New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus is stepping down at the end of the year. The State Board of Agriculture picks the new Secretary, and then Gov. Jon Corzine will need to sign off on the choice.

As it examines who will succeed state Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus, the New Jersey Board of Agriculture finds itself in the awkward position of trying to negotiate with a governor who last year considered scrapping the department in its current form.

In an effort to save cash, Gov. Jon Corzine wanted to subordinate Agriculture to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), a move universally condemned by stewards of New Jersey's 9,600 working farms, some of whom rumbled down West State Street in tractors of defiance.

The Secretary of Agriculture is the only cabinet appointment not made by the Governor.  The State Constitution gives the appointment power to the Board of Agriculture.  The Governor can that approve or veto their choice.

Having weathered the Highlands Act political war earlier in his career, and lately in a cliffhanger with his off-again, on-again department, Kuperus announced his resignation from overseeing the department's $9.3 million budget, effective at the end of this year.

He says he's not bitter at all, and points out in defense of Corzine that from the beginning he made the budgetary suggestion at the Statehouse, the governor was clear that he was only initiating a public conversation.

"Like anything with respect to public service, you have to be looking ahead," said Kuperus, a farmer, a former Sussex County freeholder and a Republican who was named to the post by Gov. James E. McGreevey after the 2001 election.   "The state has very significant issues. We happen to be a small agency, but one that touches every New Jerseyan's life. Even the Hudson County Board of Freeholders declared that they wanted the Department of Agriculture preserved, in part because we helped them when they had a longhorn beetle outbreak."

In the lead-up to his departure, the eight-member Board of Agriculture - made up of farmers and other agricultural industry reps - is set in the middle of this month to review between 12 and 20 applications from those who wish to be the new secretary, a job that pays $141,000 a year.

Senator Stephen Oroho welcomes new initiatives to kill the "throw-out" rule that is keeping New Jersey from creating jobs.

SWEENEY, OROHO: HAVE EVERY COMMUNITY THAT BENEFITS CONTRIBUTE TO STATE POLICE BUDGET

Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-3) and Senator Steven Oroho (R-24), members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, made this statement after hearing testimony before the committee about the governor’s proposal to charge residents of 89 municipalities extra fees for the cost of State Police protection:

The Republican Party on Thursday united behind state Sen. Thomas Kean, Jr., as its new Senate Minority Leader, while state Sen. Leonard Lance stepped aside in the face of a torrent of young blood.

Descendent of the state's first governor, son of a former two-term governor, and with a failed U.S. Senate run behind him and still only in his late 30s, Kean sees last Tuesday's election results as a rejection of Democratic leadership over the course of the last six years.

"Today there are more Republicans in the State Legislature, more Republican freeholders than before, more mayors than there were and more council seats," says Kean.

So far, Democrats haven’t seemed anxious to field and financially support a real challenger to Rep. E. Scott Garrett. But amongst Republicans, there’s discontent with Garrett brewing just beneath the surface of the fifth congressional district.

Some complain of Garrett’s steadfast conservative ideological commitment which has led to cast votes against bills considered no-brainers to Democrats and more moderate Republicans. Whether this is a strength or weakness is up for debate, however.

The race for Executive Director of the Senate Republicans is already taking shape, with at least two potential candidates already calling Senators seeking support for the $140,730-a-year staff post.  Rick England, a longtime Senate aide and political strategist who has been around the upper house since Donald DiFrancesco ran the Senate, and lame duck Assemblyman Guy Gregg are both campaigning for the job currently held by John Samerjan.

Brian Stack, Sandra Cunningham, Kevin O'Toole and Steven Oroho won hotly contested primaries for open State Senate seats and are now the strong favorites to win election to the Senate in November.

Two incumbents, Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo and Assemblywoman Oadline Truitt, lost their bids for re-election. A third incumbent, Assemblyman Craig Stanley, trails Cleopatra Tucker by 110 votes with 99.3% of the vote (142 of 143 districts) counted.

State Sen. Ronald Rice narrowly held off a tough primary challenge, defeating Essex County Freeholder Bilal Beasley by a 52%-48% margin. Beasley's running mate, Essex County Freeholder Ralph Caputo, defeated Truitt.

