Peter Tober

Somerset County Democratic Chair Peg Schaffer says that New Jersey Network has withdrawn their request to change the date of the gubernatorial debate now that Gov. Jon Corzine has agreed to participate.

“It's academic at this point since NJN has withdrawn their request,” Schaffer told PolitickerNJ.com.

Schaffer said that she does not discuss issues related to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission with her law partner, Peter Tober, a Republican commissioner.  Tober voted against a request by NJN to move the debate from October 1 to October 22. 

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The debate over debates is great political theater, even to political insiders, even though real voters are hardly ever influenced by these kinds of process stories.  Rob Andrews and Dick Zimmer, in the Democratic primary and general election, respectively, tried to make a huge deal about the reluctance of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg to debate in 2008.  Lautenberg eventually debated, both times during the final week of the campaign, and his voters didn't hold his initial hesitation against him.

The move by New Jersey Network to move the gubernatorial debate from October 1 to October 22 was seen an beneficial to Gov. Jon Corzine, who is not required to participate in the two official debates sanctioned by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission because he is not accepting public financing.  Corzine preferred late debates, but now says he'll be part of the debate whenever it is held.  Republican Christopher Christie and independent Christopher Daggett, both the recipients of matching funds, strongly opposed NJN's petition to change the date of the debate as a carrot toward Corzine's participation. 

Representing NJN, anchorman Jim Hooker confirmed that the request to move the debates was done without consulting the other two sponsors, Gannett New Jersey and the Philadelphia Inquirer.  At some point, expect ELEC to change their sponsorship application process to ensure that all sponsors are on the same page. 

The four ELEC commissioners rarely vote along party lines, but they did that on Monday in a 2-2 vote on a motion to change the debate schedule.  Democrats Jerry Fitzgerald English and Albert Burstein, both former legislators, voted to move the debate to October 22, while the normally less partisan Republicans, Peter Tober and Amos Saunders, voted against any changes.  Saunders, a retired Superior Court Judge who hasn't been involved in partisan politics for decades, was especially strong in his opposition to any adjustments to the calendar. 

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New Jersey Network lost a bid to move the first gubernatorial debate from October 1 to October 22 after a New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission vote was deadlocked 2-2 along party lines.

About an hour after ELEC's meeting concluded, Gov. Jon Corzine's campaign indicated that it would be willing to participate in both of the commission's debates regardless of the date.

"The Corzine campaign reiterates its position that the public is better served having the two gubernatorial debates later in October," said Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy.  "Our position notwithstanding, we are prepared to participate in both ELEC sanctioned debates regardless of whether or not the NJN debate is rescheduled for October 22nd."

Corzine's agreement to participate is likely to make an ELEC meeting set for Wednesday to revisit the debate schedule issue moot.  NJN Public Affairs Producer Ed Rodgers, who testified at the meeting, could not immediately be reached for comment, so it is not yet clear whether the network will continue to pursue the date change.

NJN Interim News Director Michael Aron sought the date change after the Corzine campaign told him that the Governor would not attend the October 1 debate.  Although the Corzine campaign implied that the incumbent would attend the debate on October 22nd, they never formally agreed to it - a sticking point for the commissioners today, along with the fact that the Corzine camp has not said why they can't attend on the originally scheduled day.

"Is no one really as deeply disturbed as I am by the fact that the Corzine committee has given us no reason for their inability or unwillingness for October 1?" said Commissioner Amos Saunders, a retired Superior Court Judge from Passaic County.  "I don't know what's going on, but I would hope at least for the courtesy of a reason.  I don't know if there is a reason, if it's not political gamesmanship."

The proposed change would also force a change in the debate for lieutenant governor, which currently scheduled for October 8 but is required to take place between the two gubernatorial debates.  It would also compress the debate schedule into a one week time frame ending less than two weeks before Election Day.

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The Election Law Enforcement Commission has put off its decision on NJN's request to bump the first state-sponsored gubernatorial debate back from October 1 to October 22.

A motion made by Commissioner Albert Burstein to accept NJN's request was deadlocked at 2-2, with ELEC Chairwoman Jerry English and Commissioner Albert Burstein voting in favor of NJN, and Commissioners Amos Saunders and Peter Tober voting against it.  Since the vote was tied, the motion did not carry.

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A former political rival of Senate President Richard Codey is making a comeback: Joel Shain, the 67-year-old former Mayor of Orange who set records for campaign spending when he challenged Codey in the 1983 Democratic primary, is running for Democratic State Committeeman from Somerset County. Shain spent more than $250,000 in his bid to oust Codey, who was seeking re-election to a second term in the Senate.  Codey won easily.

Shain is the beneficiary of good political connections in Somerset, where he has lived since leaving Essex County politics.  He is the law partner of Peggy Schaffer, who was elected Democratic County Chairman last year.  (Another partner is Peter Tober, a former Assistant Counsel to two GOP Governors, and now one of the Republican members of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.)

