Chris Christie today announced four administrative appointments ... Two
of the appointees worked with him at the U.S. Attorney's Office.
They are Jeff Chiesa who will be Chief Counsel to the Governor and Kevin O’Dowd who will be Deputy Chief Counsel.
Alsso appointed was Bill Stepien, a native of Long [...]
Maybe for the first time, in fact, as governor-elect.
Christie will announce the state's New Jersey Hall of Fame Class of 2010 today at 1 p.m. in the State Museum Auditorium Building in Trenton.
I wonder if I'm on the list.
' [...]Where's the pride in Parsippany?
Over the last two days, it surfaced that the town grants cops eight -- that's right, eight days -- off with pay to get married and that the council violated state law by awarding an insurance contract that was $250,000 higher than the low bidder ...
Keep [...]
Roll Call, the newspaper that covers Congress, has released its list of the 50 wealthiest members of Congress ....
Our local man, Rodney Frelinghuysen, is 14th on the list with a net worth of $18.15 million in 2008.... That sounds good, but it's about $4 million less than his net worth [...]
Jay Webber, the chair of the state Republican Committee, sent out Happy Thanksgiving greetings today and noted all the things we have to be thankful for ... They include, he said, "the freest, most prosperous nation the world has ever known, protected by citizen-soldiers unsurpassed in their bravery, honor, humility," [...]
Morris Plains Mayor Frank Druetzler, who gave himself the nickname, "Number 7'' as a Morris County freeholder is on Chris Christie's transition team subcommittee for transportation it was announced today ...
The now-mended relationship between Christie and Druetzler got off to a spirited start ... Christie was on a team that" [...]
Chris Christie today named chairs of 19 issue sub-committees for his transition team.
One of them is from Morris County.
That would be John Bonanni. the county administrator, who will head the subcommittee on Human Services & Children and Families. Bonanni said he and Christie got to know each other when [...]
Governor-elect Christie is making his first trip out of state. And it is to Texas where he will attend today's annual conference of the Republican Governors Association.
His agenda includes an afternoon session, a press availability and a "victory barbecue'' in the LBJ Pavillion of the Hyatt in Lost Pines, Texas.
You" [...]
Sure, you do.
A former Democratic state senator from Bergen County now living in Rockaway Township, Herbert was nominated last spring to replace the late RoseAnne Travaglia as Morris County Superintendent of Elections.
Republicans balked, noting that the freeholders wanted to abolish the job.
Herbert's nomination stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee last [...]
The governor-elect just sent this letter to Jon Corzine:
Dear Governor Corzine:
I am writing to follow-up on our conversation last week, and to thank you for your kind and gracious offer to take all possible steps to ensure a smooth and orderly transition. During that discussion, you indicated that you [...]
You may have read that governor-to-be Chris Christie is talking about "begging'' _ his word _ Bruce Springsteen to play at his inauguration in January.
That's rather ambitious, and the feeling here is that it is not going to happen.
Here is a better, and probably more plausible, idea. How about asking" [...]
The House version of the health care reform bill is being debated today, and a vote is possible.
There is still a long way to go, but this would be an important first step in extending health insurance to virtually all Americans, ending pre-existing condition ineligibility and introducing more competition. Republicans [...]
The conservative New Jersey Family Policy Council hosted a dinner last night in Whippany in which the featured speaker was former Arkansas governor and one-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee must have said a lot of inflammatory things _ his speech was closed to the press.
[...]It is common for many in politics to read more into an election than is there ...
Take Chris Christie's win on Tuesday. Some giddy Republicans think this is a rejection of President Obama. They may still be tipsy from Tuesday night. Christie won not because of Obama, but because [...]
Who's he, you ask.
DuHaime, who helped Anthony Bucco win a state Senate seat in 1997, was Chris Christie's chief advisor. That raised some eyebrows in political circles, given the fact that DuHaime has had a few recent losses, most notably the sudden collapse of Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign in 2008, [...]
