Little mentioned as U.S. Senate candidate

Maybe that explains her irrational behavior in Highlands

By Art Gallagher

Hat tip to InTheLobby for this tidbit.

TheHill.com’s Shane D’Aprile mentioned Anna Little as a possible challenger to U.S. Senator Robert Menendez in his article, New Jersey GOP lacking a name to face a more vulnerable Menedez.

I can imagine Menendez and Frank Pallone sharing a laugh over a latte about this one.

Also mentioned on what D’Aprile described as the NJ GOP’s “thin bench” are Monmouth County Senators Joe Kyrillos and Jennifer Beck, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, NJ Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr, and former Senator Bill Baroni, now a Port Authority executive.

Scott Sipprelle and Diane Gooch should be on the list of potential Menendez challengers, especially given the NJ GOP’s historical preference for U.S. Senate candidates with the ability to self-fund their campaigns. 

Sipprelle should be on the top of the list, if he would do it.   His temperment and policy ambitions are more suited for the Senate than the House.  Politically, Sipprelle could compete well with Menendez in Bergen County, Western Essex and much of Passaic.   Menendez’s stategy would be to dominate Hudson, Bergen, Essex and Passiac, according to Democratic strategist Tony Bawidamann as quoted by D’Aprile.  Sipprelle, who lived in Bergen prior to moving to Princeton, is better suited to suppress Menendez’s support in the north than the other names on the list.  With a strong showing in Monmouth and Ocean combined with a competitive north, Sipprelle might actually win.

A lot can, and probably will, change in two years. If President Obama’s popularity recovers with the economy and he’s poised to win New Jersey by 15% again, Little could be the GOP nominee because no one else on the bench would want the slot and if there are no millionaires like Gooch or John Crowley willing to wage a vanity campaign.

• Tweet

Will The Real Anna Little Please Stand Up

By Art Gallagher

Has anybody seen the real Anna Little lately?   I haven’t seen her in months.

I’ve been intentionally restraining myself from writing about Anna Little since election day.  We have a long history.  Given that history, I offered her inner circle, which despite perceptions to the contrary I am not a member of, a private critique of what worked and what didn’t work about her congressional campaign.  If not for our relationship, I just would have written my observations as I have after every election since I started this blog.

Little’s recent actions as Mayor of Highlands, my hometown, and the decision she will have to make next week over a labor agreement with the Highlands PBA compel me to treat her as I would any other public figure and write my observations with the candor I’ve been known for, yet have been withholding in her case.

When I started preparing this piece, it reminded me of the long running TV game show To Tell The Truth which ran in various forms from 1956 through 2002.  The show featured a panel of four celebrities who were charged with correctly identifying a described contestant with an unusual occupation or experience.  The “real” contestant and two impostors won the game if they fooled the panel.  The real contestant was sworn to tell the truth when answering panelists’ questions.  The impostors could lie. The game was over when the host said “Will the real X please stand up?”

The more I worked on the piece, the more I realized that To Tell The Truth didn’t fit.  There were more than two impostors and they all inhabited the same body.  Maybe Sybil is a more appropriate analogy.  I don’t know that the psycho drama fits, but the multiple personalities and characters may be the majority of Little’s remaining supporters. Her Army is quickly becoming a figment of her imagination.

I think the real Anna Little is the woman I’ve known for almost 10 years.  She’s been a principled public servant who would fight to do the right thing.  She would fight for an ideal, regardless of the power and resources of her foes, winning and losing political battles, with scars.  Often she produced improbable results.  She always landed on her feet and emerged from battle with a smile.  She was uncompromising to the point of being a pain the ass, but she was usually right.

The real Anna Little started the year as a Tea Party mama grizzly with charm.  Tri-City News publisher Dan Jacobson called her “Sarah Palin with brains.”  Her stump speech for the CD-6 congressional primary was musical and inspiring. It hit all the patriotic notes and inspired the best in her audiences.  While she was challenging the establishment, she positioned herself as a uniter, promising the local and state party leadership that win or lose the primary she would rally her Tea Party supporters behind the Republican ticket. 

Little delivered on her unity promise, partially, when she supported Joe Oxley for reelection as Monmouth County GOP Chairman hours after her stunning and improbable primary victory over Diane Gooch was official.  However, she only went so far in uniting the troops.  She never healed the primary wounds with the Gooch camp.  There was griping and sniping from the Little camp throughout the general election campaign that the local GOP was not doing enough for her. She let that fester.  While there was public unity with the Monmouth and Middlesex leadership, Little repeatedly snubbed the Union County GOP leadership.  For now, let’s just say that Little’s horrendous showing in Plainfield was not solely the result of Frank Pallone’s superior ground game in the city.