Codey and Shain were child prodigies in Orange politics.  Shain served as Deputy state Attorney General before his election as Mayor in 1970, at age 29.  Codey was a 27-year-old Democratic District Leader when he won a State Assembly seat in 1973 – defeating George Minish, the son of popular Democratic Congressman Joseph Minish (D-West Orange).  One week later, Shain ran for Essex County Democratic Chairman, but lost by a wide margin to the powerful party boss, Harry Lerner.

Shain was a one-term Mayor (he lost to a Republican named Carmine Capone), but came back to win again in 1980.  Codey moved up to the Senate eight years later when Pat Dodd ran for Governor.  Shain was done in Essex politics in 1984 and went on to serve as the Municipal Attorney in Monroe Township.  Codey became Senate Minority Leader, Senate President, and for fifteen months from 2004 to 2006, as Governor of New Jersey.

While representing a solidly Democratic district, Codey has won some impressive victories.  Besides beating Minish and Shain, he’s successfully fought back some significant Senate primary challenges, including former Assemblywoman Mildred Barry Garvin (D-East Orange) in 1991, and Assemblyman Robert Brown, the Mayor of Orange, in 1993. 

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The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) will hold a special meeting - not open to the public -- tomorrow which could change the course of the Republican gubernatorial primary.  While ELEC has declined to disclose their agenda item, it is widely believed that they will discuss issues pertaining to the public financing of Steve Lonegan's campaign.  Lonegan acknowledged last week that he has provided ELEC with answers to some questions concerning his affiliation with Americas for Prosperity, an anti-tax issue advocacy group. 

The ELEC investigation is the result of an Associated Press story that suggests the former Bogota Mayor was obligated to disclose the details of his relationship with Americans for Prosperity, an anti-tax lobbying group for whom he served as New Jersey Director.  State law requires candidates to disclose their connection to issue advocacy groups to avoid a conflict, such as avoiding spending limits that come with the public financing of gubernatorial elections.

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Without commentary on the merits of an issue that threatens the public financing of Steve Lonegan's campaign for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, one thing is an absolute certainty: if the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission were to rule that he was ineligible for matching funds - and if the courts were to back up the decision - it could mean the end of the Lonegan campaign.  Lonegan's strategy is dependent upon public financing that gives him $2 for every $1 he raises.

The ELEC investigation is the result of an Associated Press story that suggests the former Bogota Mayor was obligated to disclose the details of his relationship with Americans for Prosperity, an anti-tax lobbying group for whom he served as New Jersey Director.  State law requires candidates to disclose their connection to issue advocacy groups to avoid a conflict, such as avoiding spending limits that come with the public financing of gubernatorial elections.

The Lonegan campaign maintains that the candidate could not disclose AFP contributions, since he did not have access to their donor list.  And they say that AFP was created and organized more than seven years ago, before Lonegan was involved.

There is good news and bad news for Lonegan when it comes to ELEC.  It's helpful that the commission traditionally lacks extraordinary testicular fortitude. But it's potentially hurtful that the panel is hard to predict.  In 2001, they allowed former U.S. Rep. Bob Franks to simply take over the campaign treasury of Gov. Donald DiFrancesco when he replaced him on the ballot, and then allowed Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler to change his mind and accept public financing.

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The first ELEC Executive Director says Gov. Jon Corzine's failure to appoint a GOP Commissioner is "inexcusable"
Republican National Committeeman David Norcross knows quite a bit about the Election Law Enforcement Commission. He was on staff of Gov. William T. Cahill when the commission was created, and became its first Executive Director.

And he’s not happy that the commission’s board, meant to be bi-partisan, is currently made up of two Democrats and one Republican. The seat has been vacant since Gov. Jon Corzine named Theodore Davis as Camden’s chief operating officer in December 2006.

“It’s inexcusable,” said Norcross about the fact that the commission has gone over a year without filling its Republican vacancy. “I understand exigencies of politics. Sometimes you can’t find an appointee, sometimes you can’t get the agreement you need, but this is preposterous.”

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The vote by the Election Law Enforcement Commission to postpone a ruling allowing a candidate to use campaign funds for their legal defense in a criminal matter was along party lines: Democratic Commissioners Jerry English and Albert Burstein voted to postpone the issue, while Republican Commissioner Peter Tober voted no.

While state law requires ELEC to be equally divided among both political parties, Democrats have enjoyed a 2-1 majority since December 2006, when Governor Jon Corzine named one of the Republican Commissioners, retired Judge Theodore Davis to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of the City of Camden. 

Had the Republican seat been filled, it is possible that the motion to postpone the decision would have been tied at 2-2 – lacking the votes to pass.  That would have forced ELEC to act today.

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State law requires the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission to be equally divided among both political parties, but in the months preceding the 2007 general election, Democrats have a majority.

Governor Jon Corzine appointed one of the two Republican ELEC Commissioners, retired Superior Court Judge Theodore Davis, to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of the City of Camden. Corzine has not filled the GOP vacancy, which leaves the Democrats with a 2-1 majority on the bi-partisan panel that decides potentially sensitive campaign finance matters – like whether Democratic Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein should receive $100,000 in Clean Elections relief money because a conservative group is running issue advocacy ads that mention her name.

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