While the election is hardly in the bag for incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, he has to be relieved that that polls show he is in a statistical dead heat with Republican challenger Christopher Christie, who has done everything except throw the kitchen sink at Corzine in order to win.
The arrest of 44 public officials and others over the summer should have given Christie a political boost, and the arrests certainly figure prominently in Republican advertisements for Christie and for supposedly safe Republican seats across the state. But in a time when people are losing their jobs and their homes, voters may find corruption less viable an issue than an economic plan for recovery.
Christie may be a tough crime buster, but he has failed to make a strong connection between Corzine and the low-level political operatives who were charged with taking bribes from developer Solomon Dwek. In fact, reports show that Christie’s campaign received a $250 donation from Dwek this spring through the National Governor’s Association. (Christie eventually returned it). Christie’s anti-Corzine campaign, in fact, falls flat largely because Christie has been shown to have done many of the same things Corzine has, in regard to loans to personal associates.
Unlike the previous Gov. Jim McGreevey (whose close associates were indeed involved with corruption, such as convicted developer Charles Kushner), Corzine has no direct connection to those arrested and this hurts Christie’s anti-corruption campaign.
Christie’s advantage may be evaporating because he has yet to show the taxpaying public that he has any plan at all to help those suffering most from the downturn in the economy. He has said he would refuse federal stimulus money, making some people wonder where he was when his mentor, President George W. Bush, gave away $360 million in the Republican stimulus package in 2008. That money appeared to have vanished entirely and had almost no apparent impact in helping anybody but a select few associated with the Bush Administration. But Christie, being a good Republican soldier, said nothing then.
Meanwhile, Corzine is rallying the Democratic troops, hoping to eke out a victory against the Republican onslaught. Newark Mayor Cory Booker is expected to come to Hoboken’s Teak on the Hudson looking to lure young voters to the Democratic line on Nov. 3.
Busts clear out the dead wood
The 44 arrests for corruption had a huge impact in Hudson County, a kind of urban renewal project that has the potential to clear out the dead wood to make room for up-and-coming political figures.
But it is more than a little sad that both sitting state assemblymen and one former assemblyman from the 31st district have been charged with various criminal activities. Former Assemblyman Louis Manzo and his brother Ronald have been indicted as two of the 44 arrested in July. Outgoing Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith – a candidate for mayor of Jersey City last May – is awaiting possible indictment. In a separate investigation, current Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, who is running for re-election on Nov. 3, faces charges of misdirecting state funds into his personal and election accounts.
Not a small irony is the modified version of legislation Chiappone authored while in the Assembly in 2005, which strips officials of pensions when they are convicted of corruption. It would exclude him, since the law only covers crimes committed after 2007. Chiappone is being charged with crimes that allegedly occurred in 2005.
Glatt may be closing in on Zimmer
No one is releasing the numbers from the recent poll done by council member Beth Mason. But reports suggest that the extremely negative campaign against Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer has backfired.
One source claims that former Hoboken Municipal Judge Kimberly Glatt may actually have slipped into second place behind Zimmer, and that Mason may have a difficult time holding on to third place as former School Board Trustee Frank Raia brings in his vote.
Glatt is – politically speaking – the new kid on the block, a relative novice compared to Zimmer, who is running in her sixth Hoboken campaign, and Mason, who is completing her fourth. Many believe Glatt is running to position herself for a council race in 2011. Contrary to previous speculation, Glatt appears to be siphoning votes from each of the other candidates, suggesting that she has a wider base of support than just Old Hoboken. Glatt supporters also note that some of her ideas, such as a recent proposal for Green Acres legislation, have been taken up by other candidates. But most people believe Zimmer is still well enough ahead to not worry.
Debates a success
Debates held in the offices of the Hudson Reporter in mid-October gave a pretty good glimpse at where candidates for council in Secaucus and Bayonne and for mayor in Hoboken stand on the issues.
Bayonne candidates proved the liveliest. They actually talked to each other, even if sometimes they were shouting and pointing fingers.
The debates showed, however, that Secaucus Democrats have regained some of their old vigor and intend to make a race of the election even though their mayoral candidate, former Mayor Dennis Elwell, was forced to resign after being charged with taking a bribe.
In Hoboken, the wide range of ideas discussed may serve the future mayor as a thinktank for possible proposals for the future. Each candidate presented reasoned and intelligent ideas about how to deal with the city’s problems.
In Bayonne, six candidates are running to fill an unexpired term that ends on July 1. All four of the candidates who appeared at the debate indicated they would likely run in next May’s regular municipal election too.