With Anna Little leading Frank Pallone by 20+ points in Monmouth County and closing the gap in Middlesex County where the County ticket of Hackett and Kane for Sheriff and Clerk and Freeholder candidates Frank, Rickards and Rosenthal are running strong campaigns, the outcome of a nail biter could very well depend on the turnout in the Union County City of Plainfield where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of 11,028 to 876, with 6,230 Independents.
Frank Pallone appears to be betting his career on a strong Plainfield turnout. He opened a satellite congressional office there, at taxpayers expense, two weeks ago, after ignoring the city for 22 years. Politickernj reports that Democratic Assemblyman Jerry Green and Union County Democratic Chairwoman Charlotte DeFilippo have targeted a turnout of 30% of Plainfield’s 18,134 registered voters.
Pray for rain in Plainfield. Turnout the vote in Monmouth.
In a decision that could impact development throughout New Jersey, a state appeals court struck down part of the Fort Monmouth Redevelopment plan, according to a report in the Star Ledger.
Ruling in favor of affordable housing advocates, the court said that the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMRPA) failed to take a regional approach to planning for the fort’s redevelopment and leaves the housing decisions to the three municipalities where the fort sits, Oceanport, Eatontown, and Tinton Falls.
Unless successfully appealed by the Christie Administration, the court decision will impact development in the Highlands Region in the northwest portion of the state, the Meadowlands and the Pine Lands. The Star Ledger reported that the Attorney General’s office declined to comment.
Neither Frank Pallone or Rush Holt have commented. Fort Monmouth is being closed next year, its military operations being moved to Aberdeen Maryland, because Pallone and Holt were negligent in there representation of their districts during the BRAC process which lead the decision 2005 decision to close the fort.
I can partially explain Pallones’ earlier claim — this one:
“This is not Obama’s bill. This isn’t Nancy Pelosi’s bill. This is MY bill.”
I worked in the New Jersey Senate years ago when Pallone was a State Senator. He was known at the time as a bill thief.
Whenever a Republican would post a good bill for introduction, the Senate Democrat staff (who controlled the process, as they were in the majority) would simply take a copy of the intro bill, xerox it, cross out the introducer’s name, and write in Pallone’s name. Pallone would then sign intro copies, and his version would be given a priority number, while the Republican’s bill would be mere listed as “proposed for introduction” and therefore receive a higher bill number when it was actually introduced at the subsequent session. He and the staff did this over and over again in order to boost Pallone’s profile.
One day, they did it to Senator Frank Graves, a powerful Senate Democrat from Paterson, and Graves went verbally ballistic on Pallone on the Senate floor at the next session.
Pallone just stood there with that silly smirk on his face, never bothering to deny it because he knew it was true.
He has been claiming that bills are his for a long, long time! A habit of a lifetime.
NJ-06 is Tight. Adjusted for 2004, it is a Nail Biter
Written by Noah Rothman on October 26, 2010, 4:43 PM
A Monmouth University poll released today shows that the race in New Jersey’s 6th district between Rep. Frank Pallone and the Republican candidate, Anna Little, has tightened significantly.
In the poll, Pallone leads Little with 52 to 45 percentage points. A Monmouth University poll from October 6th had Little only taking 33 percent to Pallone’s 58 percent of the vote. This 7-point margin in a district that has returned Pallone by no less than 67 percent of the vote in the last three cycles means this will be a race to watch on election night.
The poll, however, could underestimate Little’s performance. The Monmouth University poll’s sample was 40 percent Democrats, 22 percent Republicans and 38 percent Independents. 40 percent Democrat is probably close to correct; exit polls from 2004, 2006 and 2008 placed the Democratic share of the vote at 39, 41 and 40 percent for each respective year. In 2004 the Republican sample was 31 percent and the independent sample was 30 percent. In 2006 the Republican sample was 28 percent (a depressed year for Republicans nation wide, but especially dower in the North East) and the independent Sample was 31 percent. In 2008 the Republican sample was 33 percent and the independent sample was 38 percent.
