Paula Dow

IRVINGTON - They bellowed a lot of praise down on Gov. Jon Corzine from the pulpit of Christian Love Baptist Church on Wednesday night but the signature hymn, "Your struggle is over," sung with deep feeling and a full chorus on high volume, hardly projected a Biblical battle cry as the governor faces eight weeks more of hard-slog campaign season before Election Day.

When the big baskets appeared and it was collection time, Pastor Ron Christian made sure Corzine knew the drill.

"You never know when he might leave," joked the reverend, host for the governor, an altar filled with other emissaries of ecumenism, among them the Rev. Pastor Reginald Jackson of St. Matthew AME Church - and other public officials all gathered to salute law enforcement officers and firemen on the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.

There was a lot of love for Corzine throughout the course of the ceremony, which Christian stoked even as he deflected any of the praise directed at himself and his thriving Irvington church by reminding the congegation - to growing applause - that he's just a simple sinner - a former corrections officer turned thief, in fact, turned repentant minister.

Gov. Jon Corzine flanked by Attorney General Anne Milgram, East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser, Jose Cordero of the AG's Office, and Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo

EAST ORANGE - As New Jersey's media and political classes focus on corruption and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie stands astride the backwash of arrests from nearly two weeks ago selling a message of change as the Republican candidate for governor, Gov. Jon Corzine redirected the public spotlight to violent crime and murders with numbers from the state Attorney General's Office that show a reduction in both.

“We are winning important battles in the war against violent criminals and gangs,” said Corzine, standing in Memorial Park with Mayor Robert Bowser; Attorney General Anne Milgram; Jose Cordero, New Jersey's first statewide director of gangs, guns and violent crime and the former police director of East Orange; Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo; Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow and a buttressing platoon of law enforcement officials.

“Thanks to the efforts of Attorney General (Anne) Milgram and the New Jersey law enforcement community, county task forces, police departments, and partner agencies, more than  4,200 offenders have been arrested for crimes including murder, assault with a firearm, armed robbery, and gun and drug trafficking," added the Democratic Party incumbent. "We know more work remains.  Even one act of violence against a New Jersey citizen is one too many.”

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and his Deputy Chief of Staff, State Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark)

An event in Essex County today honoring former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has several top Democrats seething as the soon-to-be Republican gubernatorial candidate makes his first public appearance since leaving office at 12:01 this morning at a tribute planned by Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and Sheriff Armando Fontoura, both Democrats.  The potential love fest could be viewed as a shot at Jon Corzine, the Democratic Governor who could face Christie in the 2009 election.

One Democratic Essex County mayor, who asked that his name be withheld, suggested that the event is payback for a huge favor Christie did for DiVincenzo during the final days of DiVincenzo’s rancorous 2002 Democratic County Executive primary against Thomas Giblin, which was occurring two months after a raid on the offices of the Republican incumbent, James Treffinger.  There had been rumors that DiVincenzo, then the Freeholder Board President, was the target of a federal probe.  Christie ended the speculation with a two-sentence letter confirming that DiVincenzo was “not a subject or target of the grand jury investigation."  

"Now it is indisputable that I am not the focus of any federal inquiry," DiVincenzo said in a written statement released by his campaign.  "The U.S. Attorney's letter should serve as notice to Tom Giblin to end his reckless and libelous campaign."

Getty Images Photo

Gov. Jon Corzine likes Joe Hayden, one of New Jersey's best criminal defense attorneys, for U.S. Attorney. Corzine also likes Sen. Frank Lautenberg's choice, Paul Fishman, and Attorney General Anne Milgram.

Gov. Jon Corzine is meeting with President-elect Barack Obama next week (along with several other area Governors) and could bring up his short list of three candidates for U.S. Attorney: the Governor likes Paul Fishman and Joseph Hayden, and Attorney General Anne Milgram.  And there are two names -- both former federal prosecutors -- sources say, that Corzine opposes to replace Republican Christopher Christie: Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow and Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin.   

It's possible that none of Corzine's three picks will get the job: Milgram would be opposed by some serious Democratic players, and Hayden has some pending legal matters -- he's the attorney for Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero who is under federal indictment and awaiting trial.  Fishman, who reportedly has the backing of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, is an interesting pick for Corzine: he's representing labor leader Carla Katz, the Governor's former girlfriend, in a lawsuit about private emails between the two. 

This week's Winners & Losers: Click Here

Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow has asked a Superior Court Judge to terminate Dana Rone’s service as a Newark City Councilwoman following her conviction on a disorderly persons charge.  Rone has a Zulima Farber problem – she intervened on behalf of her nephew during a 2006 traffic stop.  There is some talk that the idea of removing Rone from office didn’t come from Dow, but instead from Mayor Cory Booker – once a close Rone ally (he endorsed her for his old Central Ward seat when he first ran for Mayor in 2002) and now a fierce rival.  One version of the chain of events, according to a front office source, suggests that Booker sought Rone’s removal by going through the offices of Gov.  Jon Corzine and the state Attorney General, Anne Milgram.

Embattled Superior Court Judge Thomas Vena -- the guy who cut the bail of an illegal alien charged with raping a five-year-old girl that was charged this month with three Newark murders -- got tenure just two months ago, which means he can serve until 2022.

Vena, a Democrat and a career government lawyer with close ties to several key political leaders in Essex County, including Senate President Richard Codey, was elected South Orange Village Trustee in 1989. Governor Christine Todd Whitman appointed Vena to serve as a state Administrative Law Judge in 1998, and on October 23, 2000 as a Superior Court Judge. Governor Jon Corzine reappointed him for a tenured term on May 24, 2007, and after a brief hearing before the State Senate Judiciary Committee, he was unanimously confirmed for what could be a fifteen-year term as a Judge by the State Senate on June 18.