Follow PolitickerNJ on Twitter and Facebook
Winners and Losers: Week of Nov. 1
It’s too early to say whether his national campaigning will produce wins or losses for Gov. Chris Christie here in the Land of Woodrow Wilson. (Staff, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/42812/winners-and-losers-week-nov-1
Gerbounka leads in Linden after provisional ballot count
Following a provisional ballot count at the Union County Clerk’s Office this morning, Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka leads challenger Councilman Derek Armstead by 159 votes. (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/42805/gerbounka-leads-linden-after-provisional-ballot-count
NJ lawmakers still sparring over ‘tool kit’ items
TRENTON — A busy and varied group of bills are up for Assembly committee votes today, including several measures that are further efforts by the Democratic Legislatures to wrest the public agenda away from Gov. Chris Christie and set its own course. (Statehouse Bureau, NJ Press Media)
Christie crafts national profile
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie involved himself in 20 election contests in 15 states outside his home state this year.
New Jersey’s Republican governor stumped for GOP candidates for governor, House of Representatives, Senate and state attorney general — not exactly the itinerary of a politician without ambition. (Jordan, Gannett)
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20101108/NEWS01/11080319/Christie-crafts-national-profile
Gov. Christie: A national run in 2016 is possible
Gov. Chris Christie has repeatedly slammed the door on speculation he’s a presidential contender for 2012, but in an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today, he left open the possibility of a run in 2016. (Friedman, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/in_appearance_on_meet_the_pres.html
N.J. Assembly committee to consider affordable housing bill that focuses on rezoning
TRENTON — An affordable housing bill before the Legislature does not actually require towns to provide housing opportunities for low-income residents, but it does credit municipalities if they rezone for more expensive homes, according to a report scheduled for release Monday. (Ackermann, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/nj_assembly_committee_to_consi_4.html
N.J. Assembly to consider resolution to force change of medical marijuana rules
TRENTON — Proponents of a new law giving chronically ill patients access to medical marijuana say New Jersey’s rules are too strict to comply with the intent of the law. (The Associated Press)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/nj_assembly_to_consider_resolu.html
Southern New Jersey politicians say lawyer jumped the gun on Assembly run
A Republican fired the first shot in Atlantic County last week in what has become a potential battle for a state Assembly seat that is not yet vacant. (Fletcher, Press of Atlantic City)
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/top_three/article_4d40c536-eae1-11df-af74-001cc4c002e0.html
Sloppy bookkeeping, errors, plague school stimulus spending
The 2009 federal stimulus money for schools is almost all spent by now in New Jersey, but it’s still drawing attention from state monitors and raising questions as to how it was spent. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/10/1107/2109/
Dover, NJ, councilman Paul Downs elected to office at age 85
DOVER — Paul Downs had spent Election Day outside in the cold, shaking hands, asking people to vote for him, then waiting until votes were counted and he had a new job at age 85 as a town alderman. (Koloff, Daily Record)
NJ House races attracted modest outside spending
WASHINGTON – Independent groups spent more than $450 million during the congressional elections this year, including $1.6 million in New Jersey, federal records show. (Chebium, Gannett)
Seniors fled Democrats in midterm
In an election marked by dramatic defections from the Democratic Party, older voters swung hardest, seemingly threatened by President Barack Obama’s mantra of change.
Voters over 65 favored Republicans last week by a 21-point margin after flirting with Democrats in the 2006 midterm elections and favoring John McCain by a relatively narrow 8-point margin in 2008. (Tau, Politico)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44802.html#ixzz14gkzrtHU
Impact of money mixed in midterm
Money talks, but not always loudly enough.
