Marcia Karrow

State Sen. Marcia Karrow (R-Raritan Twp.), right, greets Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (R-Colts Neck) at last Thursday's SCFRW dinner.

MONTCLAIR - Already discouraged that last week’s budget hearings’ kickoff contained what she saw as mostly the hand-wringing of lobbyists and government types citing insider budget figures rather than the input of real-impact New Jersey residents, state Sen. Marcia Karrow (R-Raritan Twp.) criticized the Democrats’ upcoming commissioners’ hearings timetable as morre kabuki theater intentionally designed to squelch debate. 

That assessment drew a stern denunciation and denial from state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen), who chairs the budget committee. 

A minority party member of the committee, newly sworn into the senate after beating Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Washington Twp.) in a special election earlier this year, Karrow questions the Democrats’ time tables for public hearings of Gov. Jon Corzine’s $29.8 billion budget, and especially objects to what she sees as less than adequate slots for department heads to break down their respective budgets.

Beck in Bernards.

BERNARDS – The Somerset County Federation of Republican Women (SCFRW) on Thursday night at the Bernards Inn honored state Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Red Bank) with their 17th Annual Millicent Fenwick Award for Outstanding Public Service.

A packed banquet hall included “sister Senator” Marcia Karrow (R-Raritan Twp.), Assemblyman Pete Biondi (R-Hillsborough), past award recipients Assemblywoman Denise Coyle (R-Bernards) and Somerset County Freeholder Pat Walsh, Somerset County GOP Chairman Dale Florio (who worked as a congressional aide for Fenwick), Somerset County Freeholder Jack M. Ciattarelli, Union County GOP Finance Chair Kelly Hatfield, and many others.

In District 23, the Republican State Senate primary between incumbent Marcia Karrow and Assemblyman Michael Doherty is official. Both candidates have filed nominating petitions with the state Division of Elections.  Doherty’s slogans: Hunterdon County Republican Organization and Warren County Republican Organization.

Senator Marcia Karrow (R-Warren/Hunterdon) expressed her deep concern today after New York announced that its unemployment rate is significantly lower than New Jersey’s.

“It pains me to see fear grip New Jersey families faced with the loss of jobs and income,” Karrow stated. “Governor Corzine has to stop touting his alleged ’successes’ and start leading the way in asking why New Jersey has proportionally more workers out of work than neighboring states do. Then we need him to lead on coming up with a far more comprehensive plan for diversifying our economy and reviving the entrepreneurial culture that once made New Jersey an economic powerhouse.

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Former Raritan Township Committeewoman – and former Republican -Chris Harcar wants to pursue an Assembly seat as a Democrat in the 23rd District, and the obvious question is whether her run has  a grudge match factor with a party now headlined by nemesis state Sen. Marcia Karrow (R-Raritan). 

The women tangled in June 2007, leaving Harcar to allege that Karrow busted her arm in a criminal complaint a judge later dismissed.  

Harcar broke with the party last year. 

“I’m not running for the senate,” said the former president of the local Republican Club and nine-year veteran of local elected office, denying that her run has anything to do with Karrow.

Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt has decided to run for reelection rather than make a bid for the state assembly in the Republican primary.

“We had three good candidates, and we had a decision reached by those folks. I’m not going to question that decision. It is what it is.  You move on,” he said.  “I have a lot of things I’m working on at the county level and I really enjoy my job.”

Holt initially wanted to run for state senate in a special convention against Assembly members Marcia Karrow (R-Raritan) and Michael Doherty (R-Washington Twp.) to fill the seat of newly elected U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton).  Karrow won that contest, but Doherty plans to challenge her again in the June primary, leaving his assembly seat open.  After dropping out before the state senate convention, Holt decided to run for Karrow’s old assembly seat, but came in third behind Warren County Freeholder John DiMaio and fellow Hunterdon County Freeholder Erik Peterson at a follow-up convention.

Bill Extends Deadline on Recycling Coordinator Certification

Legislation sponsored by Senators Marcia Karrow (R-Warren/Hunterdon) and Steve Oroho (R-Sussex/Morris/Hunterdon) that would give municipalities a two-year extension on the deadline for training a certified recycling coordinator unanimously passed the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee today.

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Ed Smith

Asserting that primaries are great forums for the exchange of ideas, Ed Smith of Asbury, chief of staff to Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Washington Twp.) tonight told PolitickerNJ.com he intends to run for the Assembly in the 23rd District Republican Primary.

“I’m a pro-life, pro-business and pro-gun Republican,” said Smith, 55, employed in Doherty’s office for seven years, and a candidate for the Assembly twice before, in 1995 and 1999.

As of tonight, Smith is the first candidate to enter the 23rd District Assembly race in addition to Assemblyman-elect John DiMaio - and presumably Hunterdon County Freeholder Erik Peterson, who placed second behind DiMaio in last month’s special convention. 

Efforts May Create Temporary or Government Jobs, Not Long-Term Private Sector Jobs

Senator Marcia Karrow (R-23), a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, is calling on Governor Jon Corzine to provide more information about his claims that funds received by New Jersey through federal stimulus spending would create 100,000 jobs for the State.

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Could Mike Doherty run for John DiMaio's Freeholder seat and then take control of Warren County? Remember, this is New Jersey, where anything can happen.

If Michael Doherty figures out that he could be without a public office in January - that would mean losing the Senate primary to Marcia Karrow, since the train has already left the station on his District 23 Assembly seat, Doherty could head home to Warren County and run in a March special election convention for John DiMaio's seat on the Board of Freeholders.  Doherty would likely win that race, keeping him in the game for a little while longer - maybe long enough to challenge Surrogate Susan Dickey in 2010 or Karrow in 2011, or just wait and see if Warren County winds up in a more Doherty-friendly district after reapportionment.

Should Doherty run for Freeholder next month - don't hold your breath, this strategy is extraordinarily unlikely, he would have a chance to quickly emerge as the leader of the Warren GOP if he decided to also work to dump incumbent Everett Chamberlain in the June primary.  Chamberlain has struggled to win the approval of Warren Republicans, local insiders say.  That could give Doherty a 2-1 majority on the Freeholder Board.