Robert Menendez

The deal cut last week to make Bonnie Watson Coleman the Assembly Majority Leader over Wilfredo Caraballo increases the likelihood that Governor-elect Jon Corzine will have problems with Hispanic leaders if he does not appoint Robert Menendez to the United States Senate. There is a perception among Hispanic activists that Corzine has promised the seat to Menendez, and Corzine -- who has political ambitions beyond Drumthwacket, is being lobbied by Latinos with national clout to appoint the seven-term Congressman. Menendez publicly split with then-Governor James E. McGreevey over the appointment of Zulima Farber to the New Jersey Supreme Court, and one Democratic insider says Hispanic voters could be in play in the '06 general election if they feel Menendez was treated poorly.

Unless something goes drastically wrong today, Democrats will retain their control of the State Assembly for another two years. With Albio Sires retiring, this will be the first time a Democratic Speaker has turned over the reigns to another Democratic Speaker since 1982, when Christopher Jackman was replaced by Alan Karcher. Sires and Jackman both came from West New York; by the early 1980's, Jackman had moved up to the Senate (following the criminal conviction of William Vincent Musto -- Bob Menendez testified against Musto in that trial) and Sires, then a Republican, was a Jackman rival.

Two of the presumed contenders for Jon Corzine's U.S. Senate seat will be showcased tonight as spinners at Corzine's election night headquarters in East Brunswick: Congressmen Bob Menendez and Rob Andrews. Another Senate candidate, Congressman Frank Pallone, will also be spending the evening in East Brunswick, but has not been included as one of the Corzine surrogates being made available to the media.

There was a funny scene after the Gubernatorial debate on Saturday night. Jon Corzine and Doug Forrester stayed in the studio to speak to the press. Forrester went first, so Corzine sat on a coffee table at the corner of the set, while waiting his turn. The Senator was spotted by two of the people who want his current gig -- Bob Menendez and Rob Andrews -- who both made a beeline to Corzine. They both stood there, Menendez to his right, Andrews to his left, trying to impress the man who might name the next United States Senator.

Menendez Introduces Bill to Help Families Between Jobs Afford Health Care

“Health Care COSTS Act� Would Halve Costs of Monthly Premiums

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today introduced legislation to make it easier and more affordable for New Jerseyans to keep their health insurance when they are between jobs by providing them tax credits to cover half the monthly premium for COBRA health insurance.

“Losing your job shouldn’t mean your family loses its health insurance,� Menendez said. “Rewarding work is one of the most fundamental values of our nation, and this legislation will make it easier for New Jerseyans to keep their health insurance when they are between jobs.�

Menendez Statement on Indictment of Senior White House Official

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, issued the following statement today on the indictment of White House official I. Lewis “Scooter� Libby:

“It is a sad day for America when one of the senior most officials in the White House is indicted on felony charges. I. Lewis Libby is one of the top advisors to the president, one of the chief architects of his foreign policy, and one of the masterminds behind the way the administration sold to the public the war in Iraq.

“Of all the things we have learned over the course of this investigation, two facts stand out: President Bush stood before Congress and spoke of attempts by Saddam Hussein to acquire uranium from Africa, a charge that the administration knew was not true. And Valerie Plame’s name was released to the public because Joseph Wilson dared to point out that the claim was not true.

“As the investigation into this leak has unfolded, we have also learned that the White House engaged in a coordinated campaign of unprecedented intensity to discredit its critics. In the course of that campaign, they blew the cover of one CIA operative and thereby jeopardized the lives of other CIA agents.

“Last year, the president said he would fire anyone found leaking information in this case, and we now know the official who was indicted today was not the only one who leaked information. If the president hopes to undo the damage he has done to this country and restore what is left of his credibility, he needs to follow through on his pledge. He cannot hide behind legalistic denials, or pretend that the resignation of one official removes the stain that has been left on his White House.

“Today’s indictments came because this administration misled the country over the most important issue any president faces, the decision on whether to take the country to war, and then tried to cover up that fact by silencing its critics and, it appears in at least one case, lying to a grand jury.

“The president now has a rare chance to come clean. I hope he takes it.�

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Menendez Ends Third Quarter with More than $4.1 Million Cash-On-Hand

Lyndhurst, NJ – U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ) raised more than $400,000 in the third quarter of 2005 and ended the period with $4,162,813 in the bank.

In the quarter stretching from July 1 to September 30, 2005, Menendez’s campaign raised $428,619. The campaign has received 2819 contributions to date in this cycle and raised a total of $3,413,630. Individuals living in each of the state's thirteen Congressional Districts have contributed to the campaign.

A co-chairman of Jon Corzine’s campaign for governor, Menendez has traveled across New Jersey this year, visiting 17 of the state’s 21 counties.

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Paid for by Menendez for Congress

Menendez Blasts Decision by Congress to Cut Funding for Chemical Plant Security
Conference Committee Deletes Menendez Amendment to Increase Security Funding by $50 Million

As the House of Representatives moved to consider a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security today, U.S. Representative Robert Menendez (D-NJ) blasted the decision by a Republican-controlled conference committee to delete his amendment increasing funding for chemical plant security by $50 million. The same committee also cut overall funding levels for chemical security.

People who know Richard Codey say that even if he is interested in going to the United States Senate, he would never take the job if he believed Jon Corzine's ulterior motive would be to get him out of Trenton. People who know Bob Menendez say that he would be "one angry man if Corzine were to pass him over."

