Assemblyman William Payne has played the race card, suggesting that Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan's call for Sharpe James' resignation from the State Senate was an insult to African Americans may be a little unfair.  Cryan, who has a strong record of supporting minority candidates for public office, also asked that indicted State Senator Wayne Bryant step down, and that he be replaced by the Democratic nominee, Dana Redd. Bryant and Redd are African-American. 

And in the 29th district, Cryan wants James to be replaced by the winner of the Democratic primary, Teresa Ruiz, who would become the first Latina in the Senate, and just the second Hispanic in state history.  Payne's problem is that he is running against Ruiz as an Independent and would prefer that she not gain the advantages of incumbency.

Assemblyman William Payne said he was "disturbed by the intrusion" of State Democratic Chairman Joseph Cryan into the state Senate race in the 29th district when Cryan last week called for indicted state Sen. Sharpe James to stand down.

"That Joe Cryan had the nerve to suggest Teresa Ruiz be appointed to that position," said Payne, "how dare he. The very fact that he would make such a statement tells me he has no regard for African-American voters. I think this state chairman has his head in the sand."

Jennifer Beck and her 12th district running mates continue to try to chip away at State Sen. Ellen Karcher’s reputation on ethics reform, but the efforts have led Karcher’s campaign to ask one question: what has Beck done lately?

The 12th district Republican candidates issued a press release today criticizing Karcher and Assemblyman Panter’s pension forfeiture bills, which do not apply retroactively, allowing politicians like Wayne Bryant and Sharpe James to keep their pensions even if convicted. Beck, a first-term Assemblywoman, had introduced an alternative bill that would have applied retroactively.

12th District Republican legislative candidates Jennifer Beck, Declan O’Scanlon and Caroline Casagrande today criticized Ellen Karcher and Mike Panter for their prime sponsorship of a law which could allow corrupt elected officials like recently indicted Newark Mayor Sharpe James and federally indicted Senator Wayne Bryant to keep their pensions even if convicted of job related crimes.

They don’t make anything in Newark anymore, at least not in the classic manufacturing sense.

But those who are still tied to this biggest of Jersey cities hope to be able to craft something out of what’s left.

In the midst of a political battle to decide what that will be, M. Teresa Ruiz says her opponents want to inflate North Ward boss Steve Adubato into a poster-sized target to obscure the fact that they’re running against a Puerto Rican woman who was born and bred in the City of Newark.

State Sen. Ellen Karcher’s call for the resignation of two fellow Democratic legislators is an election year gimmick, according to her Republican opponent, Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck.

Karcher’s statement today calling for the resignations of Sharpe James and Wayne Bryant comes five months after Beck first called on her to seek Bryant’s ouster, and four days after Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan gave her cover by urging the two indicted Senators to quit.

Since September, Beck has issued regular press releases pressuring Karcher and the Democratic leadership to take disciplinary action against scandal-plagued Senate colleagues. Even before Bryant was indicted in March, Beck had already made three bids for Bryant’s removal from the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and to pressure him to step down.

Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck today blasted her State Senate opponent Ellen Karcher for calling on Senator Wayne Bryant to step down 4 months after being indicted by a federal grand jury on 13 counts related to his misuse of his state office for personal gain, and 11 months after a report by a federal monitor at UMDNJ revealed the no-show job he was eventually indicted for. 

KARCHER CALLS ON BRYANT, JAMES TO STEP DOWN

Ethics champion says momentum toward reform cannot be allowed to stop

FREEHOLD – Senator Ellen Karcher (D-Monmouth and Mercer) today called on indicted State Senators Wayne Bryant (D-Camden) and Sharpe James (D-Newark) to resign their offices immediately, citing the need to restore the public’s trust and to focus on doing the people’s business in Trenton.

The United States of America v. Sharpe James has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge William Martini, who is no stranger to politics.  Before his appointment to the federal bench, Martini served as a Clifton Councilman, Passaic County Freeholder, and from 1995 to 1997, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Martini defeated Democrat Herbert Klein to win the eighth district congressional seat in the 1994 GOP landslide, but narrowly lost his bid for re-election in 1996 to Democrat Bill Pascrell, Jr.  Assignments of federal court trials are done randomly.

Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan says that Sharpe James should resign his State Senate seat now. "Enough's enough," Cryan said. "I believe he should resign.

James, who served as Mayor of Newark from 1986 to 2006, was indicted last week on federal corruption charges. He is not seeking re-election to his 29th district Senate seat, which expires in January.

"Why not bring in somebody new and have them represent the district," said Cryan. "Teresa Ruiz would be excellent in that role. Why not step in now."