Sheila Oliver

The good news is that members of the New Jersey General Assembly are apparently not beholden to their campaign contributors.

Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), who appears to be the loser in the race for Speaker, has contributed $107,000 from her campaign account to Democratic Assembly candidates.  Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), the apparent winner in the Speaker sweepstakes, gave a total of $70 to Democratic Assembly candidates. 

Watson Coleman sent five contributions of $16,400 each to: Matthew Milam (D-Vineland) and Nelson Albano (D-Vineland) in District 1; Paul Moriarty (D-Washington Twp.) and Bill Collins in District 4; Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) and Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) in District 14; Frederick Scalera (D-Nutley) and Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) in District 36; and Joan Voss (D-Fort Lee) and Connie Wagner (D-Paramus) in District 38.

Oliver sent $70 to Elease Evans (D-Paterson) in District 35.

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Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), who has enough committed support to become the next Assembly Speaker, has a campaign war chest of $5,407, according to reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.  Oliver has raised $30,599 and spent $26,191.

Oliver has made relatively few campaign contributions: $3,200 to the Essex County Democratic Committee; $1,750 to the Passaic County Democratic Committee; $1,000 to Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign; $70 to Assemblywoman Elease Evans (D-Paterson), $100 to Passaic County Clerk candidate Keith Kazmark; $80 to Friends of Ron Rice; and $100 to the Woodland Park Democratic Committee.  (Evans is one of the legislators who has not yet endorsed in the race for Speaker.)

Her top donors - for now -- are SEIU Local 1199 ($8,200), NJEA ($3,000), AFSCME ($2,500), and the West Caldwell-based Community Education Centers ($2,500).

Oliver runs in District 34, which is among the safest Democratic districts in the state, and her reports indicate relatively few voter contact expenses.  She spent $2,000 on rent for her East Orange campaign headquarters, $330 for "campaign giveaways," and about $9,300 on a community picnic ($5,650 of that went to her event planner, political fundraiser Ray Ferrioli.)

Her campaign has contributed about $1,900 to various charities (but nothing to the North Ward Cultural Center or the Robert Treat Charter School), bought a $573 laptop from P.C. Richard, rented an $85 water cooler from Culligan, $60 to send flowers to a constituent, and spent $82 on a New York Times subscription.  She's also spent $995 since the June primary on cell phones from AT&T and T-Mobile, plus an additional $130 for a replacement phone. Read More >

PATERSON - If Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) endorses Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) for speaker, he wouldn't see the move as a self-destruct button on his own leadership chair.
 
"I'm saying it's not the end of the world if we had a senate president and a speaker from Essex County," said Codey, to stories suggesting Essex County fracture between Codey, who's trying to protect his senate presidency; and County Executive Joe Divincenzo, who supports Oliver for speaker and South Jersey Senate Majority Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) as part of a North-South Jersey leadership trade-off.
 
Trying to succeed retiring Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden) as the face of South Jersey leadership in Trenton, Sweeney has enough (14 of 23) votes in the Democratic caucus to extract Codey from the rostrum roost Codey has owned for six years. But Codey still hopes to build cross-the-aisle support in the Republican caucus to block his South Jersey rival and hold onto the senate presidency.
 
And he doesn't believe he needs to fight Oliver in the process, as he envisions an all-Essex leadership team - for two years.
 
"Who's the Speaker of the House?"
 
"Nancy Pelosi," was the answer.
 
"Who leads the U.S. Senate?"
 
A mind blurred over with Jersey political personages failed to immediately dredge the name of Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), but Codey made his point anyway.

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PATERSON - The guests came and kept coming, happily bellying up to the bar and spilling into the overflow rooms here at the Brownstone for a Sheila Oliver fundraiser even as Essex County Democratic Party Chairman Phil Thigpen upped the confidence decibel level with a release that all of the Assembly people from his powerful county delegation would back the East Orange Assemblywoman for speaker.

The email missive carried the latest piece of bad news for Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), who's fighting to remain in his chair of power without a majority of the majority in his Democratic caucus and now with the lower house members from his home county throwing in with Oliver.

Poised to become the first African American woman speaker, Oliver is generally seen as a North Jersey counterweight to South Jersey state Sen. Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford), who has the Democratic Party votes in the senate to take Codey's job. The more support she builds, the tougher it becomes for Codey to justify sticking around as a double dose of Essex in both the speaker's and Senate president's chairs.

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Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), a three-term Assemblywoman from Essex County, has the votes to become the next Assembly Speaker - the third most powerful position in state government.  She has a hard count of 34 (assuming all of the Democrats supporting her win in November), and a soft count of 36.  Oliver is positioned to become the first woman Assembly Speaker since 1965, the first from Essex County since 1973, and the first African American since 1975.

Late this afternoon, Oliver emerged with one significant endorsement: Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro).  Greenstein, a close political ally of Oliver's rival, Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), had professed her official neutrality as recently as 3:30 PM today.  Expect Watson Coleman, who has no endorsements outside her own district, to drop out the race.

