Michael Wildes

HACKENSACK -- If it comes down to a battle between Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood) and Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood) to succeed state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), Johnson thinks it will remain civil.

“I’m not going to allow my ambitions to override my friendships,” he said while waiting in line for Gov. Corzine's rally with President Obama. 

The prospect of Weinberg moving into the State House as lieutenant governor might have seemed far fetched three months ago, when the massive corruption sting helped convince Corzine to choose Weinberg as his No. 2 based on her reformist credentials.  

At the time, Christie commanded a lead that many polls put in the double digits. But since then, those poll numbers have tightened to a dead heat, and the idea of a Lieutenant Governor Weinberg seems much more realistic. 

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If U.S. Rep. Steven Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) decides not to seek re-election next year, possible candidates for his seat include: State Sens. Robert Gordon (D-Fair Lawn) and Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge), retiring Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood), Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood), and Bergen County Freeholder Bernadette McPherson.

If State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) loses her bid for Lt. Governor, she could emerge as a strong candidate for Congress.  If Weinberg wins, Huttle is the favorite to take her State Senate seat.  Sarlo, the Senate Judiciary Chairman, has not expressed a huge desire to go to Congress; he is a possible candidate for Senate Majority Leader next year, or to chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. 

Wildes, who is not seeking re-election after two terms as mayor, has long been interested in Rothman's congressional seat.  A strong fundraiser, he has $642,983 sitting in a federal campaign account, just in case.

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Some very optimistic Bergen County Republicans are thinking ahead to 2010, when two-term County Executive Dennis McNerney is up for re-election.  The GOP believes they could have a shot at the post they held from 1986 to 2003, if New Jersey has a Republican governor.  And some Democrats say that McNerney could be weakened if federal prosecutors convict former Democratic County Chairman Joseph Ferriero after his corruption trial this fall.

The Republicans who receive the most attention as potential County Executive candidates are: County Clerk Kathleen Donovan, Assemblyman David Russo (R-Ridgewood), and former Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan.  If the Bergen County Democratic Organization pulls their support from McNerney, look for Surrogate Michael Dressler, Sheriff Leo McGuire, and outgoing Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes to be among the top candidates.

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If Loretta Weinberg is elected Lt. Governor in November, it would mean a January 2010 special election convention to fill her 37th district State Senate seat.  Democrats say the four leading candidates would be Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood), Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood), outgoing Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, and former Assemblyman Ken Zisa.  Huttle's husband is the Democratic candidate to succeed Wildes as Mayor.

"I intend to move up to the state senate, if the opportunity arises," Johnson told PolitickerNJ.com last month.

Zisa's fortunes could depend on the outcome of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero's federal corruption trial.  Zisa and Ferriero are longtime allies.

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Updated
If Loretta Weinberg is elected Lt. Governor in November, it would mean a January 2010 special election convention to fill her 37th district State Senate seat.  Democrats say the four leading candidates would be Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood), Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood), outgoing Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, and former Assemblyman Ken Zisa.  Huttle's husband is the Democratic candidate to succeed Wildes as Mayor.

"I intend to move up to the state senate, if the opportunity arises," Johnson told PolitickerNJ.com today.

Should Johnson or Valerie Huttle go to the Senate, look for one of the Democrats on the Teaneck Township Council to move up to the Assembly, as well as Cid Wilson, a party leader from Leonia who backed off a primary challenge against Huttle and Johnson (D-Englewood) in 2007 and 2009.  That race would be decided in a subsequent special election convention.

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If the uber-ambitious Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes decides he wants to pick his own successor, a split within the anti-Wildes faction of the Englewood Democratic Party could boost his chances.  Last night, Frank Huttle, a partner at one of the state's most politically influential law firms and the husband of Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood), scored a 64%-36% victory over Councilman Scott Reddin for the endorsement of the local Democratic organization.  Reddin, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Steven Rothman (who is also a former Englewood Mayor) is saying he will remain in the race.  A three-way contest surely enhances the chances of a Wildes-backed candidate winning the June primary.

Some Democrats view the vote as a slap in the face of Rothman, who has often straddled the line between the Bergen County Democratic Organization and the reform group led by State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood) and Valerie Huttle.  Team Weinberg controls the party apparatus in Englewood.

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Englewood Democrats have endorsed Frank Huttle as their candidate for mayor.

Huttle, a tax attorney who is married to Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood), screened against Englewood Councilman Scott Reddin.  

The municipal Democratic committee vote was 18-10 in Huttle’s favor.

Huttle is also president of BergenPAC and a trustee of Hackensack University Medical Center. 

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Attorney Frank Huttle is considering a mayoral run in Englewood, where incumbent Mayor Michael Wildes is retiring.  

Huttle, the husband of Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood) and partner in the politically connected law firm DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Wisler, LLP, plans to compete for the endorsement of the municipal Democratic committee, which will hear from him and Scott Reddin, a councilman who has already declared his intention to run for mayor, on Wednesday night.

Locals expect Wildes to field a candidate as well.

Frank Huttle and Reddin belong to the same anti-establishment faction of Bergen County Democrats that has often fought with Wildes.  In fact, Reddin already has the endorsement of his wife’s running mate, Assemblyman/Councilman Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood).

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HACKENSACK – It was a day of promise nearly two years ago that turned dismal fast, and in retrospect could be read as just one more stage in the unraveling of a party machine, whose new-look leader is now attempting to reverse months of bad news. 

On Thursday night, the Bergen County Democratic Organization (BCDO) overwhelmingly endorsed Jon Corzine for another term as governor, thereby kicking into motion the organization’s own official low-drama contribution to Corzine’s inaugural reelection effort. 

The governor appeared at the party's convention, and spoke in gratitude.

Bergen's unified front comes 23 months after Corzine attempted to make whole an organization at the brink of what was then yet another battle between state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) and BCDO Chairman Joseph Ferriero.   

On April 12, 2007, the governor arrived at BCDO headquarters, and like a benevolent chief summoned to witness the repairing of two nations, sat between Weinberg and Ferriero as the Bergen boss swore the war was over and promised not to run his ally, Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes, against the independent senator.

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Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes may be stepping down after his term expires, but he is still expected to play a major role in the upcoming election.

"I would be shocked if there was not a Democratic primary. I would not object to that," said Councilman Scott Reddin, an adversary of Wildes who so far is the only declared candidate for mayor.

Politics in this ethnically diverse and heavily Democratic city of 26,000 have been driven over the last six years by the rivalry between the headline-generating Wildes, a fundraising powerhouse who has been candid that he aspires to higher office and who has been a key ally of former county Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, and his adversaries, who hold a 4-1 majority on the council.

For his mayoral bid, Reddin has the support of fellow council members Charlotte Bennett Schoen, Ken Rosenzweig and Gordon Johnson, who is also a state assemblyman (Johnson ran in 2006 to take out Wildes-backed incumbent Vernon Walton, and will not seek reelection this year).  The other councilman, Jack Drakeford, is aligned with Wildes.

Reddin said that, if elected, he would govern with a much more low-key style than Wildes. Read More >