linda Stender, a four-term Assemblywoman. 

VITALE BILL TO EXEMPT SENIOR HOMEOWNERS FROM BUILDING PERMIT FEES APPROVED IN COMMITTEE

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale which would permit towns to exempt senior homeowners from municipal building permit fees was unanimously approved by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee today.

“Senior homeowners on fixed incomes are among the hardest hit by New Jersey’s high cost of living,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “Wherever we can, we need to give our hardest-hit homeowners a little relief. By giving municipalities the option to exempt seniors from home-improvement building permit fees, we are giving them an added tool to encourage older New Jerseyans to stay in their communities, and continue to enrich the neighborhoods they helped build in the Garden State.”

VITALE BILL TO REQUIRE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR EATING DISORDERS ADVANCES

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale which would require all health insurers in New Jersey and the State Health Benefits Plan (SHBP) to provide the same insurance coverage for the treatment of eating disorders as it applies to other biologically-based mental illnesses was approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today.

“According to The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, nearly 8 million people around the country – or about 3 percent of the country’s population – suffer from eating disorders,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex, and Chairman of the Senate Health panel. “These are not cases of someone going to the gym more than they should, or skipping a dessert every now and then – these are people who need treatment for serious, potentially life-threatening mental illness. Insurance providers have a responsibility to cover the treatment that people need in order to overcome the epidemic of eating disorders, and in New Jersey, we want to hold them to that responsibility.”

VITALE BILL TO EASE ECONOMIC PRESSURES ON CLOSING HOSPITALS APPROVED

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee Chairman, Senator Joseph F. Vitale, which would make changes to the Hospital Asset Transformation Program to provide financial assistance to nonprofit hospitals in the process of closing was approved by the Committee today.

“New Jersey needs to do everything it can to ensure a healthy hospital network which meets the health care needs of its residents,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “However, there are times when demand has dried up, or costs are too high, and the only sensible solution is to re-focus our limited State resources elsewhere. When closure is inevitable, the State has a responsibility to make that process as painless as possible for the care-providers and the community at large.”

VITALE, GREENWALD: NEW REFORMS ALREADY WORKING
TO DECREASE NUMBER OF KIDS WITHOUT HEALTH COVERAGE

(TRENTON) - Responding to a recent study that reported more than a quarter-million New Jersey children lack health coverage, Senator Joseph Vitale and Assemblyman Louis Greenwald noted that recent reforms to the NJ FamilyCare program already are cutting the number of uninsured kids in the state.

U.S. Rep.-elect Leonard Lance will be tough to beat in 2010 after besting Democrat Linda Stender by nine percentage points

Democrats don't think it will be easy to  unseat soon-to-be freshman Leonard Lance from the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010.  Lance scored a 51%-42% victory over Linda Stender, who had been running for three years and had huge financial support from national Democrats.  The district has been Republican since Florence Dwyer ousted Harrison Williams in 1956. 

ISELIN -- If only third graders could vote.

Talking to PolitickerNJ.com before addressing a group of senior citizens with State Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Woodbridge), Stender said that ads run waged by her opponent and the third party groups that support him -- rhyming her last name with "Spender," "truth bender" or putting anti-Stender lyrics to the tune of Yankee Doodle -- are insulting to the voters of the 7th Congressional District.

"I'm very popular amongst the third grade set because of the nursery rhyme nature of the campaign that's been run. The kids are always happy to see me, because they know the ads," she said.

Stender's ads against State Sen. Leonard Lance (R-Flemington) have been primarily negative, drawing parallels Lance to President Bush. She prefers the word "comparative."

VITALE BILL TO PROTECT SENIORS FROM RENT INCREASES APPROVED IN SENATE

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale which would remove an exemption in local rent control to protect senior tenants was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 22-16.

“New Jersey has an extremely high cost of living, and it’s difficult for renters on fixed incomes to get by,” said Senator Vitale, D-Middlesex. “Recognizing that many tenants are one financial crisis away from eviction, municipalities throughout the State have adopted rent control as a way to keep their communities affordable. However, there’s a loophole in the law regulating local rent control, and we need to close this loophole to protect those seniors who pay their rent on time, but might not be able to withstand massive increases.”