New Jerseyans would rather see former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush or Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker elected president in 2016 than their own Governor Chris Christie, according to a Monmouth University Poll released this morning.
“The message from New Jersey voters seems to be as simple as ABC – anybody but Christie,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
In fairness to Christie, it should be noted that Murray did not poll the Governor’s presidential bona fides against former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Frank Pallone, Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik, Freeholder John Curley, Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal or Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
Christie isn’t even New Jersey Republicans first choice to the president. By 44%-30% New Jersey Republicans prefer Walker to Christie in 2016.
State Senator Joe Kyrillos is backing former Florida Governor Jeb Bush for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.
According to The Washington Post, Bush spokesman Tim Miller confirmed that Kyrillos is backing the son and brother of 41st and 43rd presidents to become the 45th. Kyrillos contributed $10,000 to Bush’s political action committee last month.
The news that Kyrillos is supporting Bush over his decades long friend and ally, Governor Chris Christie, caps the news cycle for a day in which a Quinnipiac Poll reported that New Jersey voters don’t approve of the Governor’s job performance at home and don’t think he would make a good president. A CNN poll also released Monday places Christie in 7th place among GOP presidential hopefuls with support of only 4% or Republicans and Republican leaning Independents nationally. Just four months ago, a full year after the Bridgegate scandal broke, Christie ranked second for the 2016 GOP nomination in CNN’s poll with support of 13% of the respondents.
More than anything else, Sandy was the one, single event that catapulted Gov. Chris Christie to national prominence. He was ever-present in his blue fleece jacket, comforting storm victims, making the rounds on the Sunday talk shows, and touring damaged boardwalks. “We are in this together,”… Read the rest of this entry »
TRENTON — State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos did not vote to buck the governor today when Democrats unsuccessfully tried to override his veto of the Port Authority legislation. But Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), who had been a personal friend of Christie’s and one of his chief allies in the Legislature, today demonstrated just how much their relationship has deteriorated… Read the rest of this entry »
Senator Bob Menendez, left, and Congressman Frank Pallone, making like chimpmunks at the 2012 Belmar St. Patrick’s parade. Photo credit Charles Measley
First of all, Senator Bob Menendez might not even be indicted. Leaks out of the Justice Department have been notoriously unreliable since Chris Christie resigned as U.S. Attorney in 2008.
If Menendez is indicted, he probably will not resign. In his press conference this evening, the Senator defiantly insisted on the “appropriateness and lawfulness” of his relationship with Dr. Salomon Melgen, the Florida ophthalmologist who is Menendez’s friend and benefactor. He declared that he is not going anywhere.
If, as CNN speculates, Menendez is charged with corruption this month, it could be Halloween before he goes to trial. Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell was indicted in January of 2014. His trial didn’t start until late July and didn’t end to early September. Unless Menendez makes a deal to avoid prosecution that includes his resignation, there is not likely to be a Special Election to fill the Senate seat until next year….2016, the year of the next presidential election.
If Chris Christie is still Governor in 2016 and Menendez’s seat becomes vacant, he will get to choose the next Senator and set the date a special election. There could be a mid-year Special Election or the Special Election could be on the same day as the presidential election. There’s no way to know now what is likely to happen.
Still, the prospect of a Senatorial vacancy stirs speculation and the phone lines among both Democrats and Republicans have been burning this afternoon since the news of the possible prosecution broke.
The legislators of the 11th and 13th districts have jointly written the Acting Commissioner of the NJ Department of Human Services requesting that the facilities designated to quarantine travelers from Western Africa arriving at Newark-Liberty Airport for 21 days to ensure that they have not contracted the Ebola virus be closed when the agency’s current agreement with the Fort Monmouth Redevelopment Authority expires on June 30th.
The letter, dated March 1 and signed by Senators Joe Kyrillos (R-13) and Jennifer Beck (R-11) as well as Assembly members Declan O’Scanlon (R-13), Amy Handlin (R-11), Caroline Casagrande (R-11) and Mary Pat Angelini (R-11) reiterates the law makers’ concerns expressed in a Februay 3 letter to Commissioner Jennifer Velez, Esq. regarding the lack of notice to the public and elected officials regarding the designation of the facility and the negative impact the facility could have on the marketing of Fort Monmouth properties.
Monmouth County will have a new 250 acre park in Aberdeen and Marlboro Townships, despite the fact that Port Authority of NY/NJ backed out of a commitment to fund $5 million to purchase 87.8 acres of the open space from a developer who had approvals to build 250 homes on the property.
Today, the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders approved funding the entire $10.6 million land purchase from Aberdeen/Wilson Associates, LLC through the County’s Open Space Trust Fund.
“The Port Authority appears to be unwilling to honor its commitment of sharing to fund a project that will preserve significant portions of the Matawan Creek watershed and eventually provide a 250-acre park,” said Freeholder Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the County Park System. “The Port Authority’s offer to help move this deal forward appears to have been withdrawn. Fortunately, Monmouth County has an invaluable Open Space Trust Fund to finance the entire purchase.”
State Senator Joe Kyrillos praised the Freeholder Board, the NY/NJ Baykeeper and Aberdeen Township for making the park a reality and slammed Port Authority for backing out of the deal.
Graphic by Robert Hazelrigg. Click on photo for RobertHazelrigg.com
Prominent New Jersey Republicans seem to finally be moving out of Governor Chris Christie’s shadow.
This afternoon The Star Ledgerreported that Monmouth County State Senator Joe Kyrillos was among the 15 or so New Jersey Republicans who met with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, a top rival of Christie’s for the 2016 GOP Presidential nomination, last week at a dinner hosted by Lawrence E. Bathgate. Bathgate, an Ocean County attorney, is one of the top Republican fundraisers in the nation. Also attending the dinner held at the Union Club in Manhattan was Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr, according to The Record’s Charles Stile, who first reported the event.
Such potential defections from the Christie camp were unthinkable just 15 months ago. Christie’s attempt at ousting Kean as Senate Minority Leader immediately following his 2013 re-election, and the resulting fallout as Kean, Jr’s father, the former Governor, went national in criticizing Christie can explain the younger Kean’s flirtation with the Bush campaign.
But Kyrillos being anything other than solidly in Christie’s corner is big news. Their relationship was personal before it was political. Christie introduced Kyrillos to his wife Susan. He swore Christie into his first elected office, Morris County Freeholder. Kyrillos was the Chairman of the Christie for Governor campaign in 2009.
Texas Gov Rich Perry and Dwayne Horner. Oct 2014 via facebook
Dwayne Horner, campaign manager for Leigh-Anne Bellew’s 2013 Bayshore Tea Party backed primary campaign against State Senator Joe Kyrillos, received an early Christmas present earlier this month when he was admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) Program.
The 45 year old resident of Little Elm, Texas woke up thousands of Monmouth County voters with a 4 am robo call on June 4, 2013 the morning of the primary election. The call purported to be from the campaign of Kyrillos and his running mates Assembly members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon, informing Repbulican voters that the still had four hours to vote. The calls were caller ID spoofed to falsely indicate that they came from a phone number owned by the Monmouth County Republican Organization.
