Susan Bass Levin

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Responding to a post in PoliticsNJ.com's The Inside Edge, Assemblyman Richard Merkt says that Susan Bass Levin should find a place to live in New Jersey, and cancel plans to live in New York City.

Susan Bass Levin will keep her home in Camden County, but will spend most of her time in an apartment in Manhattan, according to friends of the former Cherry Hill Mayor.  Yesterday, Governor Jon Corzine named Levin, the state Commissioner of Community Affairs, as the new Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Levin, sources say, has not yet found an apartment, but her intention is to spend most of her nights in New York, where the Port Authority is based.  The appointment to the $250,000-a-year job – almost double her current cabinet salary – had been rumored for the last two months.

Governor Jon S. Corzine today announced that he is appointing Commissioner of Community Affairs Susan Bass Levin as  Deputy Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  The former Mayor of Cherry Hill will take the post vacated by Jamie Fox earlier this year.

If Democrats are successful in winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November, it could prompt some veteran -- and aging -- Republican Congressmen to retire in 2008. It isn't always easy for a Congressman to adjust to live in the minority after they have grown accustomed to the benefits of majority life.

In New Jersey, one possible retirement would be James Saxton, who is favored to win re-election to a twelfth term this year. Saxton is now the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and the Chairman of the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. After the 2002 election, Saxton was in line to become Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, but the leadership deemed him not conservative enough and he was passed over for the job. Saxton will be 65-years-old in 2008 -- still young enough to trade 24 years of Washington connections for a lucrative government relations position.

If Saxton were to retire -- and there have been absolutely no indications that he will -- look for a spirited contest for an open seat in the traditionally Republican third district. The most likely Republican candidate would be State Senator Diane Allen, but the Democrats could have a primary between State Senator John Adler and state Community Affairs Commissioner Susan Bass Levin, who was the Mayor of Cherry Hill when she challenged Saxton in 2000.

CODEY STATEMENT ON SENATE CONFIRMATION OF SUSAN BASS LEVIN AS COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COMMISSIONER

Testimony at Today’s Confirmation Hearing of Susan Bass Levin

We fully support the strong environmental vision the Governor laid out, and commitments he made, during the campaign -- most notably protecting critical habitat for endangered and threatened species, expanding c1 to more key waterways and strengthening other Clean Water Act rules, ensuring the State Plan reflects existing natural resources, repealing fast track, doubling affordable housing production, banning pay to play, expanding the public financing of campaigns, ending the misuse of eminent domain, and opposing the Delaware Deepening.

RICE SUPPORTS RENOMINATION OF SUSAN BASS LEVIN TO COMMUNITY AFFAIRS POST

Key Senator Says Commissioner Improved Life in Urban New Jersey

TRENTON - Senator Ronald L. Rice, D-Essex, the Chair of the Senate Community and Urban Affairs committee, issued a statement today in praise of Governor Corzine's decision to reappoint Susan Bass Levin to her post as the Commissioner of Community Affairs:

"Governor Corzine's choice to lead the DCA (Department of Community Affairs) is a positive note for New Jersey's residents living in urban communities. In her tenure as Commissioner, Susan has exhibited the necessary commitment and drive to improve life in New Jersey's cities.

Susan Bass Levin left her position as Commissioner of Community Affairs last year to join Jon Corzine's campaign staff -- with the hope of returning to state government in a position of greater power and prestige. Levin, a former Cherry Hill Mayor, had been mentioned for Chief of Staff or Attorney General, although the job she was widely expected to get was Chief Counsel. Instead, Corzine went with an outsider, Assistant United States Attorney Stuart Rabner, leaving Levin to actively pursue private sector opportunites. Her return to Community Affairs represents a lateral move, at least in terms of her job title.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, PoliticsNJ.com reported that Governor-elect Jon Corzine would soon name Tom Shea as Chief of Staff and Susan Bass Levin as Chief Counsel. Shea was named six days later, but Corzine has not named his counsel -- fueling speculation that the appointment of Levin, a former Community Affairs Commissioner and Cherry Hill Mayor, might not necessarily be a sure thing.