Although peeved at Rep Bob Menendez for his part in a recent coup to push U.S. Senator Jon Corzine into a special election for Governor, the Governor’s office denied playing any part in a particularly nasty and personal rumor.
Although alluded to in the New York Times as possibly sprouting from a besieged Governor Jim McGreevey, the rumor may actually have had its roots in the mayoral race where politics has sunk to new depths of depravity.
The attack on Menendez may have come from one of the camps vying for mayor of Jersey City in order to keep Menendez from taking a side in a race that sees Assemblyman Lou Manzo leading the pack of already declared candidates which also includes Acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith, Councilman Jeremiah Healy, Jersey City Police Chief Ronald Buonocore, former Hudson County Director of Consumer Affairs Willie Flood, and Police Officer James Carroll in a special election in November.
Manzo was expected to file his nominating petitions on Sept. 1 at the county clerk’s office, at which time he was expected to name Freeholder Bill O’Dea as he campaign manager and receive the endorsement of former Jersey City Councilwoman Melissa Holloway.
While Menendez supported Smith for state senate in the 2003 Democratic Primary, he has been courted by several sides.
Insiders claim that those supporting Healy may be seeking to rid Jersey City of Menendez’s influence.
Menendez raised many eyebrows when he was seen marching in this year’s Jersey City Puerto Rican Parade with Freeholders Bill O’Dea and Jeff Dublin, staunch Manzo supporters.
Those attacking Menendez apparently sought take advantage of the coup in order to disguise the source, hoping an apparently politically wounded Menendez would blame the governor’s office.
Representatives from McGreevey’s office denied being the source of the attack. “We don’t have any information on the matter, so it certainly did not come from here,” the official spokesperson said. “Governor McGreevey believes Congressman Menendez is a strong advocate for New Jersey’s interests in Washington.”
The attackers may have also mistakenly believed that Menendez was so wounded from his part in the coup against McGreevey and Senate President Richard Codey that he (Menendez) could not strike back – even if the real attacker was uncovered.
This may be a fatal flaw of logic. Menendez burned his fingers in the push for a special election, but he is hardly out of the picture, and rest assured, he will get even.
Who’s not there?
County Executive Tom DeGise – who came out in support of Healy last week – may have troubles of his own. His fundraiser at Casino in the Park on the Westside of Jersey City was best defined by who did not show up, rather than the loyal soldiers that did. While Senator Kenny hosted the event the other most prominent names included Freeholder Chairman Sal Vega, of West New York, Freeholder Barry Dugan of Bayonne, Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons of Jersey City/Hoboken, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, Guttenberg Mayor David Delle Donna and Harrison Mayor Raymond McDonough Political people from other offices on state and federal levels either sent representatives or no one at all.
DeGise, of course, could count on his Jersey City contingent, such as Councilmen Peter Brennan, Bill Gaughan and Jeremiah Healy.
Healy, meanwhile, may feel a little left out after his four key advisors took off to take in the races at Saratoga Springs last week: Neil Carroll, Jack Burn, Tony Amabile and Buddy Demellier.
One political pundit suggested the four may have been seeking money to fund Healy’s campaign.
“That’s the only way they are going to raise money for this campaign, by winning it on a horse race,” the pundit said.
Not so bad yet
Reports of state Senator Bernard Kenny’s demise have also been over stated. While he will likely lose clout because of the part he paid in supporting former State Senator John Lynch’s move to push Corzine into the governor’s seat, Kenny will hardly feel the immense wrath many political observers expect. Traditionally, errant knights of the Democratic Round Table are punished by denial of benefits – which means Kenny’s mistaken logic in seeking to have McGreevey step down will likely have a negative effect on the 33 rd Assembly District, which will no seen the boon of gubernatorial generosity in grants and other privileges.
State Senator and Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria’s show of support may actually bring him state benefits. Doria, with years of walking through political mine fields, appears to have eased through this crisis without offending the Governor’s office or Menendez – both of whom he needs to make his redevelopment plans possible.
Doria had every good reason to snub the Lynch led coup since Lynch led a similar uprising in 2001 that denied Doria speakership of the state Assembly.
Up until Lynch pulled the rug out from under Doria, McGreevey had been telling people throughout the state, “God willing, our next Assembly Speaker will be Joe Doria.”
Former Governor Christine Todd Whitman dispelled reports that Republican might have drafted her to run for governor if Lynch had succeeded in getting Corzine to run. She told The Hudson Reporter last week that she would have been unable to run in the special election because four years had not yet elapsed since her own term was scheduled to end. She can, of course, run again in 2005, if she had the inkling, but she seemed to dampen that possibility as well claiming she had no interest at this time. She said that whoever runs should be ready to run for a second term and that she isn’t willing to serve another eight years as Gov. She added that “I think we need some new blood.”
Which pay to play do you want?
Meanwhile, Hoboken gears up for a battle between conflicting proposals to control campaign contributions. Mayor Dave Roberts and the council members who support him seem to favor a less strict state “Pay to Play” ordinance rather than one modeled after a Common Cause proposal backed by opposition Council members Carol Marsh and Tony Soares.
With Corzine supporting stricter campaign contribution limits and McGreevey vowing to clean up the pay for play practices before leaving office on Nov. 15, the Hoboken battle may be moot. But expect arguments to be heated since access to campaign funds is at the heart of the matter. With professionals willing to foot the political bill in order to do business with the city, incumbents like Roberts will hardly want to give a key election advantage.
As if that wasn’t enough to inspire talk in Hoboken, Soares has a new neighbor. Councilman Chris Ramos, who battled Soares in a fourth ward race last year, has moved into the same building Isn’t there some Homeland Security rule against having battling council members living so close to each other?