Sunday at high noon.
In the Statehouse.
That’s when the final vote on reapportionment will occur.
In the interim, a source in the redistricting process says the matchup of the hour – state Sen. Joe Vitale (D-19) of Woodbridge v. state Sen. Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-18) of Metuchen – is unlikely to happen, while state Sen. Robert Gordon (D-38) of Fair Lawn v. state Sen. John Girgenti (D-35) of Hawthorne is possible – maybe even likely.
The fate of former state Senate President Richard Codey (D-27) of Roseland remains a question mark.
The process is fluid, according to the same source, in part because 11th member Prof. Alan Rosenthal keeps asking both the Democrats and the Republicans to revamp their respective maps. The source said each side is intentionally throwing up outlandish scenarios they know the tiebreaker will toss out – in order to protect the key components of each map. A GOP source said the Republican map has gone through fewer 11th hour scene changes than the Dems’.
One Democratic source not in the room – who spoke on condition of anonymity – wasn’t satisfied.
“Just the fact that the Democrats would throw Vitale and Buono on the wall like that and put those ideas in Rosenthal’s head – is an act of aggression,” said the second source.
The first source emphasized that this part of the process depends on gamesmanship.
Some basic principles from Rosenthal in the hash-out period as of this morning: He doesn’t want Vineland and Atlantic City in the same district; he doesn’t want Bayonne reaching across the river to join with Elizabeth; he wants two Hispanic and one Black districts; he doesn’t want Atlantic City joined to Ocean County.