Some Democratic insiders say they have made the Codey for Senate case to Corzine directly, arguing that appointing Codey, who comes with high statewide name ID and huge favorables, gives him a way out of choosing between the Democratic Congressmen who want the job -- and helps him avoid having to deal with Senate President Codey (not exactly his strong ally or close friend) as the second most powerful man in New Jersey politics.

Add a third component to the mix: a recent Zogby poll conducted for the Wall Street Journal has Republican State Senator Tom Kean, Jr. leading head-to-head matchups with Menendez and Rob Andrews. Even Republicans admit that voters don't realize the candidate is not the former Governor, but the strength of the Kean family name is still slightly intimidating to Beltway Democrats (i.e, Chuck Schumer), who are anxious to lock up the blue-state Senate seat without having to spend resources to defend it.

The presumed front runner for the Senate, if Corzine wins the general election, has been Menendez, who strongly believes he's received enough winks and nods from his Hoboken neighbor to think he has a commitment. The conventional wisdom among some Democrats is that Corzine isn't willing to launch a new administration by feuding with the Hudson County Democratic machine. And Corzine doesn't want his national political ambitions to be hampered by Menendez complaining about his treatment to Latino activists across the country.

The case against Menendez is being made by one of his fiercest rivals, former U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli. Torricelli, still active behind the scenes (there is some evidence that he helped Loretta Weinberg in the State Senate special election convention), has weighed in against Menendez with some of his ex-colleagues, including Schumer, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman.

Corzine, who must at some point make peace with Bergen County Democratic Chairman (and likely Menendez backer) Joseph Ferriero -- and vice versa -- could avoid battling the HCDO by working around Menendez by backing Bernard Kenny, the HCDO Chairman, for Senate President and by sharing some of his toys with three Democratic legislators who are not Menendez kool-aid drinkers (Nicholas Sacco, the Mayor of North Bergen, Joseph Doria, the Mayor of Bayonne, and Brian Stack, the Mayor of Union City), and with Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

Right now, the virtual chairman of the Codey for Senate campaign is State Senator Paul Sarlo, a Bergen County Democrat tied closely to Ferriero. Sarlo has made no secret of his desire to see Codey in the U.S. Senate so that he can become the next Senate President. But for Democrats who believe that Codey would pass on Washington if he believes he's being "gotten rid of," Sarlo may be hurting his cause more than boosting it.

Looming large for Corzine may be the story of his predecessor, James E. McGreevey, who promised to appoint Cuban-American Zulima Farber to the New Jersey Supreme Court, only to renege and pick John Wallace instead. That caused a very public split between McGreevey and Menendez that cost the sitting Governor considerable political capital.

Corzine does have two opportunities in his early days as Governor that could help him avoid a defection of the Hispanic base vote: one is the election of Wilfredo Caraballo as Assembly Majority Leader (which also helps his constant courtship with Newark Democratic leader Steven Adubato, Sr.); the other would be his appointment of a new Chief Justice to replace Deborah Poritz, who reaches the mandatory retirement age of seventy next year. Several key Democrats say that Farber, now very much a member of Corzine's inner circle, could emerge as a strong contender for Chief Justice.

Some Republicans are surprised that their side hasn't pushed Corzine to declare his intentions regarding a U.S. Senate appointment. Corzine, of course, has little to gain by telling Menendez, Andrews, Frank Pallone and others that they lost before they help turn out voters in November.

Codey's own views on the United States Senate remain incredibly mysterious, especially among his closest friends. Some say he truly has no interest in a life that involves three or four nights a week in Washington, that he really is a Jersey-guy "raised atop a funeral home." But others say he has enjoyed the prominence of holding statewide office and wouldn't mind pursuing his hearfelt mental health agenda in a national arena. Different friends say different things about how his wife, Mary Jo Codey, would feel about the Senate seat.

And if Codey were to agree to go to Washington -- and if Corzine were to sign on as a Codey for Senate backer -- the Acting Governor could opt to become a caretaker U.S. Senator, agreeing to go to Washington for just one year. That could allow Corzine to avoid choosing between Menendez and Andrews (and others) and allow Democratic primary voters to make the call. Schumer might not be pleased with such a scenario, but as one Democrat notes, Corzine doesn't really care whether Schumer is happy or not. New Jersey has still not elected a Republican to the United States Senate since 1972 and there is no reason to believe that a contested '06 primary would necessarily end the Democratic winning streak against an untested Tom Kean, Jr.

For those who say Corzine's answer to consolidating power in Trenton is sending Codey to Washington, consider the story of Theodore Roosevelt, who became William McKinley's Vice President largely because Republican party leaders in New York wanted to get him out of the Governor's mansion -- only to be in worse shape six months later when Leon Czolgosz made Roosevelt President.

New Jerseyans don't seem to have a favorite among the seven Democratic Congressmen who seem interested in replacing Jon Corzine in the United States Senate -- largely because none of the House members have huge statewide name ID. The best known is Robert Menendez, the Hudson County Democrat who is the #3 member of the House Democratic leadership. Rob Andrews of Camden County is known by less than a quarter of the state's voters despite his statewide run in the 1997 gubernatorial primary. Frank Pallone has stepped up his bid: he did a statewide mailing to Democratic County Committee members this week touting his record during seventeen years in Congress.