Ray Lesniak

Sources in Union County say Roselle Councilwoman Cecilia Dallas-Ricks did not muster enough support in Roselle to be a credible Democratic Party candidate and consequently will not be in nomination Tuesday night when the party votes for a successor to District 20 Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D-Roselle).

That sets up a showdown between Annette Quijano, assistant counsel to Gov. Jon Corzine; and Elizabeth Councilwoman Patricia Perkins-Auguste.

With Roselle out of contention, sources say Quijano is likely to summon more power-player support in a district where overall, registered Latino voters have a decided edge over African-Americans.

The governor’s assistant counsel has the backing of Union County Freeholder Director Angel Estrada and real estate agent and Hispanic party activist George Castro, both of whom retreated from their own pursuit of the vacated seat.

Assembly Deputy Speaker Neil Cohen resigned after state officials found child pornography on his office computer
Union County Democrats will meet next Tuesday at a special convention to elect the replacement for former Assemblyman Neil Cohen, who resigned his seat late last month after child pornography was allegedly found on one of his legislative office computers.

The replacement will be selected by the members of the county’s Democratic committee from the four towns that comprise Legislative District 20: Roselle, Elizabeth, Union Township and Kenilworth. But the endorsement by the district’s other two legislators – Assemblyman/Democratic State Chairman Joe Cryan and State Sen. Ray Lesniak -- will undoubtedly weigh heavily on the committee’s decision.

Among the local political players said to be interested in the post are Roselle Councilwoman Cecelia Dallis-Ricks; Union County Freeholder Director Angel Estrada; Elizabeth Councilwoman Patricia Perkins-Auguste; Elizabeth Councilman Manny Grova; Roselle Councilman and former Cohen Chief-of-Staff Jamel Holley and Roselle Mayor Garrett Smith, who has butted heads with party leaders in the past.

EDISON - Diners anchor what’s left of the train-track and warehouseEdison Mayor Jun Choi: Politicker file photo girded countryside in this sprawling town, fifth biggest in New Jersey, where Mayor Jun Choi drinks his coffee on a summer morning in one of the more recognizable roadside haunts called the Plaza Diner.

The suit and tie and modest demeanor belie a man restlessly at work, for if Choi was an enigmatic upstart when he hit the scene three years ago, he has built himself into a surging political force, three-fourths of the way into his first term.

"And I’m running again," he says with a smile.

The Edison-raised kid who came from the inner sanctum of Bill Bradley’s machine-bucking 2000 presidential campaign, former state Department of Education wonk, Choi remains the Democratic Party outsider in a party that still does not know quite what to do with him.

Union County Republican Chairman Phil Morin said he takes no delight in the troubles of Democratic Assemblyman Neil Cohen, who’s under investigation for child pornography that was allegedly found on his legislative office computer.

But knowing  that a resignation from Cohen could come soon -- which would bring about a special election in the 20th Legislative District come November -- Morin does have a few potential Republican candidates in mind. 

District 20 Legislative Office on Friday: Politicker photo 

UNION - The front door to the District 20 Legislative Office swung open but inside the place was almost barren.

"I’ve been instructed to refer all press to the statement on the front door," said Thomas Lynch, chief of staff to Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union), chair of the Democratic State Committee.

A pair of sound trucks were parked on Stuyvesant Avenue and a handful of reporters stood in front of the office, studying the release taped to the door.

Cryan and state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) released the statement last night, which says they referred tbe actions of their colleague, Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D-Roselle) to the Office of Legislative Services.

The child pornography investigation of Assemblyman Neil Cohen was touched off by his legislative running mates, the two legislators revealed this evening.

State Sen. Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman/Democratic State Chairman Joe Cryan were notified of images found on Cohen’s computer by a staffer. They then reported the matter to the Office of Legislative Services, which in turn contacted the office of Attorney General Anne Milgram.

Below is the full joint statement from Cryan and Lesniak.

State Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex).: Politicker photo 

Nothing’s ever rock solid in politics, but the top of the Trenton power heap may contain more potential for movement than usual in the lead-up to Statehouse reorganization come January.

Two possible factors include Speaker Joseph Roberts’s (D-Camden) imminent departure from the Assembly, and the possibility that a newly crowned Obama administration would haul former Wall Street guru Gov. Jon Corzine out of New Jersey to crunch numbers in Washington.

In the thicket of this political drama, it’s difficult not to identify Senate President and former Governor Richard Codey (D-Essex) as a protagonist.

"I’m just a kid from Orange," Codey told a packed auditorium in his native Essex County town last month - but he’s also a former governor, who by all appearances liked the job and enjoyed great popularity.

Sharpe James NEWARK - A lot of Democrats who worked with Sharpe James over the years had one word to describe what they felt today as they watched a federal jury deliver a guilty verdict in the former mayor’s corruption trial.

They felt sad.

"Sometimes we cooperated, sometimes we didn’t, but I really believe he cared about Newark," said North Ward Democratic leader Steve Adubato. "It’s a terrible tragedy."

Calling homeland security the most important issue of these times, former state Sen. Brian T. Kennedy of Wall would like to challenge Sen. Frank Lautenberg, and said he plans to discuss the matter with GOP State Chairman Tom Wilson and Monmouth County GOP Chief Adam Puharic.

"I am very, very seriously thinking about this," said Kennedy, 73, who served in the state Senate from 1977 to 1983, before losing to Democrat Frank Pallone.

Robert F. Kennedy campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968

Working guard duty at Fort Dix in 1968, 22-year-old government issue Ray Lesniak counted himself a fortunate one because he didn't get shipped off to Vietnam.

"Even though I ain't no senator's son," said the senator, 40 years later now, quoting the Creedence Clearwater Revivial song lyrics from the older era.

He was into politics even then, and he liked Sen. Robert Kennedy for president.

"I was a huge supporter," he said.

For insiders like Lesniak who have been immersed in Democratic Party stand-offs for decades, the primary rumble between senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama bears traces of that 1968 match-up between establishment warhorse Hubert Humphrey and tousle-headed rock star Kennedy.