Good News, Bad News Polls For Christie

Two polls release this morning indicate that the news avalanche over “Bridgegate;” the George Washington Bridge lane closures and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegations that Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and other Christie Administration officials said that Sandy relief was contingent upon a development approval have taken a heavy toll on the public’s opinion of Governor Chris Christie.

A Wall Street Journal/NBCNews national poll points to a sharp reversal of American’s opinion of New Jersey’s Governor.  29% view Christie unfavorably while 22% view him favorably.  In an October 2013 poll, 33% view the governor favorably, while only 17% viewed him unfavorably.

In New Jersey, Christie still has positive numbers, but the stratospheric approval numbers he has enjoyed since Superstorm Sandy crushed the Garden State have evaporated in the heat of Bridgegate.

The Farleigh Dickson University Public Mind Poll released this morning says that Christie’s job approval rating is below 50% for the first time since May of 2011.  48% of New Jersey registered voters approve of the job he is doing, while 39% do not.   53% of FDU’s respondents think Christie probably knew about the GWB lane closures before they happened.

Any ‘normal politician’ would be very happy with the kind of numbers that FDU put out Christie today.  Given the beating he’s been taking in the media, that the voters who know Christie best still approve of him by +9 points, even though they think he probably lied when he said he knew nothing of the GWB lane closures before they happened, the FDU numbers are very positive.

New Jerseyans and the rest of the country are paying close attention to the Christie controversies. 85% of NJ voters told FDU they were watching closely.  79% of Americans are aware of the story, according to the WSJ/NBC poll.

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Freehold Businessman Announces U.S. Senate Run

Rich Pezzullo

Monmouth county businessman Rich Pezzullo will throw his hat into the US Senate race in New Jersey during an appearance at the Freehold Township Republican Club tonight , 7 PM, at the Szechuan Star Restaurant in Freehold New Jersey.

Pezzullo, 55, is a IT consultant serving small businesses. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves for 20 years, attaining the rank of Major, according to his campaign website.

In 1997, Pezzullo ran for Governor as the nominee of the New Jersey Conservative Party.

If Pezzullo wins the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, he will attempt to unseat Senator Cory Booker in the November election.

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Elf on the shelf?

Walsh won’t say if he’s running for freeholder

Howell Councilman Bob Walsh. photo via facebook

It’s been almost two months since Howell Councilman Bob Walsh told us he would challenge Republican freeholder incumbents, Director Lillian Burry and Deputy Director Gary Rich, at the upcoming Monmouth Republican Nominating Convention.  In our early December interview, which Walsh claimed he thought was off the record after publication, he said he would be sending a letter to member of the Monmouth County Republican Committee shortly after the first of the year.

Now, at the end of January, there’s been no letter, and Walsh wouldn’t say if he’s running when we called him late last week.  “I’m busy at work and have a few things to take care of; go to the doctor for my annual check up.  Then I’ll decide,” Walsh said.

But Walsh was overheard at a Howell Republican Club meeting last week saying he was going to run and he was seen working the crowd at Sheriff’s Shaun Golden’s Winter Breakout fundraiser on Friday.

One Republican insider who requested not to be named said Walsh is running.  “He’s all in and its going to be a shit show,” the committee member said, ” he’s calling the municipal chairmen.”

Manalapan GOP Chairman Steve McEnery said he hasn’t heard from Walsh. “He hasn’t called me,” McEnery said, “so I really don’t know what he’s going to do, but I don’t think we need a convention fight for freeholder nominations.”

Another chairperson said Walsh is probably gauging his level of support before committing. “A lot of people rallied around Lillian and Gary as a result of your article in December,” the chair said, “they both (Burry and Rich) have issues, but nothing that disqualifies them. Why should we have a fight just because Bob Walsh wants to be a freeholder?”

Burry, who said Walsh “should wait his turn” in December, laughed when told that he in now equivocating.  “One day he’s running, the next day he’s not. You’ll have to ask him,” Burry said, “I’m running.  I already have more than enough signatures on my petitions and I’m still collecting.”

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Warren Chamberlain Fills Keyport Council Seat

Warren Chamberlain, center, takes the oath of office as a Keyport Councilman. Borough Clerk Valerie Valerie Heilweil, left, and Keyport GOP Chairman Bob Burlew, right.

Warren Chamberlain, 63, was sworn in as a councilman in Keyport on Friday.  He was selected by the Keyport Republican Committee on Thursday to fill the seat of Clemente Toglia, the reelected council member who died suddenly on December 31, the day before his new term was to start.

“I’m happy to be working with the rest of the council and the mayor, for the people of Keyport,” Chamberlain said, “but I’m very sad about the circumstances. Clemente will be greatly missed.  This council is a great group, Republicans and Democrats.  We will work together well.”

