Paul Fader

Newark Mayor Cory Booker needed to do some damage control yesterday after taking heat for his endorsement of Richard Codey (D-Roseland) in the race for Senate President.  Booker, at the urging of two lawyers who advise him, Elnardo Webster and Paul Fader, backed Codey after Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) had already announced he had a majority of the Democratic Senate Caucus on his side.   That caused some Democrats close to Sweeney - especially George Norcross - to offer Booker a bit of friendly guidance.  (It's fair to assume that the advice included strategic assumptions for the 2013 Democratic gubernatorial primary.)  Booker, realizing Webster and Fader might have screwed up a bit, put out a statement late in the day acknowledging Sweeney's victory over Codey, and endorsing Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) for Speaker.  That probably made Norcross happy, but it won't be any consolation to Codey, who thought announcing a Booker endorsement a few hours earlier might be his salvation.

Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin has become a partner in the politically-connected law firm Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Fader, the firm announced today.

The firm, which was founded by former Gov. Jim Florio, a Democrat, counts many insiders of both political parties as partners.  They include Warren County Republican Chairman Doug Steinhardt; Bergen County Democratic insider Paul Fader, who was chief counsel to Governor McGreevey and Codey and a two-term mayor of Englewood; and former Bergen County Republican Chairman Rob Ortiz, who is currently the Republican State Committee's finance chair. 

Morin most recently worked at Saul Ewing.  Before that he worked with  LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP and as a sole practitioner.

Robert Ortiz, the New Jersey GOP State Finance Chairman and the former Bergen County GOP Chairman, is now a lawyer at Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt and Fader. The firm is headed by former Democratic Gov. Jim Florio and partners include former Warren County Democratic Chairman Michael Perrucci, Warren County GOP Chairman Douglas Steinhardt, and Paul Fader, who was Chief Counsel to Gov. James E. McGreevey.

The Record says Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero is the target of a federal probe
Ten years after Joe Ferriero started the Bergen County Democratic Organization’s march toward county-wide domination, his hold on power is quickly slipping away.

Multiple sources report that Ferriero is facing intense pressure from top Democrats in the party to resign permanently from his post as county chairman.  The Record, citing sources, said that Ferriero received a target letter from the U.S. Attorney’s office over an investigation of a grants writing firm he held a stake in.  There are also allegations of an assault during a Labor Day party at his Old Tappan home.  Insiders acknowledge that Ferriero’s grasp on the chairmanship is tenuous at best, and that his days in the position may be numbered in the single digits.

Ferriero has already taken a temporary leave of absence, with Vice Chair Kay Nest taking over his immediate responsibilities.  Already, at least five potential replacements have either been raised as possibilities or have floated their own names to permanently replace him.

Paul Fader says Wally Edge is wrong, and insists he won't run for Bergen County Democratic Chairman
Former Englewood Mayor Paul Fader strongly denies an Inside Edge report that he is interested in becoming Bergen County Democratic Chairman, if Joseph Ferriero steps down. "The entire report is wholly unfounded," said Fader, in a joint statement with U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn).

"Your recent post in this morning’s edition of PolitickerNJ that Paul T. Fader is running for Bergen County Democratic Chairman is completely false. “ I am not running for Bergen County Democratic Chairman, I have no plans to run for Bergen County Democratic Chairman, nor have I called anyone seeking their support or advise on whether I should run for Bergen County Democratic Chairman,“ said Paul Fader, a law partner of former Gov. Jim Florio and a former Chief Counsel to Gov. James E. McGreevey.

Editor's Note: Paul Fader has indicated that he is not interested in seeking the Bergen County Democratic Chairmanship, and told PolitickerNJ.com that he has not made any phone calls indicating his interest or seeking support.  The Inside Edge gives him the benefit of the doubt and accordingly, retracts our report.

Joe Ferriero's recent legal woes -- allegations that he assaulted a woman at a Labor Day barbecue at his home, and a federal probe of a grants business in which he is a part owner that resulted in the FBI seizing records from his law office -- have resulted in his taking a leave of absence from his post as Bergen County Democratic Chairman.  Sensing a possible vacancy in the powerful post sometime in the near future, Paul Fader, a former Mayor of Englewood who served as Chief Counsel to Governors James E. McGreevey and Richard Codey,has begun making calls to seek support for Ferriero's job. 

My Tribute to Byron Baer
By Paul Swibinski

I met Byron in 1976, when he ran for Congress against Henry Helstoski, who eventually won after a scandal involving over 2000 altered absentee ballots. I was a young volunteer at that time. Later I became his media consultant and worked on all of his campaigns.

In 1993, Byron and Englewood Mayor Donald Aronson (also a friend and client) both wanted to succeed retiring Senator Matty Feldman and appeared before the District 37 county committee convention seeking the party endorsement.

Paul Fader was working for Don and I was working for Byron. Paul and I were both very intense and we began arguing over where campaign posters would be placed. We had one of those "gentleman square-offs" where we circled each other, both waiting for someone to separate us because neither wanted to throw a punch. Fortunately someone did!

It's tough to tell a Democrat from a Republican in Warren County these days, but it's clear that former Warren County Democratic Chairman (and Bob Torricelli campaign treasurer) Michael Perrucci is emerging as a significant power in solidly-Republican Warren County. A fledgling law firm, Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, includes: former Democratic Governor Jim Florio; current Warren County Republican Chairman (and Lopatcong Mayor) Douglas Steinhardt; Paul Fader, the ex-Mayor of Englewood who served as Chief Counsel to Governors James E. McGreevey and Richard Codey; and Bloomsbury Mayor Mark Peck, a former aide to Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll who ran for the GOP Assembly nomination in the 23rd district last year.

In a fortunate coincidence, Fader's new legal work reportedly includes a contact with the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which was approved by the Governor's office prior to Fader signing up with the firm. The Governor's office also signed off on the appointment of James Stettner as Chief of Security of the Delaware River Joint Toll Commission; Stettner is a Phillipsburg Councilman and was Council President when Perucci was named redeveloper for several parts of the town, including a brownfield site that had been set aside for the New Jersey Transportation Museum. The site was to be purchased with a combination of county funds and an $800,000 state Economic Development Fund grant approved a few years ago. The state has since backed off its funding commitment and Perucci is interested in developing riverfront condominiums instead. Fader has developed a certain affinity for Warren County over the last few years. He helped push through legislation that assured Warren would get two of the five Commissioner slots on the DRJTC. The commission recently purged some Republican appointees, including the wife of former Mercer County Executive Robert Prunetti. This has enhanced Perrucci's ability to deliver some jobs at the DRJTC. Steinhardt's father, Hackettstown (and Pohatcong) Municipal Court Judge Joseph Steinhardt, is reportedly Perrucci's choice to replace Robert Ellwood as the Phillipsburg Municipal Court Judge.

Codey Issues Executive Order Making Changes to Office of Counter-Terrorism