Although election results on Nov. 3 show Republican Christopher Christie beating incumbent Gov. by almost 6 percent, in truth, Corzine was beaten by a myth.
In the same apparent panic and rage inspired by the September 2008 economic crash, voters fled to candidates other than Corzine this year in an effort to find some solution to declining property values, increasing property taxes, and a general economic decline that has seen middle class unemployment rival the unemployment figures of the state’s inner cities.
The most evident indication of this flight from Corzine shows in the fickle support some voters had for Independent Chris Daggett, whom pre-election polls indicated might get as much as 20 percent of the state’s votes, possibly allowing Corzine to win. But those voters flocked back to the only other logical choice to make sure Corzine lost.
Logic appears to have played little role in getting Christie elected as voters sold off Democratic stock in a desperate effort to alter the political economy and return the state to the plush times of the supposedly more prosperous 1990s.
While it is way too early to forecast if this “Hail Mary” pass by the state’s voters in electing Christie will work, the Democrats have to take a lot of the blame for their own defeat. While the roots of the state’s economic problems might go back to Republican Gov. Christine Whitman or even back to the policies of President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and 1990s, Democrats seemed to have squandered the eight years they had in power – years in which corruption flourished rather than the best interests of the taxpayers.
In the last days of the election, Corzine tapped his roots in labor and other touchstones of traditional Democratic support, but this came after eight years in which many of these groups were ignored for special interests, sweet-heart economic deals, and insider political trades. The Corzine administration might take credit for doing away with dual office holding and the establishing of pay-to-play legislation, but the Democrats only enacted these changes under pressure from reformers and Republicans, or as part of some behind-the-scenes Democratic feuds.
Christie’s Republicans statewide ran on an anti-corruption platform, fueling voters’ outrage at the Democratic strongholds elsewhere in the state, where officials were being charged and pleading guilty to misuse of their offices. While Democrats may have been targeted, the fact remains that the corruption was there to be found and the Republicans found it.
In the end, the Democrats only have themselves to blame for the loss of the State House and will only have themselves to blame if history repeats itself in 2011 and Republicans seize the state legislature, too.
Corruption probes could be stepped up under Christie
Perhaps Christie’s most significant early move will be to name U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra as the state attorney general. Marra picked up one of the Christie’s biggest federal corruption probes that led to the arrest of 44 people last summer. At least two sources close to Christie said Marra will be named. This means that the state will finally have a legitimate watchdog over corruption on a state level, something that has been sorely wanting for decades.
Secaucus’ Gonnelli factor
For months political observers asked: Does Councilman Michael Gonnelli have shirt tails that will help his slate of candidates win in Secaucus?
His ticket’s sweep proved not only that he has shirt tails, but that voters were finally ending several decades of Democratic dominance that started with the meteoritic rise to power of Anthony Impreveduto in the late 1970s and the rebirth of the Democratic organization in Secaucus. Gonnelli’s allies are part of the Secaucus Independents group.
Although it is hard to say in retrospect, Gonnelli’s team might even have prevailed had Elwell not been charged in a corruption sweep last summer. Some Democrats, however, still believe they might have salvaged one or more council seats had Democratic Municipal Chairman Vincent Prieto put up former Councilman Richard Kane for mayor. Instead, the Dems put up no one.
This election leaves Councilman John Shinnick as the lone Democrat on the council, a role guaranteed to increase his public profile as the sole opposition councilman.
Board of Education Trustee Tom Troyer said he has been approached as a possible temporary councilman to fill Gonnelli’s vacated 2nd Ward council seat.
Hoboken election and replacing council seat
Can you say Councilman Lenz? Or Freeholder Soares?
That could be the outcome of the long anticipated victory of Dawn Zimmer as mayor.
This may explain the recent meeting at the Coach House Diner in North Bergen among Tony Soares, Michael Lenz, and possibly Councilwoman Carol Marsh two days before the election.
Zimmer’s victory in the special election against a host of challengers sets the stage for dramatic council activity, partly because she will need five of the nine council votes to keep pushing her agenda. With her vacated seat, Zimmer can still count on four votes: Peter Cunningham, Ravi Bhalla, Carol Marsh, and David Mello. Council member Beth Mason, who came in second in the special election, will likely support some of Zimmer’s programs, but filling the 4th Ward seat is critical. What happens if Zimmer’s four allies disagree with the other four members of the council? They will have to reach a compromise on someone.
The council can vote someone into the seat for the 30 days after Zimmer takes office as mayor this week. If they do vote someone in, that person’s seat will be up for grabs in a special election in November. A state source also said that if they leave the seat vacant, there may be a special election in February.
Kimberly Glatt, despite finishing fourth in the special election for mayor, got her name out into the community, possibly setting the stage for a council run in 2011. Another winner is Republican Nathan Brinkman, who may see a lot of support from the newly elected Republican governor.
In Bayonne, Terrence Ruane, victor in his council bid, may have to look over his shoulder for a potential challenger in the spring since the combination of runners-up shows he could be beaten if a viable candidate emerges.