Political problems for the state's largest teacher's union continue to mount.  After going all out for Gov. Jon Corzine in the recent election, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) knows they have a potential problem with voucher-backing charter school enthusiast Gov.-elect Christopher Christie.  And in the Senate, it looks like Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark), a protégé of Newark political leader Stephen Adubato, might replace Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence) as chairman of the Education Committee.  A fair assumption is that Ruiz will share Adubato's fervent support for charter schools. 

Turner could wind up a casualty of the contest for Senate President; she backed incumbent Richard Codey (D-Roseland), while Ruiz supported the likely winner, Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford).

Christie's problem with the NJEA might be more than just politics - he appears to have different views on how to fix New Jersey's public school.  And he might have the upper hand, especially with a potential political ally running the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), who is expected to become the next Assembly Speaker, has not yet indicated who she will pick as the new Assembly Education Committee Chairman.  The incumbent, Joseph Cryan (D-Union), a strong NJEA supporter, is expected to vacate the post to become Majority Leader.  Oliver also has strong ties to Adubato - she is the Assistant Essex County Administrator (and Ruiz is the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Essex County Executive) - but statehouse observers say that Oliver is likely to pick a new chairman who would be supportive of the teachers union, a key player in the state's Democratic base vote.

Reportedly not under consideration to head the Education Committee is Joan Voss (D-Fort Lee), who spent forty years as a public school teacher and is now vice chair of the panel.  Voss, Democratic leaders say, lacks intellectual heft to take on the post.  Instead, Democrats could turn to Patrick Diegnan (D-South Plainfield), a Cryan/Oliver ally and the current chairman of the Assembly Higher Education Committee.  If Diegnan turns it down - the Middlesex County Democrat might want to stay where he is, considering the importance of Rutgers University to his district, the leadership might go with the highly-regarded Mila Jasey (D-South Orange), a former school board member but an ally of outgoing Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), or Paul Moriarty (D-Washington Twp.), a member of South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross' political organization.

Mayor Doug Palmer addresses guests at his fundraiser with, from left, Mercer County Executive Brian J. Hughes, Gov. Jon Corzine, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former President Bill Clinton, and Palmer's wife.

TRENTON - A wounded county came out here tonight to get a glimpse of former President Bill Clinton before the Secret Service propelled him away - again - to some more voter-concentrated region of the state for what Democrats hope will be a pay dirt rally at Rutgers University.

"I knew you weren't here to see me," Mayor Doug Palmer told a crowd at his $150 fundraiser for his nonprofit Trenton First, over one of his shoulders stood Gov. Jon Corzine with two weeks to go in a dead-heat gubernatorial contest.

Over Palmer's other shoulder stood Clinton.

"God, he looks great, Clinton - so slim," said Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing).

"You're here to see the president," supplied Palmer with a smile and deafening war whoops filled the banquet hall here at the Marriott, a building Palmer helped bring to Trenton.

The mayor acknowledged Corzine at last, and threw in a "first and foremost" when introducing him. Corzine, it should be said, received raucous applause. 

Two State Senators who have remained loyal to Richard Codey (D-Roseland) are likely nearing the end of the legislative careers, according to several Democratic insiders.  As a white man representing a district where Latinos and African Americans outnumber whites, John Girgenti (D-Hawthorne) has been at risk of losing party support for the last few years.  Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Paterson) asked Passaic County Democrats to consider her for the Senate in 2007, but party leaders backed the re-election of the 62-year-old Hawthorne Democrat who has been in the Legislature since 1977.  Latino leaders have been eyeing the 35th district Senate seat as their best opportunity to double their representation in the upper house – from one to two.

Girgenti could either lose party support for another term in the Senate, or mapmakers – if Democrats were to dominate legislative redistricting – could offer him the chance run in a new district, perhaps against Senate Minority Whip Kevin O’Toole (R-Cedar Grove).

Some Democrats say the retirement of Senate President Pro-Tempore Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence) could come sooner rather than later.  If Gov. Jon Corzine wins a second term, Turner – no favorite of the front office – could be offered another post in an effort to clear a path for Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) to go to the Senate.  Watson Coleman, popular with Democrats, appears to have gotten the short end of the stick in a legislative leadership deal that will make Sheila Oliver (D-Ewing) the next Assembly Speaker and Joseph Cryan (D-Union) the new Majority Leader.  Watson Coleman is also a contender for a cabinet post in a second Corzine administration. 

If Turner completes her turn and Watson Coleman remains in the Assembly, there is a good chance that Turner will get nudged into retirement in two years so that Watson Coleman can move up to the Senate then.

TURNER ONCE AGAIN URGES HORIZON, CAPITAL HEALTH TO END STALEMATE

Says She’s Been in Contact with Both Sides, and Wants Resolution on Behalf of Healthcare Consumers

TRENTON – Senator Shirley K. Turner, D-Mercer, issued the following statement today urging Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Capital Health Systems to end the stalemate which is costing Horizon subscribers access to Capital Health’s Helene Fuld Medical Center:

“Resolution is long past overdue in the battle between Horizon Blue Cross and Capital Health over reimbursement for medical services. As the impasse escalates into an all-out ad war, the people who will be losing out the most are the subscribers caught in the crossfire.

