| This is all from my notes, as accurate as my scribbling can make it. Here's audio.
Sizing it up ...
Charlie Stile: The election wasn't so much a referendum on Christie, more on the GOP's failure to seize on the opportunities (for wins) it did have.
Tom Wilson, on the question of whether new stars emerged last night, Wilson named only one: Dick Codey, who has struggled inside his own party, sometimes being shot down by "friendly fire" who nevertheless "shrewdly and deftly" went into Morris County (in his reconfigured district) and did very well" "The old fox is still alive. And circling the hen house."
Stile: Some legislators went from simply being incumbents to having that extra layer of calcium on them. Whelan. Gordon. Van Drew. Now, they're going to be harder to beat.
Joan Quigley said this election disempowered public worker unions: "Democrats were threatened (by the unions), 'We'll stay home!'. But frankly I don't know if they did or didn't. Democrats aren't going to be scared of them anymore. And you won't see the same kind of spunk you saw this year in some legislators. The people who will end up in leadership are not street fighters."
Did Christie get a 'black eye' in yesterday's election?
Stile: He did put himself into races. And with all those opportunities Republicans have, he does have a little bit of a black eye.
Delli Santi: He feels it, too. He had a press conference today in Sussex County. That's the farthest he could possibly get from Trenton. If things had gone better for him, that would have been in front of the State House.
As to what happens next ...
Quigley: It's your team against my team now.
Wilson: And sometimes you won't know which is which.
On NJTV's election coverage ...
Quigley: Well, it was better than their daily news broadcast ... but that wouldn't be difficult. There was a lot of in-studio stuff, and there was a lot of people saying the same things over and over. Not much talking to candidates. And there are a lot of people who could do it better - amateur reporters, journalism students, cable TV reporters who would do it for the pleasure of doing it.
Wilson: I watched it for about 15 minutes. That ought to tell you what I thought.
Delli Santi: In the newsroom, we just turned down the sound.
On leadership ...
Quigley: There will be a changeover from Cryan to Greenwald and Wisniewski. These are the types of guys you see in a suit and tie. Cryan by contrast became more and more angry, and (not everybody) could tolerate that.
Stile: There's tension over the (Senate) Majority Leader position. There's going to be some power sharing. And it sets up a paradox. It's murky. (Barbara Buono) has staked this position as the liberal firebrand counterweight to Christie collaborationists. She's made pretty clear she's angling for governor. This weakens her ability to run, people say. But I don't see that position. I've seen legislators think they have immense power, but most people don't really know who they are. You could almost argue she's in a better position now because she doesn't have that (baggage) of having to be that. She does, however lose fundraising ability, if she doesn't have Majority Leader.
Quigley: I think a power-sharing arrangement between Barbara and Loretta would make the Real Housewives of ... Anywhere look peaceful.
On the Princeton vote to merge ...
Sue Nemeth (re-elected last night, and a strong proponent of consolidation, explaining how it will work): There will be a 1-year transition, most of the details are already planned out. All 12 members, of both governing bodies, will stand for election again this year. And we'll go from 12 down to 7. It will be an interesting primary. Stuff that isn't worked out? Well, we'll have two kinds of police uniforms that don't match. But that can wait.
Should students care about this election?
Wilson: We talk to people we think are listening. We also tend to govern for the ones who are listening. The way we can tell that you're listening is whether you vote. Contrast seniors to students. They vote and their needs are taken seriously. You can continue to hang out and Occupy whatever you want. You have a huge voting block and you choose not to use it.
On what happens in 2013:
Wilson: Where the Democrats are now, is like what happens when people look at the current Republican presidential field and says, ... whaa?? That's where the Dems are now, there's no obvious front-runner at Christie's level. |
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