In the most expensive midterm campaign in American history, a flood of cash from conservative organizations helped Republicans win control of the House. (Mullins, The Wall Street Journal)
From the Back Room
Election Day takeaways Part 3
This is an excellent break down of exit polls by Mother Jones Magazine. (Staff, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/back_room/election-day-takeaways-part-3
Election Day takeaways Part 4
14th District state Senator-elect Linda Greenstein is the first senator from that district that does not live in Hamilton. (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/back_room/election-day-takeaways-part4
Opinion
Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights
There has certainly been no lack of media attention and public debate on New Jersey education over the past few months. There was the contentious budget battle between Governor Christie and the state’s teachers union, the loss of $400 million in critical Race to the Top funds and the firing of Education Commissioner Bret Schundler. (Assemblywomen Valerie Vainieri Huttle, guest columnist for PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/42818/anti-bullying-bill-rights
Kathe Donovan: They really like her
THERE WERE some stunned faces in Bergen County on Tuesday night. Democrats I was speaking with up to Election Day were confident that Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney would win reelection. (Doblin, The Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/doblin/doblin_110810.html
Democrats worry about college parking
This is coming from Republicans, so you have to factor the politics in, but what they’re saying is striking a chord with voters. (Ingle, Asbury Park Press)
http://blogs.app.com/politicspatrol/2010/11/08/democrats-worry-about-college-parking/
The “Silly Season” is going to be around for a while
TRENTON — If you thought Tuesday’s election brought the end of the Silly Season you must not be from around here. It marked the beginning of a campaign for 120 seats in the Legislature, where candidates will run from new districts. (Ingle, Daily Record)
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/B3/20101107/OPINION0503/11070321/1093/OPINION/The+
In case you missed it
N.J. political attention turns to legislative races
With the national midterm elections fading away, New Jersey’s political class is turning its attention to the battle of the Statehouse.
Gov. Christie will have a chance to build a more malleable Legislature in 2011, because all 120 senators and Assembly members will be up for election. (Burton, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Parties gear up to redraw New Jersey’s districts
As Trenton gears up for next year’s fight for the state Legislature, the political party that wins control in 2011 and beyond could be decided before a single vote is cast — by a small group of politicians working the back rooms. (Friedman, The Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/politics/106843358_Parties_gear_up_to_draw_districts.html
6th District defined Pallone, Little race
As Democratic congressional candidates elsewhere this election season shirked from their votes for the health care reform bill, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., not only defended his decision to vote for it, but said the law does not go far enough. (Penton, Asbury Park Press)
http://www.app.com/article/20101106/POLITICS/11060338/6th-District-defined-Pallone-Little-race
People and power: Overhaul of Atlantic City gaming regulations a top priority for Trenton
There’s an irony to state officials writing hundreds of pages of new laws to slim down regulations.
A draft bill by the Christie administration to update 30 years of casino regulations weighed in at 201 pages this week. (Fletcher, Press of Atlantic City)
Parties need to change their images
At the polls, and out in Cherry Hill on Friday, I heard more voters sick of “Ds” and “Rs,” wishing that campaigns and candidates without millions of dollars had a legitimate chance. Many said they showed up, out of habit or civic duty, to choose the less-wicked party or candidate. (Rosen, Courier-Post)
Election 2010’s winners, losers come up for air
Here is a look of winners and losers left in the wake of last Tuesday’s national GOP tidal shift that swamped parts of North Jersey. (Stile, The Record)
Wayne Hasenbalg: Hard-charging Chris Christie sets standard for 1st year in office
HANOVER — The pace that Gov. Chris Christie set in his first year in office has shattered previous levels of organization and accomplishment, Wayne Hasenbalg, Christie’s deputy chief of staff for policy and planning said Friday. (Diagle, Daily Record)
Convention snub still rankles NJ teacher union
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s state teachers’ union was still rankled Friday over a snub by the state’s acting education commissioner. (Parry, The Associated Press)
Mike Carroll has a bill to let you vote on retention elections
Call your state legislator and ask why you don’t get to vote on ACR-78 (Mulshine, The Star-Ledger)
http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2010/11/mike_carroll_has_a_bill_to_let.html
Democrats on the run
Democrats spent the week sifting through the wreckage of this year’s election, searching for some small morsel of good news to lift their battered spirits. (Moran, The Star-Ledger)
http://blog.nj.com/njv_tom_moran/2010/11/democrats_on_the_run.html
