Zulima Farber

Doherty to Farber: Illegal Immigrants Are Illegal

POU CALLS FOR BUDGET PANEL TO TAKE 'CRITICAL LOOK' AT PRESCHOOL SPENDING
Assembly Appropriations Chair Says Inquiry Into Alleged Mismanagement
Must Be Key Part of Committee's Questioning of Education Officials,
Applauds Attorney General's Willingness to Reassess Cases

(PATERSON) -- Assembly Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nellie Pou today urged her colleagues on the Assembly Budget Committee to hold an in-depth review into whether taxpayer dollars meant for funding early childhood education in the state's poorest communities instead ended up lining the pockets of preschool owners and operators.

KAVANAUGH: AG SHOULD RE-OPEN ABBOTT PRE-SCHOOL FRAUD CASES NOW!

Senator Walter J. Kavanaugh (R-Somerset/Morris) called upon Attorney General Zulima V. Farber to re-open cases of alleged corruption in the Abbott preschool program that were abandoned by her predecessor. Media reports have indicated that the Office of the Attorney General refused to pursue hundreds of thousands of dollars of questionable spending on the part of privately-owned Abbott day care center operators.

Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance was unaware of Robert Martin's arrest and conviction on drunk driving charges until last Thursday, but will not remove Martin from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Martin has taken some heat for not disclosing his legal problems until it was about to break in a daily newspaper, and has been criticized by some Republicans for a potential confict of interest -- one of the issues in the confirmation hearing of Attorney General Zulima Farber was her driving record.

Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance's vote to confirm Zulima Farber as state Attorney General has fueled speculation that he wants the next Republican seat on the New Jersey Supreme Court. Lance, who won a second term as Minority Leader in November against the more conservative Anthony Bucco, was one of four Republicans to support Farber, and has been among the few Republicans willing to extend Jon Corzine the courtesy of a traditonal honeymoon period as he settles into the governorship. Corzine will have at least two Supreme Court appointments over the next two years: the first later this year, when Chief Justice Deborah Poritz, a Republican, reaches the mandatory retirement age of seventy; and in 2007, when Justice James Zazzali, turns 70. There has been some talk that Corzine could promote one of the Democratic Associate Justices to Chief and name a Republican to Poritz's seat -- one candidate for Chief Justice is John Wallace, who was named to the Supreme Court in 2003 (he got the seat that was expected to go to Farber). Wallace, whose wife was a staffer in Corzine's Senate office, could become the state's first African American Chief Justice (not a bad move for a Governor with presidential aspirations), and the first South Jerseyan to hold the post under the current state Constitution.

If Lance were to go to the Supreme Court this year, it would spark a hotly contested race for his 23rd district Senate seat. The front runner would be Assemblyman Michael Doherty, a Warren County Republican who is among the state's most conservative legislators. But Hunterdon County, which has about 55% of the district's population, may not be eager to cede the Senate seat. In a Special Election Convention, where only County Committee vote, newly-elected Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow, a former Hunterdon County Freeholder, could take advantage of a rare opportunity to run for the Senate without giving up an Assembly seat. Former Freeholder Frank Fuzo, who lost a primary campaign for Assembly to Karrow last year, could have more strength among County Committee members than he did with rank-and-file voters. Similarly, Doherty is more popular among voters in Warren County than he is with party regulars -- perhaps the lingering effects of a bruising primary battle with former Assembly Speaker Garabed "Chuck" Haytaian in 2003.

David Wald, the former Star-Ledger political reporter and columnist, is headed to the Department of Law and Public Safety, where he will head up the communications operation for Attorney General Zulima Farber. Wald covered New Jersey politics for the Star-Ledger from 1978 until 2000, when he joined the Jon Corzine for Senate campaign. He spent five years in Corzine's Newark Senate office.

Tom Kean's U.S. Senate campaign took a shot at the Democratic incumbent for voting against the confirmation of Samuel Alito as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court: "Today, Bob Menendez sent his message loud and clear -- partisanship is more important than the people of New Jersey. Instead of fighting for Judge Alito, he chose to embrace the political bitterness that is dividing America." But on the same day, Kean voted against the confirmation of Zulima Farber as Attorney General of New Jersey.

CODEY STATEMENT ON SENATE CONFIRMATION OF ZULIMA FARBER AS NEW JERSEY'S NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL

DEMOCRATS ON JUDICIARY PANEL BACK FARBER FOR AG

TRENTON - Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee today supported the nomination of Zulima Farber to be the next State Attorney General. The committee vote was 8-2 and the full Senate is expected to consider the nomination on Jan. 30th.

Senator John H. Adler, the Committee Chairman, said he was confident that Ms. Farber's term as the State's top law enforcement officer would be marked by "excellence, intelligence and compassion.

Until Jon Corzine's nomination of Zulima Farber is confirmed by the State Senate, the Department of Law and Public Safety is being run by the Acting Attorney General, Nancy Kaplan. An Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Appeals Division, Kaplan has been the Acting Director of the Division of Law.