Bill Spadea Can Win In November

By Harold Kane, Monroe Township

There is an old cliché in New Jersey Politics. The cliché states “When it is the Republicans to lose, they will lose.” The district 16 special election this year will be theirs to lose unless they wake up. The electoral composition of the district has radically changed since the 2010 census. In 2007 the Republican Assembly candidates won 58-42. With the elimination of parts of Somerset and Morris counties and the inclusion of South Brunswick and the Princetons the Republicans managed to win the 2011 Assembly race 52-48, a drop of 12 points. The special election will be to replace the deceased Peter Biondi. At first the Republican “leadership” offered William Mennen of Tewksbury, but he didn’t live in the district. Mennen said that he would move, but then changed his mind. They then offered Donna Simon, a councilperson from Readington. Ms. Simon has absolutely no name recognition outside of Readington. The name recognition becomes even more important in the 2012 general election in that the Democrats will have Barack Obama at the top of their ticket. With Obama every Democrat and Democrat leaner in Middlesex and Mercer counties will be coming out of the woodwork to vote. The Republicans have a candidate that can overcome the Democrat advantage in the special Assembly Election. That candidate is Bill Spadea of Princeton. Spadea has run for Congress garnering 40% of the vote which is twice what the “experts” said that he would get. He is a party activist with great name recognition in precisely the portion of district 16 where it is needed most. Spadea has already assembled a campaign team with many years of experience. This is in comparison to Simon. Exactly when was the last time the Somerset/Hunterdon Republican parties had to fight for an Assembly seat? A Democrat victory in the 16^th would further impede Governor Christie from achieving his goals.

The Republican chairpersons in Somerset County (Al Gaburo), Hunterdon County (Henry Kuhl), and Mercer County (Dave Fried, Maria Bua) need to put their support behind Spadea at the special convention this month. Spadea can win in November, Simon cannot!

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No Speeches At Freeholder Election

The candidates to replace Assemblyman-elect Rob Clifton on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders will not address the Title 19 convention of Monmouth Republican Committee members when they convene on Saturday morning at Colts Neck High School.

Nominations will be accepted from the floor and then the balloting will commence.  

Several party leaders told MMM that Chairman Joe Oxley decided on this agenda for the convention out of concern for maintaining a quorum.   50% plus one of the committee’s 770 members must be present during the voting in order for the election to be official.

There is talk among some committee members about making a motion from the floor to allow the candidates to speak.

There will be no problem obtaining a quorum of 386 if the candidates’ head counts are accurate.  At a meet and greet hosted by the Atlantic Highlands Republican Committee last night, Howell Mayor Bob Walsh and Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso both told MMM they have 200 votes.  Manalapan Township Committeeman Ryan Green said that he counting on at least 150 of the 300 GOP committee members he personally visited.  MMM did not talk to Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle about his vote count.

County Committee members who have not yet met the candidates or heard them speak can do so tonight, 7-9 , during the Bayshore Tea Party Group’s candidate vetting session at the Ocean Township Community Center or on Friday night during the Monmouth Affiliated Republican Club’s dinner at Doolan’s Shore Club in Spring Lake.

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Alex DeCroce Dies While Doing The Job He Loved

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce died last night shortly after the final voting session of the 214th legislature.  He was 75 years old.

DeCroce collapsed after 11PM in the legislative wing of the statehouse.

Governor Chris Christie said, “Tonight I lost a dear friend, colleague and mentor -– Assembly Republican Leader Alex De Croce.

“I have known Alex for nearly 20 years,” the governor said. “He helped to give me my start in elective politics in Morris County in 1993. He was one of the most kind, considerate and trustworthy people I have ever had the pleasure to know. He was an enormously accomplished legislator and a tremendous servant to the people of New Jersey.

“Mary Pat and I offer our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Department of Community Affairs Deputy Commissioner Betty Lou De Croce, and to Alex’s entire family,” Christie said. “This is an enormous loss for our state and for me personally.”

The ceremonial swearing in of the 215th legislature and the Governor’s State of the State address scheduled for today have been canceled.   There will be an informal swearing in and the Governor will briefly address both houses of the legislature in order to fulfill the constitution requirement that he address them today.

