August 10, 2009 - 11:54am
Inside Edge

Coming Soon: PolitickerNJ.com's 2009 County Chairman Report Card

The PolitickerNJ.com County Chairmen Report Card, a popular feature in the early years of this website, will return in August 2009 using the same criteria from the first set of rankings in 2001.  County Chairs will get a score of zero to ten points in each of ten categories:

LEADERSHIP: Gauges the Chairman's leadership skills and general performance.

PARTY POPULARITY: Gauges the popularity of the Chairman among County Committee and Elected Officials within their own county.

UNITY: Gauges the Chairman's ability to unify the party in primary and general elections.

STATEWIDE CLOUT: Gauges the power of the Chairman within the state political party structure and among the most influential elected officials, and their value to statewide and regional candidates.

FUNDRAISING: Gauges the ability of the Chairman to raise money for the county organization.

POWER OF THE ENDORSEMENT AND THE LINE: Gauges the value of the Chairman's personal endorsement in primaries, and if a line exists, the clout of the organization line in a primary election.

TRACK RECORD: Gauges the success of the Chairman at winning elections, including statewide candidates, congressional, legislative, county and municipal.

CANDIDATE QUALITY: Gauges the quality of the candidates recruited by the Chairman to run for the legislature and for county and municipal office.

CAMPAIGN SKILLS: Gauges the Chairman's ability to craft a message and develop a winning campaign strategy, and to secure the services of quality professionals who can implement the campaign plan.

PATRONAGE: Gauges the Chairman's ability to deliver for his organization, as it relates to appointments, patronage and professional contracts at the state, county and municipal levels.

Wally Edge can be reached via email at politicsnj@aol.com.