The one-upsmanship of endorsement press releases continues, a list of Latino leaders supporting Steve Rothman we posted in the diary below this, and now Labor and infrasructural Democratic endorsements for Bill Pascrell.
At a certain point, you have to wonder whether these endorsement lists are canceling each other out, or even confusing rank & file voters. But to be honest, some of the sturm und drang between proponents of these two Democratic congressmen thrown together by redistricting is playing out at Blue Jersey. So, I trust the Blue Jersey readers will tell us whether this is helpful in their decision or just so much noise.
Endorsing Bill Pascrell:
Michael J. "Jerry" Breslin, Jr., the former Chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization & former Treasurer of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee: I have known Bill Pascrell very well for a number of years. He has always been a great team player. If the roles were reversed, I know that he would not back down from taking on a right wing Republican like Scott Garrett. I am proud to endorse the re-election of Congressman Pascrell.
Mark Roche, president of the Passaic County Building Trades: We're just beginning to see signs that things are getting better in our economy. That makes it critical for union members and Democrats to stand together. Bill Pascrell has always understood that. He's a good Democrat that's fighting for us.
John T. Niccollai, president of United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 464A: Congressman Pascrell is a fighter for labor. He has always stuck by us and we're ready to stick by him. The best bet for our members is to unite behind Congressman Pascrell because he has always fought for fairness in the workplace and the interests of the middle class. Any time we have ever called him with any kind of a problem he has been there for us immediately.
Below the fold, a list of labor organizations supporting Pascrell, some or all of which were previously released.
In the one-upsmanship of key player endorsements in the tense primary contest between Bill Pascrell and Steve Rothman, a new round of supporters came today from Rothman, followed by a new list from the Pascrell camp. We'll post the newest Pascrell list later this afternoon.
A few days ago the decision by key Latino leaders in Paterson to stay neutral in the Pascrell v. Rothman primary was seen as a setback for Pascrell. Paterson, where Pascrell was born, won his first election (Student Council President) and served as mayor, now has a large, active Latino population. It's been the district's home base. Leaders like City Council members Julio Tavarez and Rigo Rodriguez, Board of Education VP Alex Mendez and Commissioners Wendy Guzman and Pedro Rodriguez cited both incumbent Dems support of the DREAM Act and Comprehensive Immigration Reform, healthcare for all, and protecting New Jersey from terrorism, policies common to both men and appreciated by those Paterson leaders.
Steve Rothman today responded to this with a fairly well-timed list of endorsements to add to his list, not from Passaic where some key Latinos electeds are still neutral, but from Bergen and Hudson counties.
In the increasingly tense post-redistricting primary contest between Rep. Bill Pascrell and Rep. Steve Rothman, Pascrell has rolled out another series of endorsements, this time of first responder and public safety organizations:
• N.J. State Policemen's Benevolent Association, Anthony Wieners, President
• Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey, Dominick
Marino, President
• N.J. Firefighters' Mutual Benevolent Association, William J.
Lavin, President
• N.J. State Fraternal Order of Police, Edward R. Brannigan, President
• Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, Paul Nunziato, President
• International Association of Firefighters, Harold Schaitberger, President
• Paterson Local Firefighters' Mutual Benevolent Association,
Carlos Pagan, President
• Clifton Local Firefighters' Mutual Benevolent Association,
Robert DeLuca, President
We don't generally post press releases in the form they come to us. But the balance of this release was pull-out quotes from the leadership of the organizations. I thought some of you might want to read those quotes. Below the fold, the quotes.
Among the scores of Democratic politicians in today's crowded Marriage Equality press conference was one federal official, Congressman Rush Holt. Holt represented the entire New Jersey congressional delegation - all seven congressmen and both senators - in expressing their support for the Marriage Equality bill, S1. Holt's brief remarks are below; the text of the letter is after the fold.
How to strike the right note in this diary. Now, that's a challenge. As someone who has been an outspoken fan of primaries, I certainly can't and won't join the chorus of Democratic leaders horrified by Steve Rothman's decision to run against Bill Pascrell in a primary solely because a primary is expensive or can be divisive. Sometimes, primaries are important ideological fights and can be valuable party-building opportunities.
Unfortunately, the situation in NJ-9 is clearly neither: Steve Rothman, unhappy with the outcome of Congressional Redistricting, is moving from his home in Fair Lawn 10 miles east to somewhere in Englewood for the sole purpose of challenging his fellow Democrat, Bill Pascrell, because he calculates that's the best way to stay in Congress.