The “real” Anna Little would not let those wounds fester.

Once she got her bearings in place for the general election, Little positioned herself as a “Chris Christie Republican” rather than a “Mama Grizzly.”  This was not a Sybilesque malady, but smart political strategy.   Christie had won the 6th congressional district in the previous election and his popularity was strong among the constituencies Little would have to win over in her quest to unseat Pallone.

When Little is on her game, her communications skills rival Christie’s and Palin’s.   However, as the campaign progressed the inspiring stump speech she consistently delivered during the primary was often replaced with a defensive justification of her candidacy that fell flat.  At home she would tell her audiences how much the national GOP and PACs in Washington loved her, as if the campaign was about her and as if her audiences cared.   In Washington, she would tell her audiences how loved she was at home.

She was on her game and at her very best when among her enthusiastic supporters.  Her performances at the debate at Temple Shalom in Aberdeen and at the health care forum in Red Bank were extraordinary.  However, when in the presence of those who challenged her and without her “Army” to back her up, Little was often strident and argumentative. Her appearances with NJN’s Michael Aron, before the editorial boards of the Star Ledger and Asbury Park Press and one on one versus Pallone on News 12 are examples of when she was not at her best and needed to be.

Where was the “real” Anna Little?

Behind the scenes, Little actively alienated herself from long term supporters who would frankly tell her the truth about what was working and not working.  It was as if she took constructive criticism from team members as personal attacks.  The “real” Anna Little wouldn’t do that.  She would argue and debate with trusted team members and then make a decision.  The Anna Little that showed up during the general election campaign turned her back on her best local advisers and surrounded herself with “yes” men and women and people who did not know the district.  She’d gone from a Palinesque Tea Partier, to a Christie Republican, to a Nixonian paranoid.

As the campaign reached its critical peak in mid-October, Little introduced yet another personality.  She took a hard right turn and morphed into a Mike Huckabee Republican, only without the cornball charm.  The fair tax, abortion and strict Ron Paulesque constitutionalist philosophy were not issues to emphasize during the last weeks of a general election campaign. Not when she had polling data that indicated a moderate Republican could defeat Pallone.  She was pandering to her Right to Life supporters who were upset with how she handled the life question during her NJN appearance with Aron.

Despite these problems which were grumbled about behind the scenes among Tea Partiers and Regular Republicans alike, Little’s political stock was flying sky high, even after the polls closed and she lost by double digits when most observers were expecting a nail biter.  In the final days of the election Monmouth County politicos were rooting for her victory because they didn’t want to have to compete with her in the event of a vacancy in the State Legislature after redistricting.   Win or lose, she was expected to be a force to be reckoned with in Monmouth County politics.  

In perhaps the fastest fall from grace since the Howard Dean scream, Little squandered torched that hard fought for political capitol before she got off the stage at her Shore Casino headquarters on election night.  Apparently concerned about insulting either her Tea Party supporters or Regular Republicans who she never truly united, Little insulted both in her concession speech which was short on humility and gratitude and included an announcement of her 2012 candidacy for congress in a district that hasn’t been drawn yet, and the formation of three new political organizations, including one called “Anna’s Army” which she apparently presumed all of her hardworking supporters would just sign on for without any acknowledgement of what they had just finished doing and sacrificing.   Did she expect to lose?  How else could she have planned and even named these three new organizations within two hours of the polls closing?   One television reporter commented on the air that Anna Little just wants the limelight. 

Was this the “real” Anna Little?  Did she have me fooled all these years?  Was I the one who misunderstood her when I argued with others that they didn’t really know who she was?  Maybe so.

This brings me to the present and why I’m writing this piece that has been eating me up inside since November 2.

I can support the Tea Party Mama Grizzly, the Christie Republican or the Huckabee Republican.  The Nixonian paranoid is tough to deal with, but I’m Irish too and have dealt with such passive aggression for 52 years.   I could forgive the election night performance and help her recover some of the political capitol she squandered.  But I can’t support a Republican Mayor who is turning into a Corzine style Democrat as her latest character.