Also, expect Greenstein's running mate, Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton), to endorse Oliver soon.  DeAngelo had held back his endorsement at the request of Mercer County Democratic leaders, who were backing their home county candidate. 

Democratic sources say that Greenstein went with Oliver to save her post as Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair.  She would have certainly lost that job had she not gone with Oliver, but her relatively late endorsement does not guarantee her the chairmanship.  Sources say that Peter Barnes (D-Edison), a lawyer and the brother of the Hunterdon County Prosecutor, is also in contention to chair the panel.

The tally:

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PATERSON - Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) won't deny that he's the missing link from Middlesex as part of a new legislative leadership package that would make him the next state Democratic Party chairman and successor to Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union).

"'If there's anyway I can augment that team, let me know,'" is how Wisniewski sums up his communications with the power brokers, describing the ins and outs of those talks as "internal party politics."

Appearing tonight at the Brownstone in Paterson at a fundraiser for Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), he said he would be interested in the job.

"One of the things that the state party chair needs to do - and this goes for whoever holds that position - is to build the roots of the party and encourage among young voters and new voters an identification with the Democratic Party," said Wisniewski.

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All nine Essex County Democrats in the State Assembly have endorsed Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) for Speaker.  Oliver now has endorsements from 35 Democratic legislators and likely winners of open seats, giving her a seemingly overwhelming lead in the race to succeed retiring Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden).

Oliver's rival, Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) has just two votes, her own and Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton), her running mate.

Among Oliver's supporters are John McKeon (D-West Orange) and Mila Jasey (D-South Orange), who are running mates and political allies of Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland).

Also backing Oliver are Ralph Caputo (D-Belleville), Albert Coutinho (D-Newark), Thomas Giblin (D-Montclair), Frederick Scalera (D-Nutley), Grace Spencer (D-Newark), and Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex).

"I am honored that our entire delegation is supporting Sheila Oliver for Speaker," said Essex County Democratic Chairman Phil Thigpen, "she will be a fighter for the taxpayers in New Jersey; her dedication to human services will insure that the individuals so often overlooked in government will now have a strong voice in Trenton.  I am so proud that Essex County is part of this historic election."

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The Middlesex County State Assembly delegation has endorsed Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) for Assembly Speaker, County Chairman Joseph Spicuzzo announced today.

The four incumbents who live in Middlesex -- Peter Barnes (D-Edison), Joseph Egan (D-New Brunswick), Patrick Diegnan (D-South Brunswick), and Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) -- are backing Oliver.  So is Upendra Chivukula (D-Franklin), a Somerset County Assemblyman who represents part of Middlesex, and former Judge Craig Coughlin, who is the Democratic Assembly candidate in District 19.

John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) announced his support of Oliver last week, as did two Union County Democrats who represent part of Middlesex, Gerald Green (D-Plainfield) and Linda Stender (D-Fanwood).

"Assemblywoman Oliver is an effective legislator and has shown solid leadership during her tenure," said Spicuzzo. "We believe that she will do great job as the next Assembly Speaker."

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The Rev. Reginald Jackson, the Executive Director of the Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey, has endorsed Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) for Assembly Speaker, according to a Star-Ledger report.  The only other candidate in the race is Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), who is also African American.

At a news conference to announce his support, Oliver denied that there was any deal that linked her candidacy for Speaker to the campaign of Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) for Senate President.

"The Senate does what the Senate does and the General Assembly does what the General Assembly does. There is no trade-off," the Star-Ledger reported Oliver as saying.

And Jackson denied speculation that Oliver was a pawn in a political chess game being played by George Norcross, Stephen Adubato and other state Democratic leaders.

"We have heard rumors that she will be controlled by other folk.  The Sheila Oliver that we know will not be controlled or told what to do, but will do what is best for the citizens of New Jersey, Jackson said.

Last week, Oliver told PolitickerNJ.com that she is the "most independent person ever elected."

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Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) has taken such a big lead in the race for Assembly Speaker that Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) is having trouble finding colleagues willing to publicly support her candidacy.  The poster child for Watson Coleman's political failure may be Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro), a friend and political ally who is noticeably on the sidelines.

On the Assembly side, the Democratic leadership fight heated up ten days ago when Middlesex County Democratic Chairman Joseph Spicuzzo announced that the Democratic Assembly delegation was "unanimous" in support of John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) for Speaker.  Greenstein had been included in Wisniewski's count because she resides in Middlesex and unanimous indeed means everyone. 

One day later, Greenstein said that she was not taking sides in a fight between the two county organizations that make up her legislative district.  Mercer County Democrats were backing Watson Coleman. Spicuzzo suggested that his intention was announce endorsements from districts 17, 18 and 19, and did not mean to include district 14. But an early draft of the Wisniewski endorsement release, obtained by PolitickerNJ.com, included Greenstein and carried a quote from her.

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