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No Vote In Assembly On Legal Ads Bill

S2072/A2082 will not be voted on in the Assembly today according to a report by State Street Wire, Politickernj’s pay site.

As today is the last day of the legislative session, Speaker Sheila Oliver and other Democratic caucus members have killed the bill.

Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-29, Newark), a former sponsor of the bill told State Street Wire that he would introduce a similar bill in the new session that also addresses concerns of those who opposed this bill.

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Hot Pants

If all press is good press, then Anna Little’s fledgling U.S. Senate campaign got a boost this morning when  The Star Ledger’s PolitFact gave her claims about Senator Robert Menendez’s spending and borrowing record a “MOSTLY FALSE” rating on the TRUTH-O-METER.

Little avoided the “PANTS ON FIRE” designation the Ledger gives for completely false claims, but earned the newly created Hot Pants designation from MMM.

What is most surprising about this morning’s PolitiFact post is that it has been up at NJ.com for two hours and it doesn’t have any comments from Rullo supporters, yet.

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Call Your Legislators: Stop Corporate Welfare For Newspapers

Legislation that ends the requirement of “Legal Ads” being published in newspapers, in favor of the ads being posted on government websites, is on the calendar in both the Senate and Assembly on Monday, the last day of the current legislative session.

Call or email your legislators right now and ask them to vote YES on S-2072 in the Senate and A-2082 in the Assembly.  You can find your legislators contact information here.

Classified ads in newspapers have gone the way of the horse and buggy.  The Internet has made them obsolete.  On most days Legals Ads make up the vast majority of the once thick classified section.  The private sector has already voted.  Taxpayers and those with proceedings before a court or board should not have to subsidize an antiquated practice.

Posting Legal Notices on municipal, county and state websites will lead to more people seeing them and will save the public between $12 and $70 million per year, depending upon who you believe.  The newspaper industry says they ads cost only $12 million per year.  Proponents of the bill says they cost $70 million.

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Menendez Denies Retribution In Blocking Shwartz’s Appointment To Appeals Court

Senator Robert Menendez denies he is preventing Federal Magistrate Patty Shwartz’s appointment to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals because her boyfriend is the federal prosecutor who lead the corruption investigation into the senator during his 2006 campaign, according to a report at Politico.

Menendez said it wasn’t appropriate to debate a potential judges qualifications in the press, before he went on to malign Shwartz:

“It is incredibly disappointing and unfortunate that my real concerns over the suitability of Judge Shwartz to serve a lifetime appointment as circuit court judge have been spun as some petty political vendetta by some of her supporters,” Menendez said in a statement to POLITICO.

“I proceeded to ask her substantive legal questions and was not fully satisfied with her responses,” Menendez said. “In my opinion, Judge Shwartz did not adequately demonstrate the breadth of knowledge of constitutional law and pivotal Supreme Court decisions such as Citizens United that we should expect from a United States Circuit Court judge.”

“In the interview with Judge Shwartz, in my opinion, she misapplied the application of strict scrutiny versus rational basis review to the questions at hand,” Menendez added. “She did not express substantive knowledge as to the scope of the rights of corporations under the Constitution or jurisprudence on the constitutional limits of Executive Branch powers.

Menendez lied to me personally and didn’t respond when I called him on it,  in the months after Jon Corzine appointed him to the Senate.  Thus my bias makes it difficult to believe anything he says.  He’s just not trustworthy.

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An On The Ground Report…

From The First In The Nation Primary State Of New Hampshire…

Friday, January 6^th    “One Renegade Campaign Volunteer”

Having been to this wonderful state so many times, I was briefly introduced to the Primary Campaign process up here during the 2008 election season while on a trip picking up campaign collectibles. As a political junkie, I became enamored of what I saw. So, this year; because of the importance of defeating Obama, I decided to volunteer up here for a few days with the primary candidate of my choice, Newt Gingrich.

So, prior to leaving for New Hampshire on Thursday, I sent a note to Art suggesting that if I had time, I would pass on my thoughts about the process up here during the final days of this primary. So, despite the lateness of the hour, actually 12:15 in the morning after my day started at 8 am, subsequent to a 6 hour drive up Thursday night; here we go.