On December 1^st Little sandbagged her Republican colleagues on the Highlands Council.  She showed up unexpectedly and joined the Democrats on the council in approving a hastily drawn labor agreement that will either needlessly increase the costs of Highlands government or handcuff her successor in managing Highlands budget like Jon Corzine did when he made a hasty deal with the state workers unions on primary day in 2009 so that Vice President Joe Biden would join him on the stage for his campaign kickoff. Corzine’s deal prevented Governor Christie from laying off state workers during the first year of his administration.   Little’s deal probably won’t prevent layoffs in the Highlands Police Department.  More likely the deal will end up costing Highlands taxpayers between $60,000 and $150,000 over the next two fiscal years.  Little knows this.

The payoff for Corzine’s expensive sellout was clear. What Little thinks she accomplishing, after assuring her Republican colleagues that she was with them, is a mystery.  Maybe she’s delusional enough to think that her actions will win her union support in her hypothetical rematch with Pallone in 2012.  Hopefully she just had a bad night and didn’t realize the consequences of her actions, despite her words to the contrary that evening and since.

Fortunately Little has a second chance with this one.  The PBA agreement has to be voted on again on Wednesday December 15^th.  Little could miss the meeting, which means the agreement would not carry on a 2-2 vote. Or one of the Republican Littles could show up.  For the sake of Highlands taxpayers, I hope the Little Corzine does not show up.

• Tweet

Little Addresses The Highlands PBA Deal

By Art Gallagher

Highlands Mayor Anna Little issued the following statement on her facebook page and in an email to MMM this morning:

Highlands Borough Budget and the PBA Agreement

The following is an explanation of the facts regarding a decision of the Highlands Borough Council on December 1, 2010.  

The Borough Council asked the Highlands PBA to agree to a wage freeze to allow the Borough to evaluate our budgetary circumstances in light of the 2.0 cap imposed by the State of NJ upon Municipal budgets.  After analysis of the Borough’s budget, the Borough Council asked the PBA to find $420,000 in savings.   The Highlands PBA contract had already been finalized and there was no obligation on the part of the Highlands PBA to negotiate.   The Highlands PBA reviewed the State Health Benefits Plan recommended by the Borough and agreed to accept it.   The Highlands PBA and the Highlands Chief of Police have regularly reduced overtime during my tenure as Mayor.   Younger officers were hired in order to reduce exorbitant overtime costs necessary to cover State mandated shifts round the clock in the Borough.  As of December 1, 2001 the Highlands PBA has agreed to forego overtime completely in exchange for compensatory time.   This will guarantee over $100,000 permanent savings to the Borough per year.

 

The Agreement with the Highlands PBA for which I voted on December 1, 2010 includes:

1.  Highlands PBA concession to accept the State Health Benefit Plan, amounting to $320,000 in savings to the Borough of Highlands.

2.  Overtime savings in this budget of $66,668.

3.  Court time savings in this budget of $8,140.

4.  Overtime savings in 2011-2012 budget $106,205.

5.  Court time savings in 2011-2012 budget $13,000.

6.  Waiver of Retroactive contractual wages that the Borough owed the PBA from July 1, 2010 to December 1, 2010, a savings in this budget of $140,000.

7.   The single raise of 4.25% for a six month period from January 1, 2011 until June 30, 2011 allows retirement eligible officers to retire at a wage level less than but nearer to what they would have received under the contract to which the Borough was obligated.   This concession also produced a savings to the Borough in the 2011-2012 budget.   If retirements which have been mentioned actually occur as verbally represented, substantial savings to the Borough will result.

 

In conclusion, we must support Governor Christie’s tool kit.   Toward that end we must ensure that in the 2011 election cycle, WE THE PEOPLE deliver to Governor Christie a State Legislature that will work with him on the Tool Kit and other tax saving initiatives.   Until the Tool Kit is in place, agreements with bargaining units are the ONLY way to ensure savings to municipalities.   Layoffs of three police officers in the Borough of Highlands surely would have resulted in additional overtime costs to the Borough because of State mandates.  Initial calculations indicated that the Borough might have been charged up to $18,000 per month in overtime.

 

Therefore, the PBA Agreement for which I voted on December 1, 2010 and which secured savings to the Borough of $654,000 (not including the contractual reduction in raises and expected retirement of senior officers) was in the best interests of the People of the Borough of Highlands.   It is the People and only the People whom I serve during my tenure in elected office.

 

Little’s statement begs scrutiny.

She says the Highlands Borough Council requested the PBA come up with budget savings in light of the 2% cap imposed upon municipal budgets by the State.  However, Highlands fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. The first Highlands budget governed by the cap will not take effect until July 1, 2011.  The deal Little joined her Democratic colleagues on the Council in approving impacts the current budget, retroactive to July 1, 2010.  It would seem that the PBA deal impacts deficits in the current budget.