The primaries proved to be a draw for Democrats in Hudson and Essex: the Hudson County Democratic Organization backed Cunningham, but opposed Stack. The Essex County Democratic Committee and Newark Mayor Cory Booker ousted Caraballo and Truitt, but lost their bid to defeat Rice by less than 500 votes. Caraballo lost by nearly 5,000 vote to former Assemblyman Albert Coutinho and former Booker Deputy Campaign Manager Grace Spencer.

Stack won in a landslide -- 77% over Sal Vega, while Cunningham defeated Assemblyman Louis Manzo by a 55%-45% margin in two especially bitter battles. Cunningham defeated Assemblyman Louis Manzo by a 55%-45% margin.Stack won every town in his district, including West New York, where Vega is Mayor. He took 90% in Union City, winning 9,905 to 978.

Assembly candidates running with Cunningham and Stack also won, making former Jersey City Mayor L. Harvey Smith, former Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, Hoboken Councilman Ruben Ramos, and Caridad Rodriguez, an aide to Rep. Albio Sires, the strong favorites to win Assembly seat in November.

Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise easily won renomination. HCDO candidates for County Clerk and Sheriff also won: Barbara Netchert defeated Acting County Clerk Mary Jane Desmond, 52%-45%; and Juan Perez ousted incumbent Sheriff Joseph Cassidy, 50%-47%.

But the HCDO candidate for Hudson County Freeholder, Alberto Cabrera, lost to Jose Munoz, who had Stack's support.

Assemblyman David Russo won renomination, even though he had been dumped from the Bergen County Republican Organization line. He ran with O'Toole and Wayne Mayor Scott Rumana.

In the 26th district, attorney Jay Webber defeated former Kinnelon Council President Larry Casha by about 600 votes to win the GOP nomination. Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce won. In District 24, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose won , along with her running mate, Sussex County Freeholder Gary Chiusano.

Warren County Acting Clerk Patricia Kolb defeated Chad Chamberlain, the son of a Warren County Freeholder by a 4-1 margin.

Morris County Freeholder John Inglesino lost his bid for re-election to James Murray, a retired county engineer.

In Hunterdon County, incumbent George Melick and deoderant heir Will Mennen won a contested primary for Freeholder. Mennen led former Tewksbury Mayor Shaun Van Doren by 246 votes. Former Freeholder Frank Fuzo trailed far behind.

In local races, a slate of candidates backed by Assemblyman James Whelan easily won contests for the Atlantic City Council against a slate backed by supporters of the Callaway organization, and a slate of Council candidates backed by Edison Mayor Jun Choi won. Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman and Highland Park Mayor Meryl Frank, both Democrats, survived primary challenges, but Florham Park Mayor Frank Tinari, a Republican, did not.

Bergen County Democratic Organization candidates in Englewood and Bergenfield lost.

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari easily defeated Bill Campbell in the 22nd district. There are unconfirmed reports that former Somerset County Freeholder Rose McConnell won the GOP nomination as a write-in candidate.

There are also unconfirmed reports that Michael Guarino, who was tossed from the ballot after failing to obtain 100 signatures on his petition, won the GOP Senate nomination in District 36 as a write-in candidate.

State Sen. Nicholas Sacco has defeated Sean Connors, a Jersey City police officer, by a wide margin. His 32nd district running mates, Assemblywoman Joan Quigley and Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, have also won renomination.

In District 9, Pine Beach Mayor Russell Corby has won the Democratic State Senate nomination, defeating James LeTellier, a police officer. Corby will face Assemblyman Christopher Connors in the general election.

Incumbent Peter Biondi won renomination to the State Assembly in the 16th district, along with Somerset County Freeholder Denise Coyle. They defeated Stanley Serafin.

In District 1, GOP organization candidates Norris Clark and Michael Donohue defeated George Cecola to win the nomination for State Assembly. In the 18th district, Daniel Brown defeated Andrew Tidd for the GOP Senate nomination by a 2-1 margin.