And the congressman had this to say
"I am proud to have supported Chris Christie and I will work in partnership with hm to restore fiscal responsibility in Trenton and Washington."
[...]Chris Christie is receiving congrats in the kitchen just off the ballroom as he prepares to speak to the joyous crowd.
[...]I have covered many elections, but I do not recall ever seeing the overwhelming joy that is in this room at this time .. Republicans have been in the wilderness for a long time and now, they have won a great victory.
There is singing and chanting and everyone seems to [...]
The AP's call of the race for Christie swept through the halls of the Hilton shortly after 10 pm ... The crowd is estatic ... and, of course tipsy. And soon, they will be drunk
Who can blame them ... It's been a while since [...]
Christie, Christie as a group of supporters march into the now very crowded ballroom with Christie signs ...
[...]As the early returns show Christie in the lead, the crowd is in a celebratory mood .. But some are cautious ... Upon arrival, former Gov. Thomas H. Kean was asked if he was confident ...
Yes, he said, but "my fingers are crossed."
But for some reason, there are no TV sets in the main ballroom. But the TV down the hall _ in Buccos' suite _ shows that Christie is up by 11 percentage points _ with one percent of the vote counted.
Leave it to Assemblyman Michael P. Carroll, R-Morris Twp. to' [...]
State Sen. Anthony Bucco and his son, Anthony M., who is likely to be elected to the Assembly tonight, have a suite of their own just down the hall from the main ballroom where Christie will speak later tonight ...
And would you believe., the Buccos have better food .. a [...]
The last Republican to win a governor's race in New Jersey arrived at the Hilton a few minutes ago ...
"'It's going to be a close one," she said. That's not exactly profound, but it's probably on the mark.
' [...]State Sen. Joe Kyrillos, R-Monmouth, another early arriver, was still smarting over the state Democratic Committee's tactic of making robo calls in support of Chris Daggett.
How, he asked, do you explain to a 10-year-old that the governor was telling people not to vote for him, but for his opponent?
Well, [...]
was one of the GOP luminaries who showed up early at Christie headquarters ...
Why will Republicans win a statewide election this year, something they have not done in 12 years ...
"People are going to vote for change, and Chris Christie is going to win this race."
He noted that without question, [...]
Starting at 7pm, we'll be featuring live video from across the state. We'll have cameras set up at the headquarters of all three gubernatorial candidates, as well as our "Election Desk" in Trenton, where Gannett NJ's Bob Ingle and 101.5 FM's Eric Scott will anchor our coverage. Use the chat [...]
What do you do if your father is running for governor?
If your old man is Chris Christie, you go to school as usual.
After Christie voted this morning accompanied by his wife and four children, he said his next chore was bringing his kids to school. His oldest boy, [...]
The polling place at the Brookside Firehouse was filled this morning with reporters and photographers, all awaiting the arrival of Chris Christie, the Republican candidate for governor.
But there was more .... Outside the polling place and 101 feet away were two supporters of Sam Tolley, a write-in candidate for the [...]
Morris Township Republicans are circulating reports that Democratic candidate Jeff Grayzel is using "gang members" to pass out election flyers. Yep, gang members. A little far-fetched, I'd say.
Then, there is the robo-call fiasco. Some are upset that state Democrats apparently are paying for robocalls urging a vote for Chris Daggett.' [...]
Gov. Corzine is spending the last night of the campaign in Democratic-friendly territory.
He plans stops in Union City and visits to two union groups in Trenton and Lawrenceville and finally a 10 p.m. appearance at a Baptist Church in Irvington.
[...]A poll just out has Chris Christie leading Gov. Corzine by six points - 47 to 41. This is Christie's largest margin in weeks and it comes at the best possible time for him.
The poll is by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, N.C.
[...]Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie sought a home county boost Saturday morning, beginning his day of campaigning at the Randolph Diner.
He was not disappointed. Even if you exclude the dozen or so Republican officials on hand, the breakfast crowd was supportive,
James McClure of Randolph said among the [...]
and Ed France.