Instead of using his sizeable war chest - and up to $2 million additional dollars of funding from the DCCC - to challenge Scott Garrett, we now get to watch him spend that money against his friend, a democratic colleague with whom he has no ideological or political dispute. At a minimum, I considered this a disappointing decision, which I assumed was reached after much soul-searching.
So, I was shocked to learn that Rothman never seriously weighed running against Republican Scott Garrett. While nearly every democrat in New Jersey rejoiced at what appeared to be the potential finally to take out our most conservative tea-party Congressman, Steve Rothman never even seriously considered that opportunity.
That's a huge loss for the Democratic Party. Rothman is running away from a winnable fight with Scott Garrett, and running against one of the most effective - and most progressive - members of Congress. If the City of Paterson had been moved into Scott Garrett's district, we all know Bill Pascrell would be all in trying to take Garrett out. And that contrast is something I think Democrats can and should fairly take into consideration when evaluating who they are supporting this June.
It's no secret where I stand. I was on a long list of Bergen, Hudson and Passaic County officials endorsing Bill Pascrell. I'm standing with Pascrell for a lot of reasons - his strong record fighting for the middle class, his tireless work to obtain national park status for the Great Falls and his commitment to job creation. But I'm also disappointed. Disappointed Rothman would rather start this fight than take on a Tea Party Republican we've been trying to oust for years.
As the Record's Al Doblin noted, if Rothman were to run against Garrett, "Even if [he] lost, he would win" - a hero among democrats for taking on the fight. Instead, Rothman's putting himself in a position where the exact opposite might happen.
I'm still hoping he reconsiders. Or at least gives it serious consideration.
If you're one of those political junkie types who can't get enough of the redistricting debate, you simply must tune into this weekend's edition of Power&Politics on News12. The show airs Saturdays AND Sundays at 10am and 3pm.
Several segments discuss the state's new Congressional boundaries, and I get a chance to weigh in as well, debating my (mostly) friendly rival, Chris Russell from South Jersey. Monmouth U. Poll-meister Patrick Murray, Montclair State political scientist Brigid Harrison, GOP lobbyist Tom Wilson and PolitickerNJ's Alan Steinberg guest star as well.
UPDATE: After this was posted I heard from Philip Swibinski of Team Rothman saying his candidate's endorse list has grown since we published it , and that Team Pascrell's claim of Bergen Freeholder David L. Ganz' endorsement is not correct.
Congressman Bill Pascrell today released a list of Democrats endorsing him in the primary in the reconfigured 9th congressional district, which will pit two incumbent Democrats, Pascrell and Steve Rothman, against each other.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Endorsement List is after the fold.
It's a long list, longer than Steve Rothman's endorsement list, which was released almost immediately after he announced formally that he's challenging Pascrell.
Jim Florio is on this list. And if current members of the NJ congressional delegation are staying officially neutral, former congressman Herb Klein is not. Klein's home base, like Pascrell's, is Passaic. He was elected to Congress from the 8th congressional district in 1992, and spent 4 years (1977-81) as Executive Director of the Passaic County Democratic Committee.
Pascrell's list - which includes Passaic Chair (and strong Pascrell advocate) John Currie and his vice-chair Barbara Tanis, 7 legislators (including Sheila Oliver), Passaic Sheriff Richard Berdnik, 9 Freeholders (from Passaic, Bergen & Hudson), and 3 mayors (including Haledon's Dominick Stampone, who posts here). Municipal leaders for Pascrell - there are 7 - include Hawthorne's Jeff Gardner. The man he replaced as Hawthorne's Democratic municipal chair, outgoing Senator John Girgenti, is one of the legislators listed
Pascrell's list also dips into Council members, which Rothman's did not - 28 are listed. Another category not represented on the list Rothman released Dec. 28 is Board of Education members; Pascrell lists 11 Dems among them supporting him.
A group of Latino elected leaders from Paterson declined to endorse either Democrat, citing the "respect and admiration" held for both men. That would have to be a disappointment to Pascrell; the city has a large Latino population. Paterson is the 9th's base; Pascrell was born there, once served on the city's Board of Education and the Board of Trustees of Passaic County Community College (main campus is in Paterson). He was mayor of Paterson for 7 years.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Endorsement List is after the fold.