Highlands Mayor-elect Frank Nolan, the Republican Council President, told MMM that the PBA negotiations were part of an effort to plug a $400,000 hole in the current budget.  Nolan said he proposed a no layoff pledge through the current fiscal year in exchange for the PBA foresaking their 4.25% salary increase and switching health insurance plans.  He said Little and Democrats Chris Francy and Rebecca Kane approved the PBA’s counteroffer which carries into the 2011-2012 budget that is subject to the 2% cap and includes retroactive penalities that would benefit all union members should even one officer need to be laid off.

Nolan said that Little was absent from 40% of the Council’s meeting since March when she started running for Congress and is not up to speed on all that has gone on during the negotiations with the PBA.

Little’s statement does not address the penalties to the Borough should layoffs be necessary. 

Nolan said that Highlands CFO Steve Pfeffer is on record advising the Council that there is a 60% chance that additional layoffs will be required in the current fiscal year.  Nolan does not understand why Little, Francy and Kane would approve an agreement that imposes penalties for layoffs when they know such layoffs will be necessary.

Nolan said that Highlands fiscal crisis has been caused in large measure by the fact that the Borough has spent its entire surplus of $1.2 million since Little became Mayor.  Nolan was on the Council during Little’s first year as Mayor, 2008.  He was defeated in his reelection bid in the Obama wave of 2008 and elected again in November of 2009.  He has been Council President since taking office again in January of this year and will be sworn in as Mayor on January 1st.

The Highlands deal with the PBA will not take effect until approved by the Mayor and Council at their December 15, 2010 meeting or a subsequent meeting.

• Tweet

Little Government Returns To Highlands

By Art Gallagher

After being absent from Borough of Highlands Council meetings for much of the year due to her congressional campaign, Highlands Mayor Anna Little swept into the Council’s public meeting last night in order to vote with her Democratic colleagues to prevent police layoffs.  Little skipped the Executive Session in lieu of attending holiday parties sponsored by the Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce and the Monmouth County Affiliated Republican Club.

Little voted for a resolution offered by Democratic Councilman Christopher Francy and seconded by Democratic Councilwoman Rebecca Kane to amend the PBA contract to accept concessions by the police union in exchange for penalties to the borough should there be layoffs through June 30, 2012.

The police have given up a 4.25% salary increase, retroactive to July 1, 2010, have offered to accept comp time in lieu of overtime payments, and have agreed to join the rest of Highlands employees in having their health insurance transferred from the borough’s contract with Horizon-Blue Cross to the NJ State Health Benefits Plan, in exchange for a no layoffs pledge through June 30, 2012.

Should there be any police layoffs through June 30, 2012, the borough will make cash payments to all members of the PBA for the conceded salary increases and for overtime incurred, under the proposed agreement.

Highlands Chief Financial Officer Steven Pfeffer told MMM that the salary and overtime concessions would save the borough $90,000 in the current fiscal year through June 30, 2011 and another $60,000 in the following fiscal year. The Borough is saving $300,000 by transferring all of its employees to the state health benefits plan, according to Pfeffer.

Republican members of the Council, Frank Nolan and Richard O’Neil voted against the resolution.  Had the resolution failed, 3 police officers would have been laid off, resulting in a savings of at least $250,000, according to Nolan.

Nolan will succeed Little as Mayor on January 1st. O’Neil is Little’s predecessor.

Nolan and O’Neil are in the early stages of negotiations with Middletown to share police services with Highlands.  Should the two municipalities enter an agreement that has Middletown taking over policing Highlands, the savings to Highlands taxpayers would be reduced by the penalties the Borough would have to pay to the PBA members.

The deal with the Highlands PBA must be ratified by its members and be approved by the Council again, presumably at the December 15th meeting, before it will take effect.

• Tweet

Scott and Anna have jumped the shark

By Fred Lehlbach

Like many of you, I had hoped for victory in our two local Congressional races on November 2nd. I thought that we had captured lightning in a bottle, with the Tea Party carrying Anna to success over Frank Pallone and Scott’s millions carrying him to success over Rush Holt. Like many of you, I was sorely disappointed.

However, that disappointment has now been replaced by bewilderment.

Who are these people?