Two Mercer County women who had been viewed as potential Democratic Lt. Governor candidates say they are not under consideration: State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence) and New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Joan Verplanck both told PolitickerNJ.com that they have not been asked to fill out a questionnaire Gov. Jon Corzine is using in his running mate selection process.  Turner is one of three African American women who have been mentioned for LG, along with Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman and Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells.  Verplanck, a Republican, had been considered by Corzine earlier this month, but a trial balloon on her candidacy did not go over well with Democrats.

Senate President Pro Tempore Shirley Turner (D-Lawrenceville)

TRENTON - Gov. Jon Corzine applauds the state Senate's 22-17 passage of his $29 billion budget, but can't escape sounding a note of disappointment over the GOP's to-a-man dissing of the 2010 document.

"It is unfortunate that not one Republican member of the Legislature saw fit to support a budget that reduces state spending by 12% - an unprecedented downsizing - at the same time it responsibly protects spending on education and provides billions of dollars in much needed property tax relief," the governor says in a release issued moments after the senate passes the budget.

"Even in the midst of this global economic recession, Democratic lawmakers joined me in facing up to the tough decisions and making the right choices," the governor adds.

That bigger than the boundaries of New Jersey theme echoes the Democratic arguments from the floor.

In the lead up to passing the budget, Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) gives an animated defense of the $29 billion state budget and Gov. Jon Corzine, blaming the economic downturn on decisions made in the nation's capital.

With the Primary Election now past us and the General Election still seemingly far in the future for most folks, the hot topic in New Jersey politics centers around who will be chosen to represent the major parties in the newly-created Lieutenant Governor post. 

The gubernatorial candidates have 30 days from the Primary Election to name their choice for running mate.  This letter is an open argument as to why a leader from Mercer County ought to be at the top of the list for consideration, at least on the Democratic side of the aisle.

As with most state-wide offices, the selection of a lieutenant governor nominee will play out not only based on the accomplishments of the persons being considered, but also on the geo-political balance of the state.

New Jersey has been traditionally divided politically between the north and the south.  Recently, Mercer has become the key stone between the two, bridging the arc of oft-competing interests to play an important role, especially in Democratic politics.  In the hotly contested US Senate Primary last year, it was Mercer that delivered the third highest percentage of support in the stat e for Senator Frank Lautenberg, the ultimate winner of that contest.

TURNER-RUIZ BILL TO ESTABLISH PILOT PROGRAM TO RECRUIT MORE MATH AND SCIENCE TEACHERS APPROVED BY SENATE

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senate Education Committee Chairwoman, Senator Shirley K. Turner, and Committee Vice Chair, Senator Teresa Ruiz, which would create an 18-month pilot program to recruit more math and science teachers in New Jersey was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 37-0.

“A quality education is a right, not a privilege, of every child in the State of New Jersey,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “As we prepare the youth of the State for the challenges of tomorrow, we need teachers well-versed in math and the sciences to educate, inspire and mold young minds. This bill would give New Jersey the authority to begin to address the shortage of math and science teachers in our State’s schools, and allow us to remain competitive for the high-paying jobs and research opportunities that depend on an educated workforce.”

Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer

TRENTON – There was Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on a television set and Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer listening with deepening skepticism. Palmer, a short-list candidate for lieutenant governor, thought Jindal’s Tuesday night GOP bite-back at President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus speech was especially poor. 

“I think he’s being panned a lot,” Palmer said of the Republican governor who in his remarks likened an aid package to federal bureaucrats haplessly attempting to micromanage Hurricane Katrina relief, and who would refuse a profusion of new federal funds to his state.

“Bobby Jindal’s either hypocritical or he’s putting politics ahead of his responsibility as governor of Louisiana,” said Trenton’s mayor since 1990. “Louisiana especially should welcome aid, and it’s his job to make sure that money is used effectively. Look, we tried the governor’s approach and it’s not going anywhere.” 

TURNER CALLS FOR CLOSING OF LOOPHOLE ON BACKGROUND CHECKS OF VOLUNTEERS IN NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS

TRENTON – Citing a horrific incident in which a volunteer basketball coach raped a 7-year-old girl he supervised at Grove Street Elementary School in Irvington, Senator Shirley K. Turner, Chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, today called for closing the loophole which makes it optional for schools to perform background checks on volunteers.

“My heart goes out to the little girl and her family, who’ve had to suffer so much because of a lack of background checks for volunteers at Grove Street School,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “It is outrageous that a person with a checkered past can slip under the radar and be placed in a volunteer position which gives him unsupervised access to our kids and grandkids. I would like to see State Department of Education Commissioner (Lucille) Davy take immediate action to close this loophole and make background checks for volunteers mandatory. I will also pursue legislative action to ensure that we perform due diligence in protecting children from predators moving forward.”