A lot has been said, both here at Blue Jersey and in the traditional media, about the recent Congressional redistricting - and more specifically with an eye on the new Fifth and Ninth Districts. Here in the Fifth, where I (still) live, the District is better in terms of the ability to beat radical right winger Scott Garrett, but the District is still a fairly Republican district. Where things are very interesting in terms of just how serious the New Jersey Democratic Party is, not to mention the national Democratic Party, lies right here in Bergen County.
When Rep. Steve Rothman decided to run against Rep. Bill Pascrell in the Ninth as opposed to running against Garrett, my thought on the bigger picture is that there will be a lot of money spent on a Democratic Primary (assuming there is one) that could have been much better spent knocking down one of the worst Representatives in the truest sense of the word "representative" in that Garrett does not represent the best interest of most of his constituents.
PolitickerNJ is reporting that according to "two sources with knowledge of the offer" say that DCCC offered a cool $1 million to Steve Rothman if he stayed in the 5th to challenge Scott Garrett. And that the offer would slide up to $2 mil if polling showed the matchup competitive.
The sources are unnamed.
What would be the motivation for somebody to tell politicker this?
DCCC? No. Rothman has already declared his intentions in the 9th, no reason to screw a 15-year House member. Even if the story's true, it doesn't serve DCCC to embarrass a congressional Dem.
Rothman's team? Obviously, no. Only hurts the boss.
There's a lot of anger directed at Rothman now from some corners. You can read it all over our pages, but not from me. Disappointment, even for some a sense of betrayal, that Rothman would "take the easy route" and compete with another Democrat in the district Pascrell now lives in, but with constituents the bulk of which Rothman represents. Resentment that Rothman declined to challenge a Tea Party love-object in a district with a clear GOP advantage.
I have no idea if the item is true or not. But I can't help thinking who gains in a story without evidence or confirmation from the players that makes Rothman look bad, or look like somebody DCCC might write off. Am I too cynical?
Last Friday, when he chose the Republican map, Redistricting Commission tiebreaker John Farmer suggested that the new map "honors more completely New Jersey's diversity." To say this about a map which targets the only Jewish member of the delegation for elimination (though Congressman Rothman obviously isn't cooperating with Dean Farmer's plan) and provides no new meaningful opportunities for minorities elsewhere takes, well, chutzpah. Follow me below the fold as I explain why this map denigrates, rather than honors, New Jersey's diversity.
Yesterday, Rep. Steve Rothman made it official, that congressional redistricting will lead him to challenge not Tea Party darling Scott Garrett into whose district his home has been drawn, but Bill Pascrell, a fellow Dem elected to Congress the same year he was 15 years ago.
You can imagine the rending of garments at DCCC. And the state party. But given the imperative towards re-election hard-wired in House members, whose 2-year election cycle keeps them in perpetual re-elect, and the fact that much of the new district Pascrell now lives in is Rothman stomping ground, Rothman's move has some logic. He was mayor of Englewood 2 terms, and that's where he'll relocate back into district. He already reps nearly 55% of the people (61% of registered Dems) in the new 9th, he says. (hat/tip Daily Kos Elections for this chart, which shows Rothman 53.95%, Pascrell 42.90%).
Rothman v. Pascrell was immediate national news, a race between colleagues on the same side of most issues, sharing a party, supporting the same president in a presidential year. How awful will this race be? How personal their complaints against one another? How much will it divide the rest of us?
Mabe we have some clues in Rothman's first endorse list of 61 people; legislators, the Hudson & Bergen Dem Chairs, mayors, and municipal chairs, a Bergen-heavy list. Prominent are incoming Senate Majority Leader (and Blue Jerseyan) Loretta Weinberg, longtime Rothman ally, and both Assemblywoman Connie Wagner and Assemblyman-elect Tim Eustace, the two names with the most buzz as potential challengers to Scott Garrett in the contest Rothman passed on.
Pascrell, for his part has solid support from Passaic Chair John Currie, and gave no evidence of worry. Pascrell described himself as:
"a fighter who is ready for whatever may come. I will be as relentless in the election as I have been for my constituents. I do not know the meaning of the word quit.
Rothman's full endorsement list, after the jump. If Pascrell is developing a similar list, Blue Jersey would very much like to see it.