It all started on Election Night, when Anna announced the creation of not one, not two, but three new Political Action Committees. Really, three PACs? How will she raise money for three new PACs? What purpose will they serve? That same night, her Campaign Manager told a reporter for the Two River Times, owned by Diane Gooch, that Anna was running again “Whether your boss plans on running or not”. This comment has sparked a “cold War” between Anna’s camp and Diane’s camp. Just plain dumb.

But perhaps it really started with Anna prior to Election Night, during the waning days of the campaign, when she alienated many of Anna’s Army by cozying up to the establishment hacks that began courting her only when it looked like she had a chance. Some thought she had abandoned the Tea Party supporters that had put her in the position to have a chance. There was talk of the Tea Party supporters “crashing” the stage when she claimed victory and had only establishment types on stage with her.

Meanwhile, back in Highlands, the Borough that has had “Little Government” for a few years, is in a fiscal nosedive. A massive budget deficit, layoffs, and talk of simply giving up and merging with Middletown or Atlantic Highlands are issues that have been left in the bag being held by the new Mayor. Is it any wonder that her hometown broke for Pallone?

Scott Sipprelle on the other hand, has now found someone besides Jamestown Associates and demographics to blame for his loss. He has been sourced as the writer of a letter sent to Mercer County GOP Chair Roy Wesley advising of a “no confidence” vote by the Mercer County Committee. (Let’s get one thing straight: Roy Wesley may very well be an incompetent Chairman. But that’s not the point)

You may recall that last Spring, Roy Wesley was the only one of five County Chairs that came out prior to any conventions and endorsed Scott Sipprelle over his opponents. Dale Florio in Somerset, Henry Kuhl in Hunterdon, Joe Leo in Middlesex and Joe Oxley in Monmouth all at least pretended to be neutral. It was only Roy Wesley, Chair in Mercer that publicly stuck his neck out for his hometown candidate.

How is he thanked? By Scott Sipprelle authoring a letter and airing Mercer County GOP dirty laundry all over the Trentonian and Politickernj. The letter clearly lays out an undercurrent of fault for Scott Sipprelle’s embarrassment in Mercer County. What the letter doesn’t mention is whether Roy Wesley was responsible for the decision to have Scott spend the last two weeks of the campaign defending himself from Rush Holt’s use of the property tax issue, instead of attacking Holt, or whether Roy Wesley was responsible for the “How do you pronounce my name” media campaign, or whether Roy Wesley was the one who told Scott to spend significant time and resources in Trenton, when he should have been increasing his lead in the suburbs.

Who are these people?

Is Scott Sipprelle a self-made millionaire with loyal Republican convictions? Or is he an ungrateful child who blames others for his short-comings?

Is Anna Little a Tea Party darling with all the right moves? Or is she an at-best average Mayor who believes her own press releases?

I remain bewildered.

“Fred Lehlbach” is a pseudonym for Central Jersey Republican

• Tweet

Little-Gooch Battle Continues

After a detente that lasted through the general election, the battle between CD-6 GOP rivals Anna Little and Diane Gooch seems to be heating up again.  Little bested Gooch by 83 votes in the 6th district Republican primary last spring and went on to lose to incumbent Congressman Frank Pallone by 11%, which is the closest any Republican has come to Pallone since 1994.

Gooch didn’t exactly fade into the background after the primary, as is the custom for defeated primary candidates not named Lonegan.  She stepped up her editorial writing in the TwoRiversTimes, the weekly newspaper she and her husband Mickey own.  She formed Strong New Jersey, an issue advocacy organization that ran ads against John Adler in CD-3 and she funded an anti-Pallone ad for Voice for My Child.

After announcing her 2012 candidacy for Congress in her concession speech  on Noveber 2, Little tossed the first post election volley at Gooch when her campaign manager told a TwoRiverTimes reporter, “We’re planning on running whether your boss decides to run or not.”

Gooch returned the volley during this week’s edition of NJN’s On The Record with Michael Aron.  She told Aron that if she felt she was the best candidate against Frank Pallone after the congressional districts are redrawn that she would run for the seat again.  While praising the Tea Parties for the energy they brought to the campaign, Gooch said they made mistakes in some of the candidates they choose.  She mentioned Delaware’s “I’m not a witch” Christine O’Donnell and Little as two of those mistakes.

Gooch’s appearance On the Record was broadcast this morning at 9 and 11.  It will be broadcast again tomorrow at 6:30 am.  As of this posting the program has not been posted on NJN’s website.  If NJN’s webmaster follows the usual schedule, it will be posted here tomorrow after the final broadcast.