I’m going to remain anonymous though, as it’s the content that’s important; not the person writing it. There are some lessons to be learned from New Hampshire. Most of them will be random thoughts as they come to me.  

Where Do I Begin?

First of all, New Hampshire voters take their primary SERIOUSLY, VERY SERIOUSLY. I can not even think of when I have seen this kind of Republican fervor in blue New Jersey. Perhaps it has something to do with it being the first in the nation primary, or it having to do with this region being one of he cradles of our democracy, voters get involved.

There’s lots of Town Hall style meetings schedule across the state and seem to be well attended. One event for Newt this evening produced a crowd 20% larger than expected. People listened intently and asked great questions. Nearly a third of the crowd stayed to ask other questions of Newt or make a comment.

A county fund raiser with multiple Presidential candidates was similarly “sold out.”

Here’s one other novel thing about New Hampshire campaigns…

It’s called a “sign wave.”

Betcha you are scratching your head, now, wondering what in tarnation is that?

Well, 10 or so volunteers get together and wave their candidates campaign signs at intersections and roundabouts in their towns, most often at rush hour. The first time I saw that was in 2008 in Keene, N.H. at about 6:30 am when a bunch of Hillary supporters were on the main square. Sometimes, they are just regular signs. Many times, there are three or 4 signs stapled to a 1 x 3 so that they can be seen from a distance in traffic.

Mind you, it’s really cold when you wake up here in they morning.

Try asking some of our County Committee people in Monmouth County to do that in more reasonable weather. Bet you they will look at you like you’ve got horns growing out of your head.

But, they certainly do it here.

Volunteers also come from all over. I’ve met several people from Pennsylvania and New York. One intrepid volunteer, and I guess well off volunteer even flew his twin engine plane from San Francisco to Iowa to volunteer for a week; and then on to Manchester, N.H to help out here. One wonders if we do this for the thrill of a Republican campaign that we don’t often see in blue states such as these.

Saturday, I’m advancing two events and then heading off to the big debate Saturday evening. I hope to be inside for a bit to pick up on what I feel the candidates are about. Yes, perhaps from my jaded view point; but without the twist of the media.

One last thought for the evening. Before you ever complain about putting out campaign signs; just imagine how difficult it is in New Hampshire this time of year; trying to plant your thin wire frame into frozen soil.

I know. I did it, at least 50 times today.

New Hampshire natives, adapt, perseveres and overcome. Perhaps that’s another lesson for all of us. It’s a shame more of us couldn’t come up here and learn something about real campaigning.

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Maybe the $1.2 billion is in France

Jon Corzine says he simply doesn’t know where the missing $1.2 billion of MF Global customers’ money is.

Maybe it’s in France.  In a preview of their February issue, Vanity Fair  (hat tip to bluejersey), reports that the former master of the universe and his wife, Sharon Elghanayan, were shopping for a beach house in the South of France two weeks before MF Global collapsed and the $1.2 billion was discovered missing.

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For Democratic U.S. Senators, it’s not what you know or who you know, it’s who you have sex with.

Character, scholarship, temperament and a demonstrated ability to do the job.  One would hope that those are the most important qualities our U.S. Senators consider when they participate in the vetting of potential federal judges.

Evidently, who potential judges share their beds and bodies with are a more important consideration to New Jersey’s U.S. Senators; Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez.

Two weeks ago we read the news that Lautenberg passed over candidates expected to be nominated for federal judgeships in New Jersey and “out of nowhere” endorsed New York Senator Chuck Schumer’s brother-in-law to sit on New Jersey’s District Court.

Today we read that Menendez is using  senatorial courtesy to block the nomination of U.S. Magistrate Patty Shwartz to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Shwartz has been in a relationship with James Nobile for two decades, according to The New York Times.  Nobile is the head of the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s public corruption unit which investigated Menendez in 2006 while the Hudson County pol was running for his own term as Senator after having been appointed by Governor Jon Corzine.

Menendez was elected despite the news of the investigation.  The investigation has been closed with no charges filed.

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