Fox will get another BPU term, but would lose presidency if Corzine is defeated

The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of Jeanne Fox for another term as President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.  There is no longer much drama with this nomination: Republican Judiciary Committee members are likely to vote against her, but Fox has the votes from the Democratic majority for Senate confirmation.

If Democrats lose the 2009 gubernatorial election, the new Republican Governor would be able to designate one of the Republican Commissioners to serve as President.  BPU Commissioners serve six year terms, and traditionally the party that controls the governorship gets three of the five seats. 

One of the three Democratic Commissioners, Frederick Butler, a former Executive Director of the Assembly Democratic Office, is up for reappointment in June 2009.  For Republicans to take control of the BPU next January, Republican State Sen. Christopher Bateman would need to block the nomination of Butler, a Belle Mead resident, for the remainder of the legislative session.  Short of a resignation, that would give a Republican Governor a chance to make his own appointment.

If Butler does another six-year term, or if Gov. Jon Corzine appoints someone else who wins Senate confirmation, a Republican Governor would have to choose between two sitting Republican Commissioners, former State Sen. Nicholas Asselta, or former Commissioner of Banking and Insurance Elizabeth Randall, for the BPU presidency.  The convention wisdom is that Christopher Christie would pick Randall.  Steve Lonegan would be unhappy with either choice.

Assuming none of the Commissioners resign, and assuming that the Butler seat is filled by January, the next opportunity for a new Republican BPU Commissioner would come in 2012, when the term of Joseph Fiordaliso, a Democrat who served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Gov. Richard Codey, is up.