Among statehouse insiders, there is still considerable buzz over the reassignment of Governor Jon Corzine's traveling aide, Samantha Gordon, to a different front office position. Gordon was with Corzine when he was seriously injured in an April high speed car crash; her injuries were not severe.
Two things make this story unlikely to go away anytime soon: the Governor's office hasn't offered details of Gordon's status, which came just as Trooper Robert Rasinski, who was driving the Governor's car, resumed his role with the Executive Protection Unit; and the involvement of Corzine friend/fixer Nancy Dunlap.
Sources say that Dunlap was involved in the Gordon reassignment, and that Gordon did not want to leave her old post. Another source said that Gordon made a personal appeal to Corzine to save her job, but was told it was out of his hands. Dunlap is an attorney and one of Corzine's closest personal friends, but she has no formal role in state government.
In the Star-Ledger's Auditor column last week, Corzine spokeswoman Lilo Stainton suggested that there is not much to the Gordon story.
"We have even helped her pursuing a number of opportunities," Stainton told the newspaper. "The timing is ironic. There's no cause-and-effect here."