It's possible, but don't expect it to happen
By Wally Edge
If Governor Jon Corzine leaves office early to take a job in Barack Obama's new administration, his most likely successor is Richard Codey. As Senate President, Codey is next in the gubernatorial line of succession -- as he was for 84 hours in 2001 when Donald DiFrancesco left office, and for fourteen months in 2004 and 2005 following James E. McGreevey's resignation.
But if Codey's political foes were able to join together in a special election coup d'état, they could remove him from the Senate Presidency, installing a new person to succeed to the governorship. That means a coalition between the seventeen Republican Senators and any block of four Democrats (read: South Jersey) could deny Codey a third term as Governor.
The last time the Legislature cut a deal like this was after the 1971 general election, when Democrats won control of the State Assembly, but Republicans held the speakership. Four Democrats from Hudson and Union counties joined with Republicans to elect Thomas Kean, then the Assembly Majority Leader, as Speaker.
Contributors
Wally Edge
There is a good chance Gov. Jon Corzine will pick his running mate before July 16, if for no other reason than to get the Democratic Lt. Governor ... >
Bob Torricelli
It's called making perfection the enemy of the good and it's the first lesson of legislating.
Every legislative action involves ... >
Michael Patrick Carroll
In a rebuke to Judge Sotomayor, who found neither empathy nor justice for victims of obvious racial discrimination, the SCOTUS struck another blow ... >
Jeff Michaels
The re-election campaign of Governor Jon Corzine was down-right giddy this week when it was announced that the state's tax amnesty program ... >
Richard LaRossa
Who is minding the Asylum! >
Alan Steinberg
The legendary sports journalist, Jimmy Cannon of the now defunct New York Journal-American said of Howard Cosell: “His real name is Howard Cohen, ... >
Dr. Joseph Marbach
Based on the first Republican debate, which I had the opportunity to watch in the NJN studio and participate in a panel discussion afterwards, it ... >
Rob Tornoe
Joey Novick
Bailout of Madoff Not Making Everyone Happy
Special to AP Newswire
With 700 billion dollars being spent on the General Motors bailout, AIG, ... >
Patricia Quattrocchi
Word on the "internet street" has it that all the "King Street Men" supposedly are busy gathering cash for Union County ... >
Murray Sabrin
Last week the New Jersey State Legislature passed a $29 billion budget for fiscal 2010 which begins on July 1, 2009. Governor Corzine's budget ... >
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"I'm tired of this two-party system. All they want is to score points for their team. I'm sick of it. I've had it." -- Karen Dunn, the owner of Blackbeard's Deli in Burlington City, after meeting independent gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett.
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- Jul 2 2009
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Sweeney or Tom Kean Jr?
The plot thickens!
So we could go from
the slush fund Trenton creature to the double dipper from Norcrossland? Hooray~
Sweeney For Governor Anyway
Codey will be getting no advantage if he is named Governor should Corzine leave .He will be saddled with a horrible budget and he will have to make some very unpopular decisions in a year when the whole Assembly is up for reelection. Sweeney will be Senate President and be able to sit back and watch Codey try to get a budget passed. Sweeney will challenge Codey in a primary and have a unified geographic area in the South plus he will have most of the labor support ( minus the paper tiger CWA who will have to deal with Codey and layoffs anyway)in the State. Codey also has some big time enemies in the North who might just run a candidate to hurt him up there. In a 3 person primary Sweeney wins. Sweeney will have little trouble with Christie. The Republicans are hoping that it is Codey they are running against since there are more issues they can bring up against him. Sweeney for Governor in '09 !