N.J. Assembly approves ban on public release of mugshots before conviction (via NJ.com)
TRENTON — The state Assembly today passed a bill to ban the public release of mugshots of people who have been arrested in New Jersey, but have not yet been convicted. The bill (A3906), fast-tracked during the Legislature’s lame-duck session, passed…
Governor Chris Christie’s post-election attempt to replace Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr with Senator Kevin O’Toole was not a matter of Christie doing Senate President Steve Sweeney’s bidding, as has been widely perceived, but the culmination of a months long battle over differing strategies over how to wage the legislative campaign.
That Christie was unable to persuade Senate Republicans to dump Kean as their leader in favor of O’Toole was viewed by the media and political observers as a shocking act of defiance of the governor by the caucus viewed as obedient followers. But insiders say the united Republican front portrayed to the public masked an ongoing dispute between Kean’s and Christie’s political teams that resulted in Christie’s landslide reelection yielding no pick up of seats in the Senate.
Early on in the campaign, the Christie campaign concluded winning a majority in the State Senate, picking up 5 seats, was unlikely given the legislative map and the resources that South Jersey Democrats and their Independent Expenditure supporters were known to be deploying to defend their turf. Team Christie devised a strategy of winning a “functional majority,” by winning three Senate seats…District 14 (Middlesex and Mercer Counties) where former Senator Peter Inverso came out of retirement in an attempt to unseat Democrat Linda Greenstein, District 18 (Middlesex County), gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono’s district where East Brunswick Mayor David Stahl switched parties to run as a Republican against Assemblyman Peter Barnes, and District 38 (Bergen County) where businessman/educator Fernando Alonso was out to defeat Democratic Senator Bob Gordon…and courting policy friendly Democrats…Senators Brian Stack and Sandra Cunningham of Hudson County…to deliver the 20th and 21st votes for a majority when needed during Christie’s second term.
Posted: December 3rd, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2013 Election, NJ Senate Republicans | Tags: 2013 Election, Chris Christie, NJ Legislature, NJ Senate Republicans, NJ State Senate, Tom Kean JR | 4 Comments »
To a legislator, the difference between being in the majority and being in the minority is as consequential as the difference between being in office and being out of office. That is why my political life was transformed in November 1985 when, as a…
UPDATED: KEAN REELECTED MINORITY LEADER
The statehouse press corps is buzzing news on twitter about a possible change in the GOP leadership in the New Jersey State Senate.
Current Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean JR has been fighting to keep his leadership post since the election results…no pick ups in the Senate…on Tuesday. Kean released a letter signed by 11 of the 16 Republican Senators pledging their support for his reelection as leader to the press yesterday. Governor Christie declined to comment about the possible change in the Republican leadership in the Senate, but said that the he is “committed to Steve Sweeney” being President of the Senate.
Within the last half hour, The Star Ledger’s Matt Friedman and PolitickerNJ’s Matt Arco both tweeted that Kean entered Christie’s office and left a few minutes later, looking unhappy. Senator Joe Kyrillos entered Christie’s office 5 minutes after Kean left.
Neither Kean or Kyrillos would speak to reporters.
The Republican Senate Caucus is meeting to elect a their leader for the next legislative session this afternoon.
Kean’s relationship with Sweeney is not good, as Sweeney resented Kean targeting the Senate President seat. Sweeney responded by keeping all Republican sponsored legislation off the calendar. Since Tuesday’s election, Sweeney has been publicly taunting and teasing Kean for not gaining any ground for Republicans when the Governor was reelected by over 20%.
Christie needs Sweeney’s cooperation in order to get anything accomplished in a second term, whether Christie runs for president or not. If Kean’s unworkable relationship with Sweeney is an obstacle, tapping his trusted friend, the ever congenial Kyrillos, as Minority Leader makes perfect sense.
Posted: November 7th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: NJ GOP, NJ State Legislature | Tags: Chris Chrisie, Joe Kyrillos, NJ GOP, NJ Legislature, Steve Sweeney, Tom Kean JR, Trenton Republicans | 4 Comments »
Assembly Democrats — and maybe Senate Republicans — to get new leaders today (via NJ.com)
TRENTON —It’s changing of the guard day for the New Jersey Legislature. Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) is on her way out, with Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) set to formalize his support among the Democratic caucus to succeed her…
Monmouth County voters overwhelming elected Sheriff Shaun Golden and Freeholder Director Tom Arnone to second terms yesterday. Deputy Freeholder Director won her second election in as many years, earning her first full term as a freeholder. DiMaso was elected last year to complete the term of Assemblyman Rob Clifton.
