Former Asbury Park Mayor Ed Johnson is “seriously thinking about” running for governor in 2017, according to a report on PolitickerNJ.
“I know a little about raising cities from the dead, and I know about staring down Hurricane Sandy,” said Johnson, who runs his own private consulting firm. “There are no greater troubled waters than our state right now. Whether it’s Democratic or Republican it just keeps going.Everything I’ve done, people said ‘you can’t do that,’ and we did it. People now say the state is too far gone, too broken, it can’t be fixed. I think it can be. I’m not saying I’ve made a final decision. It would be a wildcat, barn-burner election, no question, but the people must regain control of this state.”
Camden Democratic Boss and King of the World George Norcross joined Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin “Pro-Buono” Gopal in endorsing State Senator Barbara Buono as the Democratic nominee for governor.
Norcross told PolitickerNJ that Buono is “a high quality candidate, and in the absence of anyone else, the party ought to rally around her and move forward.” He said he applauds Buono for getting into the gubernatorial race when no one else has. Can you feel the love?
While Gopal praised Buono’s guts in his endorsement on Tuesday, Norcross had choice words for the lack of guts of Senator and former Acting Governor Richard Codey. Codey has not announced his gubernatorial candidacy, but many Democrats expect that he will jump into the race soon.
“I’ve never had any confidence in Dick Codey’s courage and I don’t expect that to change,” Norcross said. “I think he likes to have people say ‘run Dick run’ and I think at the end of this period we will look back and say ‘this looks like the Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers fiasco that played out over four cycles and the party will be in a position where we don’t have a standard bearer and aren’t in a position to compete in the election this year.”
Norcross compared Codey to the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz and said his gubernatorial aspirations amount to nothing more than a “theatrical presentation.”
Codey took Norcross’s bash as a school yard challenge. The anti-bully lobby would be proud.
“I had the guts to take him on and I’ve been doing it since 1993,” Codey said in response. “He’s done a good job of trying to wreck this party so he can run everything in concert with the governor. As he said very famously, no matter who runs, I win. That’s the attitude we have to change.”.
Despite the lack of an announcement, News12 reported Wednesday night that Codey is a candidate. The former Acting Governor sounded very much like a candidate on the cable new station, discussing how Governor Christie could be beat and how he would defeat him.
Norcross’s endorsement of Buono is a good indication that his protege, Senate President Steve, “The Kitten” Sweeney will not be a candidate for governor.
Congressman Frank Pallone is on television more than U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) now-a-days, not because of his outrage that House Speaker John Boehner delayed the vote of the Superstom Sandy relief package, but because he needs to raise his profile in the minds of New Jersey voters.
Since Newark Mayor Cory Booker dropped out of the gubernatorial race and announced his intentions to explore seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senator Frank Lautenberg in 2014, Pallone has been letting Democratic power brokers that he too want’s Lautenberg’s job and he has been on TV every chance he can get. Pallone has long coveted a U. S. Senate seat, but has never had the fortitude to risk his seat in the House to run for it. Governor Jon Corzine passed over Pallone in favor of Bob Menendez in 2006 for the appointment to fill the Seante vacancy created by Corzine’s election as governor and Lautenberg came out of retirement to take over Bob Toricelli’s spot on the ballot in 2002 after Pallone passed or was passed over, depending on which version of the story you believe.
Pallone is acting like he is willing to make a race of it against Booker for the 2014 Democratic nomination for Senate. Given Booker’s star power, social media savvy and resulting name recognition, Pallone has an uphill battle. Booker works twitter better than any other politician with his clothes on. In order to match Booker’s name recognition, Pallone would need a crisis to go on TV about every week. Either that or he needs to start running into burning buildings and living on food stamps. Or, he can run in a statewide race in an election he is not expected to win to raise his name ID and as prelude to the race he wants to win.
State Senator Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) wants former Acting Governor Dick Codey to stop Starship Christie from conquering the dark side of Trenton this November.
Codey for Governor? Christie’s style has vaulted his popularity, but Codey has style also. Christie’s feisty style has overshadowed his support for Romney and his policies that would cut taxes on the wealthy while putting added burdens on everyone else. Honk if you like Codey for Governor. Now that Corey Booker has chosen not to run, Codey is our Obi Wan Kenobi.
Codey, a senator representing parts of Morris and Essex Counties served as governor after Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.
Codey has yet to declare his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to challenge Christie. Recent media reports say that Codey is weighing his options and is 50-50 about running. State Senator Barbara Buono (Middlesex) is the only announced Democratic candidate so far.
In addition to Codey, Senate President Steve Sweeney(Gloucester) is considering a run. Our friends at SaveJersey.com report that an unknown organization is conducting a push poll for Sweeney in South Jersey.
Now that Newark Mayor Cory Booker has taken himself out the the gubernatorial race, everyone expects him to run for Frank Lautenberg’s U. S. Senate seat in 2014. A recent poll indicated that Booker would easily beat Lautenberg in a Democratic primary should the 88 year old senator make another run.