• Tweet

Election Recap

By Art Gallagher

From the top of the ticket to the bottom, the Monmouth GOP under the leadership of Chairman Joe Oxley, earned a resounding and undeniable endorsement from the voters of Monmouth County last Tuesday.

On the top of the ticket, the three Republican candidates for Congress crushed their competition. The combined Monmouth County results of Congressman Chris Smith (CD-4), Mayor Anna Little (CD-6) and Scott Sipprelle (CD-12) were 109,151 to 68,020 over their Democratic opponents, a margin on 62% to 38%.  Unfortunately, due to gerrymandering, Monmouth County is represented by only one Republican in Congress and two Democrats.

On the bottom of the ballot, in the 24 municipalities where there were contests, Republicans won in 15 towns, Democrats in 8 and one town split.  In the 19 towns where there were no contests 14 are controlled by Republicans, 2 by Democrats, 2 are non-partisan.  One town, Oceanport, had one Republican and one Democrat running uncontested.

The heart of the ticket, county candidates Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Rob Clifton and Freeholder-elect Tom Arnone worked as if they were behind from the beginning of the campaign until the end.  They ran on their records and made their case.  The voters chose them each with pluralities of over 35,000 votes.

Even with these results, there are some who continue to whine or snipe about Chairman Oxley.  Those people should look beyond their personal agendas to the big picture.  Congratulations to Chairman Oxley, to the team he has built and the teams he has empowered.

The losses in CD 6 & 12 were disappointing for many who worked hard on those campaigns.  This was the year to take down Frank Pallone and Rush Holt.  Coming closer than anyone has ever come before does not lessen the sting.

The optimism in 6 and 12 was predicated in the assumption that Independents would break for Republicans and that Democrats would not be motivated to turnout.  Governor Christie’s victories in the districts last year were the original basis of the optimism. Overall dissatisfaction with the Obama administration and  national polls showing a large enthusiasm gap favoring Republicans spurred the optimism that Democratic turnout would be suppressed.

Polls showing the congressional races close woke the Pallone and Holt camps up.  Particularly Adam Geller’s poll for the Little camp that showed Little within 1 point of defeating Pallone.   “You never should have released that poll,” one Democratic insider said in a friendly post-mortem, “half of our team scoffed at the poll, the other half said ‘so what if its not true, something is happening nationally, we can’t take any chances.”  It was then that both Pallone and Holt stepped up their negative ads and prepared their GOTV efforts. 

The ads worked. Both Little’s and Sipprelle’s unfavorable ratings increased in the Monmouth University polls released the week before the election.  The Democratic GOTV efforts, particularly in the cities of Plainfield and Trenton were the electoral equivalent of shock and awe.  

Monmouth County has yet to release town by town numbers, making an accounting for Little’s under performance in the Monmouth portion of the district difficult.  Long Branch and Asbury Park did not have local races.  Thus none of the results in those cities are posted on the county website .   In Neptune Township there was 3150 under votes in the Township Committee race for the Democratic strong hold.  That means there were 3150 voters who cast a ballot but did not vote in the local race. It is a safe bet that Long Branch, Asbury Park and Neptune Township account for Little winning Monmouth by only 4%, while Smith won his portion of the county by over 50 % and Sipprelle by 24%.

• Tweet

Cities Sunk Sipprelle and Little

Urban Democratic strongholds in Trenton and Plainfield figured prominently in the outcomes of the Congressional races in NJ 12 and 6.

In the 12th district,  Trenton voters provided Rush Holt with 8,044 votes to Scott Sipprelle’s 437.  Holt won the entire district by 13,836 votes.

In NJ-6, 43% of Frank Pallone’s margin of victory came from Plainfield were he won 7950 votes to Anna Little’s 667.  Democratic sources told MMM that Pallone spent $30,000 to get out the vote in Plainfield.

• Tweet

Audacious in defeat, Little declares for 2012

Before an enthusiastic crowd 250-300 people, Anna Little conceded her CD-6 congressional race to Frank Pallone and announced that she would be back in 2012.

Little announced the formation of the Anna’s Army Foundation , Anna’s Army PAC and the Little Government is Good Government PAC.

• Tweet

Pallone takes Plainfield 7950 to 667

MoreMonmouthMusing is calling CD-6 for Frank Pallone. 

With a 10,500 lead in Middlesex County and 7,300 in the City of Plainfield, there is no way for Anna Little to make up the roughy 16,000 vote lead Pallone has with only 26% of the districts yet to report in Middlesex.

• Tweet