Golden defeated criminal defense attorney Rueben Scolavino with 102,840 votes. 58,923 people voted for Scolavino.
Only Governor Chris Christie, who earned 70.6% of the vote in Monmouth County, 122,928, outpolled Golden.
Freeholders Arnone and DiMaso bested their Democratic opponents Brian Froelich of Spring Lake and Larry Luttrell of Holmdel by an almost 2-1 margin. Arnone got 98,832 votes, Dimaso 95,829. Froelich, who ran for the House of Representative against Congressman Chris Smith last year came in third with 58,450 votes and Luttrell, who was endorsed by the Asbury Park Press, received 56,394 votes.
In the legislative races, Republicans dominated.
Posted: November 6th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2013 Election, Monmouth County | Tags: Brian Froelich, Jon Hor, Larry Luttrell, Monmouth GOP, NJ Legislature, Serena DiMaso, Shaun Golden, Tom Arnone | 12 Comments »
Sick of election season? Here are 7 political stories you’ll want to follow after Tuesday (via NJ.com)
Are you a political junkie weary of campaign season and tired of the barrage of television ads that have assaulted you during your favorite television shows? Ready for it all to be done? Well for those of you who’ve had enough but are not yet ready…
By Assembly Declan O’Scanlon
While storms and fires can’t be ignored or missed as we go through the motions of our daily lives, one of the biggest threats to the well-being of our state was silently ignored – or even enhanced – by the folks supposedly in charge for the 8 years preceding Governor Christie’s election. When Governor Christie took office our state was on the precipice of insolvency. Governor Corzine and the folks leading the legislature – Barbara Buono amongst them – continued, either blindly or incompetently, to steer us toward utter disaster. Some of you public workers still upset over the pension and benefits reforms that helped to dramatically turn our outlook around? Get real. The only alternative would have been huge, economy-strangling tax increases, or insolvency. You don’t want to imagine the negative impact on your pensions – or our state’s economy – had that outcome become reality.
Yet that is exactly the outcome Governor Corzine and the Democrat legislative leadership were opting for. Barbara Buono herself voted against the unquestionably necessary Christie administration reforms that have helped save our state. She was also the Senate Budget Chairperson that authored resoundingly irresponsible budget after budget during the Corzine era – digging the hole deeper every step of the way.
Posted: October 5th, 2013 | Author: admin | Filed under: 13th Legislative District, 2013 Election, 2013 Gubernatorial Politics, Chris Christie, Declan O'Scanlon, NJ State Legislature | Tags: Barbara Buono, Declan O'Scanlon, Governor Chris Christie, NJ Governor, NJ Legislature | 2 Comments »Transcript from statement read at the Dec. 5, 2012 Oceanport Borough Council meeting by Councilman Joseph Irace:
Oceanport Councilman Joe Irace
Tonight we are being “asked” under court order, to approve an affordable housing plan for the Borough of Oceanport for COAH Round 2. The entire debate on Affordable Housing is one that I have trouble understanding intellectually, socially and fiscally. While we all embrace the idea of lower priced homes, where newly married couples and our aging population can remain in our town for now and years to come, I have a hard time accepting the fact that the Courts, and not our legislature, have the ability to mandate how many homes and the type of homes that a municipality must provide. This is especially troublesome to me because the rest of the town bears the tax burden of this unfunded judicial mandate.
This COAH legislation and the resulting judicial decisions have been a social planning experiment gone awry from the very beginning. The confusing and often contradictory laws and court rulings arising from Rounds 1 and 2 of COAH have led to the Borough being sued for lack of compliance and have cost our residents hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. The entire system is broken and needs to be fixed.
Posted: September 27th, 2013 | Author: admin | Filed under: COAH, Joe Irace, NJ Judiciary, NJ State Legislature | Tags: COAH, Joe Irace, NJ Legislature, NJ Supreme Court, Oceanport | Comments Off on Joe Irace’s December Comments On COAH© Copyright 2025 | MoreMonmouthMusings | All Rights Reserved