Chamberlain is starting his second stint on the Keyport council.  In 2011 he was selected to fill a vacancy on the board and then lost the election to complete the term he was appointed to to Kenneth McPeek to by 4 votes.  He will be serving with McPeek this year.

The new councilman was a Monmouth County Sheriff’s Officer from 1982 through 1996. He retired with a disability pension after suffering back injuries in an altercation with inmates in the jail. From 1986 through 1990, he was president of PBA Local 240.

In 1992, Chamberlain was the Democratic nominee for Monmouth County Sheriff, losing to incumbent Republican William Lanzaro by 2700 votes.

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Zimmer testified that she does not keep a diary

HudsonCountyTV.com is reporting that attorney Louis Zayas of North Bergen claims that Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer testified under oath during a deposition that she does not keep a diary, calendar or memo pad to help her remember events that occur in the city she governs.

Zimmer claimed on MSNBC’s Up with Steve Kornacki last Saturday that Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno told her that Sandy Relief money was contingent on the approval of a proposed Rockefeller Group development.  Zimmer offered Kornacki her diary to support her claims against Guadagno and says she has since turned the diary over to the U.S. Attorney.

Zayas, the attorney who won a $440,000 award discrimination lawsuit against Hoboken last month said at the time that the jury in that case did not believe Zimmer’s testimony. Zayas is currently suing Zimmer and her husband, Stan Grossbard, on behalf of Carmelo Garcia, the head of the Hoboken Housing Authority and a New Jersey State Assemblyman representing Hoboken, for alleged  racial discrimination and “ethnic cleansing.”

Zayas keeps a framed photograph of himself and Governor Chris Christie on prominent display in his law office, as can be seen in this HudsonCountyTV video.

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NBC 4 NY: New, expanding criminal investigation into Menendez

FEDERAL PROBE INTO MENENDEZ IS WIDENING

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U.S. Attorney’s Office Subpoenas Christie’s Reelection Campaign and State GOP

PolitickerNJ is reporting that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has issued subpoenas for documents to the Christie for Governor reelection campaign and the New Jersey State Republican Committee.

“Patton Boggs has been retained to represent the Christie for Governor re-election campaign and the New Jersey Republican State Committee in connection with investigations being conducted by the US Attorney’s Office and the legislative committee,” said Patton Boggs attorney, Mark Sheridan.

“We can confirm that the Christie  for Governor re-election campaign and the New Jersey Republican State Committee received subpoenas for documents from the U.S. Attorney’s office, in addition to the subpoena the campaign previously received from the state legislative committee.  All three subpoenas focus on the closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge.  The campaign and the state party intend to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s office and the state legislative committee and will respond to the subpoenas accordingly.”

 

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Hornik on Tommy G Show This Afternoon

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik is taking his not running for governor  tour to the Tommy G Radio Show this afternoon.

The show can be heard here live between 4 and 6.  You can call in to speak with Tommy and the mayor at 732-446-9777.

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Judge Lawson: Freeholder Lillian Burry had no conflict of interest regarding Lucas farm vote

Judge Lawrence M. Lawson

Monmouth County Assignment Judge Lawrence M. Lawson has ruled that “no rational fact-finder could find a conflict of interest” in Freeholder Lillian Burry’s March 2013 vote to fund the purchase of the development rights to former Manalapan Mayor Andrew Lucas’s Burke Farm.

In an opinion dated January 8, Lawson said that Burry did not have a conflict of interest, “real or apparent,” “potential” or “actual” in the controversial farmland preservation purchase that has been a political football in Monmouth County and Manalapan since 2010.

In a Summary Judgment, Lawson dismissed the suit with prejudice, brought by Holmdel attorney Lawrence Luttrell, a Democratic freeholder candidate at the time that he, his wife and mother-in-law formed R.A.G.E (Residents Against Government Exploitation), a non-profit corporation, for the sole purpose of bringing suit against Monmouth County over Burry’s vote on the Lucas farm deal.

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Zimmer says Feds told her to stop talking, Declines to take lie detector

Graphic courtesy of Hoboken411.com

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said the U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked her to stop talking about her allegations that top officials in the Christie Administration told her that Sandy Relief money was contingent upon her approving a development for the Rockefeller Group, according to HudsonCountyTV.

“The US Attorney’s office has asked that we do not conduct additional media interviews and we are respecting their request. I stand by my previous statements and remain willing to testify under oath about all of the facts in this case.”

How convenient.

The U.S. Attorney’s office has not confirmed that they made such a request, or that they have even met with Zimmer.

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