The back chatter continued tonight as the state’s two most powerful bosses attempted to hold together their leadership alliance.
In a volatile political back-atmosphere, South Jersey Democratic Leader George Norcross told Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo to deliver hard evidence of Essex support for Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-34).
Sources said the Norcross undercurrent was roughly: “If you can’t do that then South Jersey’s 11 votes may move on from Essex.”
This evening, the powerful North Jersey executive held a meeting in which he lined up seven (or six, depending on who tells the story) hard supports in the Oliver column and one hard unconfirmed.
The only one he didn’t have an answer from by the end of the night was Assemblyman John McKeon (D-27), said sources, who weren’t worried about losing Oliver.
Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-27) also appears to be in a state of suspensed animation, says a source close to the incumbent running in a competitive district that will require the GOTV efforts of public sector workers.
“With Obama’s re-election coming up, do you really think these guys are going to walk away from the first African-American (woman) speaker?” demanded a source allied with the county executive.
Those numbers accompanied by some hard deal-making could lay a foundation to again make Oliver speaker: 11 from Norcross’ South Jersey stable, plus at least seven (maybe eight) from Essex, four from Passaic (Dem Chairman John Currie is a solid Oliver backer), part of the Hudson delegation with the promise of an Assembly majority leader position, and pieces of Middlesex and Mercer to get to at least 24 D caucus members.
It’s a lot of ifs, maybe too many to hold together in the face of a caucus insurrection against Oliver, but a whip crack from Gov. Chris Christie’s front office would line up the GOP caucus in the name of a successful working relationship the Republican governor has with Norcross and Joe D.
But just in case, as they prepared for tonight’s huddle-up to review the situation, DiVincenzo’s most hard-bitten consiglieres considered retaliatory maneuvers against Norcross and state Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) in the event Norcross makes a move on Oliver with Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-32) of Hudson County.
“If they go after Sheila, then Joe D goes after Sweeney,” said a source close to the backroom battle.
It’s not hostile, insisted a source, who said Norcross/Sweeney and DiVincenzo remain close friends.
Just realpolitik.
Sources in the immediate vicinity of DiVincenzo reported that he was so certain of landing enough support for Oliver that the leader himself never even considered having to go there with Norcross.
Part of a Sweeney takedown would require a couple of GOP upper house victories, and then, “You peel off four Democrats, stick them to the GOP, and make Teresa Ruiz (DiVincenzo’s senator) Senate president,” the source added.
Early feedback on Prieto as a Norcross-engineered swap-in for Oliver generally produced a five syllable response: Albio Sires.
Now a U.S. Congressman, Sires was a no-name when a cut deal propelled him suddenly from the back of the room into the speaker’s chair.
There is also considerable speculation about the role a long caucus disgruntled Assembly Majority Leader Joe Cryan (D-20) played in the shuffling of Prieto into his colleagues’ back chamber consciousness.
Another source close to the situation said Cryan was involved in fork-lifting Prieto’s name into the mix, and that Norcross engaged Hudson as a checkmate to Cryan on the chance that DiVincenzo couldn’t deliver the delegation.
There is further speculation that the bosses could dangle Assembly majority leader in front of Prieto to haul in Hudson pieces for Oliver.
As DiVincenzo and Norcross persisted in locking up support for Oliver, Cryan tried to hold his own caucus members together in opposition.