Yep, give Ed credit for one of the more creative campaign pieces you will ever see. France, who is running for the town council in Morristown is pictured standing next to statues of Washington, Hamilton and Lafayette on the Green under the headline "Men on a mission."
[...]Yep, it could have been the rainy weather, but whatever the reason, today's crowd for the fourth Tea Party of the year on the Morristown Green was probably the smallest of the four. About 500 showed up to hear the usual speeches by people who denounced everything about the federal [...]
Chris Christie is in the midst of a bus trip around the state. He was in southern New Jersey yesterday and today.
On Friday, Rudy Giuliani will join the Christie bus trip for stops in four counties ...Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties. Christie better hope that Rudy doesn't have any leftover' [...]
So says, the Jeff Weingarten of the Morristown Tea Party organization ...
Now this gets confusing, but bear with us. Weingarten says he is part of the original Tea Party group, not the organization putting on Saturday's gathering on the Green.
Weingarten says Wilson, the South Carolina congressman. who yelled "You Lie" [...]
And this one is better news for Chris Christie.
Public Policy Planning of Raleigh, N.C. reports that Christie is ahead of Gov. Corzine 42 to 38. The group's last poll had Christie winning by a point.
[...]Republican Chris Christie was on Fox News this morning and was asked if the gubernatorial election was a mandate on President Obama.
Christie said no, and I think he's right. He noted that New Jersey has enough problems to occupy voters.
Another issue raised was a Corzine TV ad that poked fun [...]
This is the one that showed Jon Corzine leading Chris Christie by nine points ...
Patrick Murray, who directs the polling institute at Monmouth University, says there are two problem with that poll, one major and one minor. Here they are:
Major: Their likely voter screen let in 93 percent of [...]
I do not know if I believe this, but a poll out today by Suffolk University in Boston has Corzine with a nine point lead 42-33, over Christie. That spread seems too large for me.
But it does underscore the fact that Christie has to come up with something significant in [...]
Given the fact Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie is a big Met fan, this question is of both political and sporting significance.
Do Met fans root for the Yankees or the Phillies?
For me, there is no debate. I root for the Phillies. I never really had any animosity to the [...]
That would be the strategy of Jon Corzine: Rally the Democratic base and rest your hopes on the fact there are 700,000 more registered Dems in New Jersey than Republicans.
The governor's office announced today that President Obama will be back in New Jersey on Nov. 1 _ two days before [...]
Bergen County Democratic political boss Joe Ferriero was convicted today on corruption charges ...
Republican candidate for governor, Chris Christie, called a press conference (via phone) to talk about it. The charges were brought when Christie was U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.
Christie said it was Gov. Jon Corzine who helped keep [...]
This is Chris Christie's hometown and he will have a choice among Republicans when he shows up to vote for township committee on Nov. 3.
Sam Tolley is trying to wage a last minute write-in campaign, and he is targeting incumbent Jack Schrier, who is also a freeholder.
Tolley's candidacy has been [...]
From the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers shows Jon Corzine leading Chris Christie by 39 to 36 percent. and 20 percent for independent Chris Daggett. This is within the margin of error, but it is noteworthy that Corzine is in the lead.
Daggett's 20 percent also is the best he's polled [...]
Barack Obama is set to make his second campaign appearance for Gov. Jon S. Corzine today in Hackensack. The first was in July.
In anticipation of Obama's visit, Chris Christie unveiled a video that features Obama talking about change during last year's presidential campaign.
At the end of the video, [...]
That's the message coming from Bill Budesheim, the mayor of Riverdale
He says that neither Jon Corzine nor Chris Christie offer any comfort to small towns -- those with less than 10,000 people. Riverdale has about 2,500.
So, who is Jesse Cullen. He is a 30-year-old resident of Riverdale and an independent [...]
Parsippany has 50,000 people and a contested race for mayor, but don't expect any public debates ...
A debate that is closed to the public is scheduled for tomorrow at a senior citizens' center. Efforts to put together a public debate at the last minute have failed.
