Robert Bowser

Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, left, and Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford)

Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo plans to formally kick-off his bid for a third term on Dec. 11th.

Over the past few days in particular, sources say the county executive has made the rounds and confirmed considerable support toward his re-election.

Although no one has emerged as a serious challenger to the popular county exec, there are hold-outs, notably Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser, and state Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D-Newark), who all believed DiVincenzo helped engineer Codey's collapse from his power projection platform as head of the state senate.

In his defense, DiVincenzo maintained that Codey was clearly wounded following the caucus reorganization vote after the 2007 elections.

When Sen. Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) defeated the Codey-backed Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) for senate majority leader, DiVincenzo said he read that as a sign that the Essex County -based Codey couldn't summon the votes to suppress Sweeney's upward mobility.

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden)

One of the last senators to announce publicly that he would support Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) for leadership over Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) today said he intends to stick with Sweeney.

"That's not the first time I have heard that, but I don't think it changes my thinking," Scutari said to an argument made by East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser that Democrats should remain with the veteran Codey as senate president to ensure the toughest top legislative negotiator in the coming era of Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

"I certainly don't think Steve Sweeney is a poor negotiator and I believe he would do a fine job," Scutari explained. "Senator Codey would do a great job - and has. But with the new governor coming in I think there are real opportunities for change. Senator Sweeney has been a strong advocate for stabilizing our pension system and he will lend credence to our efforts."

East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser (over Gov. Jon Corzine's left shoulder), and Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, far right.

East Orange Mayor Robert Boswer today said he believes Chris Christie's victory over Jon Corzine in the governor's race earlier this month should spark Democratic Party senators to reconsider their abandonment of support for Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland).

"I don't know what to expect at all from Chris Christie, and probably won't get any kind of clues until the transition team changes the guard, but I do believe Christie's win changes the dynamic for the senate presidency and the same thing for the speaker of the assembly," said Bowser.

At last public count, Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) has 15 caucus votes to Codey's eight heading into their Nov. 23rd Statehouse confab and presumptive legislative leadership change.

East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser and Essex County Executive Joe Divincenzo with Gov. Jon Corzine in August.

Running for reelection this year in pursuit of a fourth term in what amounts to a walk-over Nov. 3rd election for him in his heavily Democratic city, East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser didn't rule out running again next year, for a different office, though - against Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo.

News today that DiVincenzo's county employee underlings - state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark) and state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Montclair) - plan to back South Jersey product, Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford), in his challenge of Codey, thereby swinging the balance of senate power to South Jersey, rankled Bowser.

"I think Joe DiVincenzo has his priorities twisted," said Bowser. "He should be supporting Dick Codey.

"Nothing against Sheila Oliver," Bowser added of the Assemblywoman who ran against him in a 1997 mayoral primary and lost by 51 votes, who now stands to be Speaker of the Assembly as an Essex County counterweight to Sweeney's upper house ascension. 

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.”

MAYORS JOIN GUN CONTROL ADVOCATES IN PRAISING LEGISLATURE FOR PASSING “ONE HANDGUN A MONTH” BILL

 
TRENTON- Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, Mayor Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City, Mayor Douglas H. Palmer of Trenton, and Mayor Robert Bowser of East Orange today joined the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence President Paul Helmke in praising the New Jersey State Legislature for passing the “One Handgun A Month” bill through both the Senate and the Assembly. 

East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser

Credited with presiding over a renaissance in his home town, veteran Mayor Robert Bowser is trying to stare down self-styled Obama upstart Kevin Taylor in East Orange.

Running with some money behind him, Taylor has organized for months in his challenge of the three-term incumbent. Over the course of the last two weeks, the well-funded Bowser kicked his field operation into overdrive.

A local business developer, the 50-year old Taylor has run for mayor twice before. 

This week, his campaign submitted 1,400 absentee ballots, 600 of which were rendered useless after Bowser’s team issued a challenge.

East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser

Essex County political junkies bewailing the lack of action in this year’s campaign cycle may take some solace in the wizened warrior versus young Turk implications of East Orange politics, where veteran Mayor Robert Bowser faces a challenge from businessman Kevin Taylor. 

A local legend whose administration ushered in East Orange’s relative boom time in recent years, Bowser is seeking his fourth term as mayor. The low drama pal of party leaders both county and statewide, he figures to be a heavy favorite against Taylor, the self-identified owner of KETCO Construction.

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.

Mayor Robert Bowser: Politicker photo 

Having already spread the word unofficially that he plans to pursue a fourth term in 2009, East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser tonight told PolitickerNJ.com that he's certain.

"100% sure," said Bowser, who emceed tonight's Essex County Democratic Committe party in Short Hills. "Make that 105% sure."

At the beginning of the summer, the three-term mayor and engineer by profession who has spear-headed East Orange's redevelopment, said he was about 70% certain he's running for re-election.

Word had started leaking out last spring that Bowser intended to go for a fourth term, but a potential opening as Essex County Democratic Committee chairman kept Bowser hedging for several weeks.