Matt Friedman

PolitickerNJ.com's Matt Friedman had an interesting observation during his coverage of the Republican gubernatorial debate.  He notes that Christopher Christie, "in recounting the damage he says has been done by seven years of Democratic governors," skips Richard Codey - he goes from James E. McGreevey straight to Jon Corzine. 

Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale) is preparing to seek re-election to 15th term, even though some GOP leaders have urged him to retire.

It has taken him over a year to make a decision on whether or not he wants to stay in the legislature, but Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale), the senior member of the lower house, said today that he filed a letter of intent to the Bergen County Republican Organization announcing his plans to run for reelection.

Rooney, who at 69 is the youngest member of the District 39 delegation, has served in the assembly since 1983, and has been grappling the reelection question since overcoming a well-funded challenge to his seat by Democrats in 2007.  Complicating matters was a bad knee and hip replacement surgery, and later some fundraising disagreements with the new party chairman, Bob Yudin.

"I did file a letter of intent to run, so surprise, surprise, I decided that I do feel better.  My hip is great," said Rooney.  "The knee is fine, but I still need some work on it. I've started to lose weight, which is very important.  I need that more than anything else. Currently, as long as I feel well, I've got my name in."

But Rooney's letter of intent should not be read as an absolute commitment to running again, even if his health holds up.  While Rooney said he's more likely to run than not, he's meeting this week with Washington Township Councilman Bob Schroeder, a wealthy businessman and former gubernatorial candidate who has made no secret of his aspirations for an assembly seat.

Schroeder has also filed a letter of intent, but will not run if Rooney does.

PolitickerNJ.com reporter Matt Friedman is now at home recovering from surgery last Friday to remove a tumor from his epiglottis. He has an aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and his prospects for a full recovery are excellent. He is feeling well and he is full of optimism. Matt will be taking a little time off as he undergoes the initial stages of chemotherapy.

“I expect to be reporting again in time to cover what are shaping up to be interesting gubernatorial and legislative primaries, along with some of the municipal races coming up in May,” Matt wrote in an e-mail he asked to be shared with our readers.“For the few of you I’ve already told about this, thank you for your kind words. For everyone else, keep in touch, and please don’t stop emailing me your tips, ideas and opinions.”

Please join all of us at PolitickerNJ.com in wishing Matt the very, very best. We look forward to his speedy recovery and his quick return to covering New Jersey politics.

Former union leader and ex-gubernatorial girlfriend Carla Katz will do a one-on-one with Michael Aron this weekend on On the Record, airing Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., and on Monday morning at 6:30 a.m. They’ll talk about the ongoing email saga, union politics and Katz’s life in general.

Tonight at 7:00, I’ll be on Reporters Roundtable with Ben Dworkin, Director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. The show, also hosted by Aron, will air again on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.

It’s all about the Governor’s economic stimulus plan on NJN this weekend.

On Sunday at 9a.m. and 11a.m., watch On the Record with New Jersey Policy Perspective President Jon Shure, Center for Policy Research of NJ President Gregg Edwards, Democratic analyst Mike Murphy and Ramapo College Finance Professor/former U.S. Senate candidate Murray Sabrin discuss Corzine’s plan.  The show is hosted by Michael Aron and will air again on Monday at 6:30 a.m. 

Tonight at 7:00 and Sunday at 10:00a.m., catch Reporters Roundtable, hosted by Michael Aron and featuring Bergen Record columnist Charles Stile, Gannett’s Greg Volpe and yours truly,  Matt Friedman.  We'll discuss the Corzine economic plan, the Republican sales tax cut proposal and commercials from the U.S. Senate and Congressional races.

Tonight at 6:30 and Sunday at 10:00 a.m., catch The Bergen Record’s Charles Stile, Trish Graber of the Gloucester County Times, and PolitickerNJ.com’s own Matt Friedman on Reporters Roundtable, hosted by Michael Aron. The reporters will discuss the state budget, Gary Rose’s departure and county chairman contests.

On the Record, airing Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., will feature NJEA President Joyce Powell and Assemblymen Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) and Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen) discussing the budget.

If you can’t get enough Stile and Friedman, tune in to My9’s New Jersey Now, airing at 12:00 on Sunday, where the two will discuss political rumors. Also appearing on the show are Assemblymen Jon Bramnick (R-Union) and Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), who will debate what’s causing residents to flee New Jersey.

At 6:30 this evening on NJN, PoltickerNJ.com correspondent Matt Friedman will join a political roundtable to discuss New Jersey's current political scene. Friedman will be joined by Gannett New Jersey's Greg Volpe, Politifax's Nick Acocella, and the Bergen Record's Charles Stile, with NJN Senior Political Correspondent Michael Aron hosting the discussion.

The roundtable will recap the state's U.S. Senate primary elections, ongoing budget negotiations, legislative hearings on executive county school superintendents and the possibility that Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine's emails to Carla Katz may be made public.

Former Governor Brendan Byrne has an explanation as to why his autograph was currently selling on E-Bay for $3.00, while autographs of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg and former Governors Jim Florio and Tom Kean are priced at between $24.75 and $29.99.

“It’s the market,” Byrne told PolitickerNJ.com’s Matt Friedman.  “There are