It is fairly dubious assertion that this year will yield fewer Republicans at the polls than even 2006. It is even more suspicious that 38 percent of the Monmouth University poll’s sample is 38 percent; this independent sample outperforms their best year by 7 points. For a particularly good Republican year, when both the GOP and Democratic bases were engaged, 2004 is a decent place to start.
If you adjust the sample of 647 likely voters (257 Democrats, 141 Republican and 249 Independents) to reflect the exit polls from 2004, (253 Democrats, 201 Republicans and 194 Independents) then the race becomes 51 to 49 percent for Pallone. This is a minor adjustment from Monmouth University’s findings for Pallone but a major boost for Little. It also puts this race within the margin of error for most pollsters. This race could be a lot closer than Monmouth University’s polls show.
Trenton, NJ – Today, Governor Chris Christie accepted the recommendation of NJ Transit Executive Director Jim Weinstein to continue the orderly and expeditious shutdown of the ARC Project. Despite intense negotiations with federal and state participants, no agreement was reached on terms that would assure New Jersey’s taxpayers would not pay more than $2.7 billion for a completed Trans Hudson Express ARC project.
Frank Pallone Jr.Disappointed to hear Governor plans to cancel ARC tunnel at a time when New Jersey needs more mass transit options.
Well, if Pallone had any clout in Washington after 22 years, maybe he could have gotten the Feds to cover the cost over runs on the project. Or maybe he could have gotten his friends in the New York delegation to lean on Albany to contribute their fair share to a project that would have benefited New York more than it would have helped NJ anyway. Think of all those tax dollars New Jersey residents would have been paying to New York after we spent $15 billion dollars to give them a way to leave the state to go to work.
As our friend Harold Kane, the next Middlesex County Clerk, pointed out last week, New Jersey has 40 million square feet of vacant office space. What do we need to spend billions of dollars to send people to work in New York for?
Christie did the right thing and come Tuesday Pallone is going to be despondent.
The time is getting closer for Pallone to exit stage left and Little to enter stage right, much like their political ideologies. Pallone, as many long term politicians before him, has lost his way and become a victim of a malady known as “I know what’s best for the people.” They totally lose sight of the will of the people, thinking of them as little lost sheep who couldn’t possibly know where they are, how to get home, or what they want. So the politician takes on the role of the good shepherd, not only to lead them, but to tell them what they should want. Pallone has reached that stage where he no longer represents what the people want, but actually believes that he knows much better what the people should want and have.
This is exactly why it is time for Congressman Pallone to exit this position and be replaced by someone who knows and recognizes the importance of representing all of the people and what they want. Fortunately, our form of government has a process for the orderly change of representatives who have lost sight of that role.
We now have the good fortune on November 2nd, to participate in an election for someone who understands and will work to represent all the people based on what the people want. That person is Anna Little. I encourage everyone to vote for Anna Little for Congress to bring us back to what a representative form of government is supposed to be – Of the People, By the People and For the People.
Even Frank Palloneknows his negative ad claiming Anna Little an extremists is ridiculous. So much so that he put his “I’m Frank Pallone and I approved this message” disclaimer at the front of the ad, rather than at the end of the ad as is customary.
This morning on FoxNews this ad ran:
The next frame on the TV screen was “I’m Frank Pallone and I approved this message.”
(HIGHLANDS, October 27) – Republican Congressional challenger Anna Little today maintained her campaign’s focus on Frank Pallone’s recent silence on his role in the passage of the government takeover of health care, frequently referred to in New Jersey’s 6th Congressional District as “PalloneCare.”
“Back in the spring, when he thought it was going to be popular, my opponent infamously said of the government takeover of health care, ‘This is not Obama’s bill. This isn’t Nancy Pelosi’s bill. This is MY bill,'” said Little. “But now that the public has learned more about what’s in it, and it’s not nearly as popular as he thought it was going to be, he’s gone radio silent – why, his campaign web site’s ‘On the Issues’ section doesn’t even MENTION health care!”