That hasn’t stopped Congressman Frank Pallone from calling Democratic County Chairs to remind them that he is still interested in the Senate seat he has long coveted but never had the guts to fight for.
Pallone best shot at becoming a Senator came and went in 2002 when he declined Governor Jim McGreevey’s offer to replace the disgraced Senator Robert Torricelli on the ballot against Doug Forrester. McGreevey brought Frank Lautenberg out of retirement and got the State Supreme Court to rewrite New Jersey’s election law so the switch could be made after the statutory deadline. The polls showing Forrester beating Toricelli scared Pallone off from giving up a easy victory in CD-6 in favor of his dream job in the Senate.
Lautenberg went on to clobber Forrester in 2002 and was elected again in 2008.
Pallone was passed over for the Senate in 2006 when Governor Jon Corzine chose Bob Menendez to replace him in the Senate. Menendez won his own term that November and was reelected last month. He is on the verge of becoming the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Pallone clearly wants to be a Senator, but his history indicates that he doesn’t have the fortitude to risk his cushy lifestyle as a congressman in order to fight for his dream. I hope he grows a pair and goes for it, because the race to replace him in the 6th Congressional District would be great for blog traffic.
WHO WOULD RUN FOR PALLONE’S CD-6 SEAT IF IT WAS VACANT?
Governor Christie will be in Aberdeen today to accept the endorsement of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) for his reelection bid.
Before wingnut conservatives get all crestfallen or disgusted, let me remind you that the Teamsters endorsed Ronald Reagan. A labor union’s endorsement doesn’t automatically make that Republican a RINO, unless you consider Reagan a RINO.
Yes, this means that New Jersey is not likely to become a “Right to Work” state so long as Christie is governor, It also means that we will continue to overpay “prevailing wage” on government funded and supported construction projects. As our friends at InTheLobby point out, it also explains why Christie has thwarted efforts to expand legalized gambling in New Jersey to race tracks, but those are all other stories.
What the LIUNA endorsement really means is that New Jersey Democrats are not likely to make a fight of the gubernatorial campaign in 2013. Christie’s post Sandy poll numbers make him look invincible. By locking up a major union endorsement early, Christie is creating an air of inevitability for reelection.
Prior to last month the buzz about Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s future was that he would run for U.S. Senate in 2014, challenging Senator Frank Launtenberg if necessary. Booker opened a federal PAC last year and Lautenberg has been sniping at him ever since.
But in the weeks leading up to the convention Booker met with county chairs to plant the seeds of a gubernatorial run against Governor Chris Christie last year. In Charlotte he went into full campaign mode without making an announcement. In the process he made himself the front runner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2013. A Booker candidacy for governor will clear the Democratic field. Without Booker in the race there will be a contentious primary. Senators Dick Codey, Barbara Buono and Steve Sweeney could be contenders. Assemblymen John Wisniewski and Lou Greenwald are acting like candidates. Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage says he will run if Booker doesn’t.
None of the other potential candidates will be able to gain any traction until Booker makes his intentions clear.
As a nod to Booker’s front runner status, Quinnipiac polled a Christie/Booker match up. Christie won the poll by 7%, but Booker’s name was recognised by 60% of those polled. That is an extraordinary high number for a New Jersey politician who has never run a statewide race. Booker has better name recognition than Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno. He is as well known and better liked than U.S. Senator Bob Menendez.
Booker told the New Jersey delegation in Charlotte that Christie can be beat and that he is only governor because urban Democrats didn’t come out to vote for Jon Corzine in 2009. The implication is that he can get urban voters out, regardless of the desires of Democratic bosses George Norcross in the south and Joe DiVincenzo in the north who didn’t rev their machines for Corzine in 09.
Former Acting Governor Richard Codey’s media stunt guised as an undercover investigation into the plight of homeless men in Newark is a sure sign that the author/insurance salesman/funeral director/legislator will be a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination next year.
Codey’s investigation was so “undercover” that he invited The Star Ledgerto photograph him getting made up for his 9PM visit to Newark’s Goodwill Mission last night. Codey appeared on Good Day New York and the John Gambling radio show this morning to get free media talk about the findings of his investigation. Those TV and radio producers move fast!
Codey tweeted about his appearances and make up this morning.
Codey’s investigation revealed that homeless men are turned away from shelters if they are not on welfare. If they are on welfare, they have to turn over their checks if they want to spend the night. Codey is not on welfare. He should have offered his watch.
While Codey’s stunt will do more for his political prospects than for Newark’s homeless, he did prove that he doesn’t need the taxpayer funded security detail he was enjoying before Governor Christie canceled it last December.
Congressman Frank Pallone is on television more than U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) now-a-days, not because of his outrage that House Speaker John Boehner delayed the vote of the Superstom Sandy relief package, but because he needs to raise his profile in the minds of New Jersey voters.
State Senator Ray Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) wants former Acting Governor Dick Codey to stop Starship Christie from conquering the dark side of Trenton this November.
