Ralph Caputo

SCALERA-CAPUTO BILL TO PROMOTE IMPROVED COMMUNICATIONS AMONG EMERGENCY RESPONDERS ADVANCES

(TRENTON) – Legislation Assemblymen Fred Scalera and Ralph R. Caputo sponsored to promote improved communications among emergency responders was released today by an Assembly panel.

Gov. Jon Corzine on Monday evening in Essex with freeholders Blonnie Watson, left, and Carol Clark.: Politicker photo 

The paneled surroundings of Pal’s Cabin have turned rancor to languor in the case of many an Essex County political rivalry, enabling the likes of North Ward Democratic leader Steve Adubato, for example, to occupy the same friendly booth as his old political foe, Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex).

So it’s unsurprising that neither Democratic Party fundraiser John Graham, a former Hillary Clinton supporter, nor Obama Campaign policy director Mark Alexander decided to convene in Pal’s for their continuing discussions about statewide campaign fundraising.

On Tuesday, they intend to meet in the West Orange watering hole with Gov. Jon Corzine between them. Alexander’s hoping the history Corzine has with Obama (they go back to Obama’s Senate primary campaign) will help him focus Graham and Graham’s allies.

Gov. Jon Corzine signs the new schools construction bill at the Oliver Street School: Politicker photo 

NEWARK - Gov. Jon Corzine returned to the Ironbound this afternoon to sign a bill authorizing $3.9 billion in borrowing for new schools construction, which he said would fulfill the state’s constitutional duty to provide a thorough and efficient education, and create construction and other jobs.
    
Of an estimated 27 school projects statewide, six of the targeted schools are in the East Ward Ironbound, where the governor in late May announced his commitment to the legislation.

The six Ironbound schools were built before 1900 and are all overcrowded, according to the governor.

“We are doing what is right under the law and doing what is right for the state,” said Corzine, who praised the work of Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Newark), Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer (D-Newark), and others who banded together to pass the borrowing measure, which passed by one vote above the threshold in the Senate and three votes in the Assembly.

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.

Incumbent Ralph Caputo beat challenger Bob Russo by 311 votes Caputo survives Russoin their 5th District scrap for Essex County Freeholder.

Running a campaign of outrage against Caputo's status as a dual office holder (assemblyman and freeholder), Russo, a former Montclair mayor, ran off-the-line.

It marks the second close freeholder loss suffered by Russo in 30 years.

In 1978, Russo ran for freeholder and lost to James P. Piro of Nutley by 36 votes.

NEWARK - Freeholder Ralph Caputo, battling to hold onto his 5th District seat in the face of a contentious challenge from former Montclair Mayor Bob Russo, is leading comfortably with 45.53% of the vote counted.

With 56 out of a toal 123 districts reporting, Caputo has 58.76% (1,664 votes), compared to 41.24% (1,168 votes) for Russo.

Assemblyman/Freeholder Ralph Caputo, battling to hold onto his District 5 freeholder seat, today hopes to break a bad streak in which candidates he backed for school board and Belleville Town Council recently lost.

Now Caputo himself is the candidate, and facing a revved former Montclair Mayor Bob Russo, who’s challenging the freeholder off the line.

Russo has ties to the three most populous Democratic Primary towns in the fifth district: Montclair (13,021 registered Democrats), Bloomfield (9,724 Democrats), and Belleville (6,394 Democrats).

Freeholder candidate Rob Russo goes for a second helping of double-dip ice cream from Gary Manageri. 

BLOOMFIELD - In a big, converted showroom filled with people, Gary Manageri reached way down into a bucket of toasted toffee ice cream, rotating his forearm and putting his shoulder into the action to get a full-fledged rounded scoop, which he proceeded to plop into a cone held by former Montclair Mayor Bob Russo.

Then he retrieved a second dip, which he dropped on top of the first, making Russo’s cone a double, and in the process illustrating what Russo wants voters to know in the Essex 5th District freeholder race. 

As a dual-office holder, incumbent Ralph Caputo is an assemblyman and freeholder who collects two pensions, or "double-dips," in the common parlance.

The Essex County District 5 Freeholder seat is the place to make a political comeback. Ralph Caputo, elected to the State Assembly as a Republican in 1967 (and out of office since 1971), and ran for Freeholder as a Democrat in 2002 on County Executive candidate Joseph DiVincenzo’s ticket. He won a contested primary, and ousted incumbent Joseph Scarpelli (who mounted his own comeback this month when he won a Nutley Commissioner race) in the general election. Caputo returned to the State Assembly in 2007 – forty years after his first election.

Former Montclair Mayor Bob Russo this week unveiled a list ofFormer Montclair Mayor Bob Russo endorsements in his underdog campaign against Freeholder Ralph Caputo.

From Belleville, Russo says he has Mayor Ray Kimble, Councilman at-large Kevin Kennedy, Second Ward Councilman Steve Rovell, Fourth Ward Councilman John Notari, Third Ward Councilman-elect Paul (PJ) MacDonald, and Board of Education members Bill Freda and Joe Longo.

In Bloomfield, Russo racked up Councilwoman at-large Patricia Spychala, Councilman at-large Bernard Hamilton, Councilwoman at-large Patricia Barker, First Ward Councilwoman Janice Maly and Third Ward Councilwoman Patricia Ritchings.