“Sadly, this is not surprising,” said Little. “All we’ve heard from Frank Pallone is distortions of my views, rather than an explanation for the votes he cast for a failed trillion-dollar stimulus package, a failed cap and trade policy that would raise everyone’s electricity bills, and the government takeover of health care.
“Of course, it’s perfectly understandable – if I had cast a vote to cut Medicare by $500 billion, reduce patient choice, put government bureaucrats between doctors and their patients, and raise taxes, I probably wouldn’t want to draw attention to it, either.
“But that’s the big difference between Frank Pallone and me – I would never have cast that vote in the first place!
“In six days, New Jersey will vote, and we’ll have a chance to send a fresh face to Washington,” said Little.
“If you think we’re headed in the right direction, then Frank Pallone is your man,” said Little. “But if you think we’re moving in the wrong direction, if you think you’re ready for a change, then I need your vote – because you cannot change Washington without changing the people we send to Washington!”
A screen capture of Pallone’s campaign web site “On the Issues” section, taken early this morning, is attached.
The Asbury Park Press has a front page piece about the Monmouth University Poll on CD-6. There is even a positive headline for Anna Little, Poll: Little closing in on Pallone in 6th District race. Good for the Nudniks, they easily could have written, Little still trailing Pallone.
They’re probably trying to get back into the CNN news feed.
Actually the credit should go to Patrick Murray. The Nudnik article was basically a rewrite of his press release for the poll.
With this line, Frank Pallone will need to bet on a strong turnout in more Democratic areas of this district to fend off this challenge,” Murray acknowledged that the incumbent is not winning this race. The poll predicts a strong Democratic turnout in its sample. Such a turnout can not be counted on.
There is no question this race will be determined on turnout. As my friends at InTheLobby write today, Independents are siding with Republicans nationally by 14%. In NJ-6, Little leads Pallone by 21% among Independents, according to Murray. Up from 14% three weeks ago. The increase in support among Independents correlates with Little’s increased name recognition. Three weeks ago, 45% of the voters had no opinion of her. Now that number is down to a still very high 31%.
Frank Pallone is on the verge of losing to a relative unknown. As Little becomes more known, her support swells. She’s easy to vote for, despite Pallone and Barbara Buono trying to paint her as extreme and out of the mainstream.
Murray credits the “Anna’s Army” ground game, lead by “General” Russ Cote, as the reason that Little has closed the gap so significantly in three weeks. There is no question that The Bayshore Tea Party’s passionate and tireless troops continue change the political landscape of Central Jersey. If Anna wins, they will have made that unpredictable result happen.
However, also contributing to Anna’s surge is Governor Christie’s personal involvement in the campaign, and Frank Pallone’s own TV ads. Pallone’s “positive” ad emphasises how out of touch he is with the district. In my own unscientific poll of 5 CD-6 voters, 80% said they were less likely to vote for Pallone after seeing the ad. 20% were undecided. Pallone’s “negative” ad attacking Little is a complete failure. 100% do not believe Little is the extremist Pallone portrays her to be. The ad can’t help but increase her name recognition.
Finally, Diane Gooch’s ad for Voice For My Child , while not mentioning Little, has given Independents an additional reason to vote against Pallone.
Little’s TV advertising will start airing tomorrow. Her direct mail pieces have been going out for the last week. She is poised to win this, but still needs help.
Do what you can to get out the vote for Anna Little in CD-6. Donate, talk to friends and family, email your friends links to her ads. As Governor Christie has repeatedly said, we don’t want to wake up on November 3 regretting the one thing we didn’t do.
If you’re in CD-12, or know people who vote in CD-12, do the same for Scott Sipprelle. Send them the link to this ad.