One tentative date was [...]
The race for mayor of Morristown should heat up with debates between mayoral candidates Jim Gervasio and Tim Dougherty set for the next two weeks.
Gervasio set the tone in a meeting with Daily Record editors this week when he said the difference between the men is "character.''
Hmm ... meaning???
For one" [...]
was kind of a dud, don't you think?
In the first debate, Chris Daggett established himself as a bonafide candidate and both Jon Corzine and Chris Christie performed badly.
Daggett could not win the second debate the same way in which he won the first one. After all, you can only' [...]
I guess Chris Daggett really will be a factor. Republicans are beginning to attack him.
The Republican Governors Association today began airing a new series of advertisements ccriticizing the "tax-and-spend plans of Chris Daggett to Jon Corzine’s record.''
"A vote for Chris Daggett is a vote for Jon Corzine," said RGA" [...]
Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina organization that leans Democratic, has a new poll today that shows Chris Christie at 40 percent, Jon Corzine at 39 percent and Chris Daggett at 13 percent.
An earlier survey showed Christie with a nine-point lead.
[...]Was in Philadelphia yesterday to see playoff game with Phils and Rockies. I root for the Mets, but I like baseball in general ...
Riding in a cab from the ball park to dinner, I told the driver I was from new jersey and he said, "Oh, Corzine Country."
Well, maybe. [...]
Monday night was the Taste of Parsippany _ an evening in which restaurants in town offer a taste of their cuisine. It happened at the Sheraton Hotel.
Both mayoral candidates were on hand, as was to be expected.
The main issue, Democratic incumbent Michael Luther said, is taxes.
"The problem is providing" [...]
That's the word from the Christie camp in the wake of today's FDU poll that showed the race a dead heat ...
Here is a statement from campaign manager Bill Septien:
"Poll after poll has found that over half of New Jerseyans are sick and tired of Jon Corzine's high taxes, irresponsible" [...]
Yeah, that may be an odd topic for a Morris County blog, but bear with me... I noticed that somewhere else on this blog, "P" condemns the estimated $180 million spent on a new high school in Union City. And he wonders if Mayor Brian Stack sold the land where [...]
Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, held another town meeting today _ this time in Mount Olive. There were only about 75 people on hand, but most were angry about something. Every mention of the Sept. 12 tea party was applauded. Others complained about the government's health care reform plan and [...]
It may not be a popular view in Morris County, but I think Chris Christie's path to the Statehouse is in trouble.
I have known Christie since 1994 and have covered him as a freeholder and as a candidate for the Assembly in 1995. Lack of specifics has never been a [...]
In anticipation of tonight's gubernatorial debate, Gov. Corzine unveiled an ad that talks about his accomplishments and the need to finish the job ... The interesting thing is that after many a negative ad, this is a positive one ...
You can see the governor's strategy ... go negative to close [...]
Yeah, that has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
Dick Morris, the political consultant whose past has included jobs with Bill Clinton and now, Fox News, will be the guest speaker at the Morris County Republican Committee's fall brunch on Oct. 18 at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany. Chris' [...]
Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, conducted a town meeting today in Montville and not surprisingly, most of the discussion was about health care.
Sure, there was the crackpot who once given the microphone spoke to the audience, not the congressman, in generalities about a loss of freedom, twice quoting Ben Franklin. [...]
Turns out the Kim Guadagno, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, never made it to the Roxbury Diner tonight as planned ... A handful of township council members plus Sheriff Edward Rochford were on hand, but the candidate never showed ... The traffic __ this is New Jersey, you know [...]
Turns out that it will be lieutenant governor candidate Kim Gudagno visiting the Roxbury Diner at 6 p.m. today, not Chris Christie, as we reported yesterday.
[...]There were about two dozen people at tonight's Morristown Planning Board meeting _ and they were there because Mayor Don Cresitello had an application to subdivide his Mill Street property.
But both the mayor and the neighbors will have to wait; the board adjourned the hearing until either late October,or early [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie is scheduled to drop by the Roxbury Diner Friday night at 6 p.m. ... You figure he should be well received in Morris County
[...]A new commercial by Gov. Jon S. Corzine suggests that Chris Christie got special treatment when he turned the wrong way on a one-way street in Elizabeth, struck a motorcyclist, and received no ticket.
In fact, it says that Christie "threw his weight around." Ouch!
[...]are on TV ... the Democratic committee has a new show on community access cable TV that starts tonight at 6:30 p.m. ... That would be Channel 21 on the Cablevision system.
[...]The Chris Christie gubernatorial campaign today posted a new video of Gov. Corzine talking _ under an umbrella, no less _ about travelling in New Jersey. In it, he mentioned the "Garden State Expressway." Yeah, that was a slip-up. No one in New Jersey calls it the "Expressway." Here in [...]
That is the headline of a recent Jon Corzine campaign brochure ... It is displayed over a picture of a rising sun at the Jersey Shore ...
The other side has shot of a smiling Corzine over the headline of "Leading us through tough times."
Hard to see how all [...]
A new ad today by Gov. Jon S. Corzine continues to try to link Republican Chris Christie to unsavory activities ... It notes that Christie and his brother, Todd, raised thousands in support of President George W. Bush. In return, the ad says, Bush named Chris Christie U.S. Attorney.
Corzine has [...]
A poll released today by an organization called Public Policy Polling
of North Carolina reports that 8 percent of those polled in New Jersey think the president is the "anti-Christ" and that an additional 13 percent are unsure.
Of course, one has to have some knowledge of Christian theology and the [...]
I wrote a column the other day ridiculing those who think the U.S. government was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. I said conspiracy theories are nice, but that this one is an insult to the victims.
I got a number of responses from, shall I say, the conspiracy side of [...]
The Christie campaign launched a new interactive website today, ItsMyNJ.com, which includes nine New Jerseyans who will provide a personal snapshot of life in the Garden State by blogging about their day to day routines through the lens of the gubernatorial race.
So says a Christie release.
One on these [...]
Politiker.Com reports today that outgoing mayor Donald Cresitello is so far refusing to endorse Tim Dougherty for mayor of Morristown. Dougherty beat Cresitello in last June's primary.
Yes, the "political" thing to do would be to endorse Dougherty, but Cresitello is still smarting from the bruising campaign last June. It was [...]
was commemorated today in Roxbury and it drew such luminaries as Anthony M. Bucco, a candidate for the state Assembly this year, and Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Harding.
However, township Republicans did not have a booth to greet their visitors. What was that all about? Some Republicans who were there had [...]
Michael Patrick Carroll suggests somewhere on the Daily Record blog that I must be beside myself because conservatives are protesting in Washington. Why?
Let them protest ... This is a big country and there are always going to be millions of people who are upset with what the president, any president, [...]
The Chris Christie campaign plans a $250 a person fundraiser next Tuesday night to celebrate the recent bithdays of both the candidate and his wife, Mary Pat.
The party is scheduled to take place at the Basking Ridge home of Todd Christie, the candidate's brother.
[...]Yep, that's happening this weekend when Loretta Weinberg, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, plans to visit the Parsippany Fall Festival ....
And come October, Gov. Corzine is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser hosted by the county Democratic Committee. That would be Oct. 8.
[...]Today was the ribbon cutting for the new "Transit Village" apartment building in Morristown. This is luxury living, but it comes with a price .... one bedroom units start at about $1,700 a month and high-end two-bedroom units go for more than $3,000 a month. There are also an assortment [...]
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Joe Wilson's outburst has resulted in a cash windfall for his 2010 Democratic challenger Rob Miller.
According to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Miller raised $100,000 overnight from 3,000 individual donors after Wilson shouted "You lie!" at President Obama during his address to Congress on Wednesday night.
Miller released [...]
I spent this evening watching the commentary on Fox regarding Obama's health care speech ...
The most humorous part was the interviewing of tea party people in a bar in Johnstown, Pa. The only rational individual interviewed said it was important that all are covered with insurance ... Others sounded [...]
State Sen. Anthony R. Bucco says a bear sighting on the outskirts of Trenton underscores the need for a hunt ...
A bear and her cub, Bucco says, were spotted near a school for the deaf. Bucco said in a statement, "I hate to think what would happen if one of" [...]
The Republican gubernatorial candidate has a fondness for our second president. Just about every time he ends one of his stump speeches, he tells an anecdote about Adams.
It is one in which Adams laments at the end of his life (1826) that the "new breed" of Americans did not [...]
State Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Boonton, held his annual golf fundraiser last night at the Knoll Country Club in Parsippany ...
The crowd was a little smaller than in past years, but the senator was still pleased.
"Today's atmosphere, makes it more and more expensive to run for office," he said. The [...]
With a funny TV commercial ... check it out on his web-site ..
The ad portrays Corzine and Christie as hopelessly lost and forlorn ... as they are stuck together on an escalator ... yes, an escalator
[...]Bob was to be the featured speaker at Monday's Tea Party in Morristown, but lo and behind, he never showed.
And there was no explanation for his absence...
[...]Judging from the commotion prior to the speech, you may have thought that President Obama would have instructed students to leave school and form their own Communist cells.
Guess what; that didn't happen.
In truth, the only news about Obama's speech was the foolish uproar that accompanied it ... Heard a' [...]
And I was sad I did ... I mean the latest tea party would have been a sight to behold with the wakos of the right out in full force ...
I read that Obama was called a Marxist and that one speaker ridiculed the public option for health care by [...]
I admit it ... I always liked Bob Grant's program, although I disagreed with him most of the time ... And I'm old ... I actually remember as a kid listening to him in the 1970s on WMCA, 570 on the AM dial. Why did I listen? Well, the show' [...]
President Obama plans a routine speech to students on Tuesday about studying and working hard in school. It will be broadcast on C-SPAN and the White House Web site. None of this is controversial stuff.
But to those living in the shadows of the far right, this is dangerous ... [...]
Well, Rodney Frelinghuysen is not having a meeting on health care reform, but Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, had one this evening in Montclair.
There were about 800 people jammed into the college auditorium. Sadly, this was not a civil debate ... notwithstanding Pascrell's best efforts.
The crowd was about evenly divided, [...]
Jeff Tittel, the state director of the Sierra Club, says an endorsement by the club is "the green seal of approval showing that the candidates care about the environment."
If that's the case, no one running for the state Assembly this year from Morris County cares about the environment. The Sierra [...]
Chris Christie got some tough questions today during a campaign stop at the Cedar Crest retirement village in Pompton Plains ..
As Christie talked about reducing the size of government and making cutbacks, some questioners pressed him for details. The candidate talked about "zero-based budgeting" and said everything would be on [...]
Gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie got some unsolicited advice from one, Charlotte Owens, today during a visit to the Cedar Crest Village, a retirement home, in Pompton Plains.
After Christie spoke, Owens went up to him and said, "I hope you are wearing your seat belt, and don't go more than five'" [...]
You see that Morristown's Liquid Church is holding a 5K run to raise money for a clean water project in Africa. Hmm ... If they hadn't given away free gas and an assortment of other stuff, maybe they would already have the needed funds.
' [...]The four Republicans running for the township council in Denville this year plan an "All About Denville Beach Party'' fundraising event next week on Sept. 10 at the Rock Ridge Lake Club House, Denville at 6:30 pm.
The candidates are Tom Andes, Chris Golinski, Gene Fitzpatrick & Don Kuser.
" [...]There may be meetings all over the country on health care reform. but none are scheduled in Morris County.
But there will be a meeting on the topic tomorrow in Montclair that is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. D-Patetson. If you are interested, it will run from 4 [...]
The Morristown Planning Board denied permission to the Red Cross chapter on Elm Street to put a clothing bin on their property ...
[...]