This past week, we've seen a lot about the impact of congressional redistricting and the positioning of candidates in North Jersey for the upcoming election. Congressman Steve Rothman has declared that he will move and challenge his colleague Bill Pascrell in a primary rather than face incumbent Republican extremist Scott Garrett. Whether or not Rothman's decision is a good one, it hurts me to see two Democrats spending a million dollars to knock each other off when the money could be better spent in an all-out effort to oust Garrett, one of the worst members of Congress.
It also bothers me that the Fourth Estate has virtually ignored the important race in the Third District. Another member of the "worst congressman's club" is former NFL bad boy and current congressman Jon Runyan. Runyan's voting record is as bad as Garrett's, and over time if Runyan builds up seniority in the House, his impact will be just as deleterious.
U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-9th Dist.) is telling Democrats he plans to challenge Bill Pascrell (D-8th Dist.) in the June primary, according to two Democratic sources with knowledge of the congressman's thinking.
A few anonymous sources are quoted for the article. An announcement from Rothman is apparently due this week.
Needless to say, I am sorry to have found this out, and I hope a strong Democrat will come forward to take on Garrett. It's obviously going to be someone without a $1.5 million war chest, but we need to support them all the same.
Jay Lassiter's Blue Jersey diary, Paging Bill Pascrell, posted at 09:43:28am today, is already out-of-date.
And that's good news.
Garden State Equality just announced a few minutes ago, that the Respect for Marriage Act, intended to repeal DOMA, is now a clean sweep of support by NJ Democratic members of Congress:
BREAKING NEWS: Every Democrat in the New Jersey Congressional delegation is now a sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act to repeal DOMA. That includes Senator Lautenberg and Senator Menendez, and Congressmen Andrews, Holt, Pallone, Payne, Rothman and Sires - and Congressman Pascrell just told us that he, too, will sponsor. (To facebook supporters, it urges): Click LIKE to thank our unanimous Democratic Congressional delegation.
I don't know if Jay's diary helped edge Rep. Pascrell into our column on this, or if his decision was already made. Doesn't matter. His support on this issue is very welcome.
Just yesterday, Jeff Gardner wrote about Senator Bob Menendez joining the marriage equality efforts, long in coming, and gratifying.
For disclosure's sake, as I've said here before, I'm a member of GSE's board. I'd be writing about this anyway. It's exciting stuff.
Surely by now you've heard that Senator Bob Menendez has signed on to co-sponsor the (LGBT-friendly) Respect for Marriage Act.
Good deal.
Now I don't have an official whip count, but based on lists I've seen, Congressman Bill Pascrell is the only Democrat in the New Jersey delegation to not sign on to this bill. Last I checked, fighting anti-gay discrimination is a part of the Democratic party platform, so surely the Congressman will be on board soon.
So WTF, Pascrell? Don't you want to come to my gay wedding?
UPDATE: We know a little more now about how this video was compiled. Senator Lautenberg with his staff took the initiative, in recognition of National Bullying Prevention Month, which is October. To accommodate busy schedules, blocks of time over two weeks were reserved at the Capitol Visitor Center Recording Studio, with invitations to members of NJ's congressional delegation to record. There are a few faces missing - it would be even better with Reps. Andrews, Garrett, Frelinghuysen, Pallone and Smith. And we must point out that Lance & LoBiondo voted NO on DADT repeal, as Runyan might have but he wasn't sworn in yet. But the effort, and especially Senator Lautenberg's initiative, are much appreciated.
BTW - I'm told this is the first-ever It Gets Better video that includes elected Republicans.
The New Jersey suicide of Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi and other other young gay people prompted the It Gets Better Project, a labor of love from columnist Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller. The project took off like wildfire; over the last year celebrities, sports teams, and ordinary people have turned their webcams on themselves to give encouragement to teens and kids of a welcoming future for themselves. And those videos, some of them simple and low-tech, made by ordinary people, are bouncing all over the internet.
Last month, an upstate New York 14-year-old named Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself outside his house. A smart kid, with supportive parents, and friends who cared about him. A kid whose NY state senator had led other Republicans to reverse course and help pass marriage equality in New York State, in part after Jamey's hero Lady Gaga had asked her Buffalo audience to ask him to. Jamey's last message was a thank you to Lady Gaga for her message of self-worth to gay kids. And Jamey had himself just months earlier made an 'It Gets Better' video to give confidence to other kids. Jamey himself died last month, after a particularly rough bout of online bullying.
Proof if ever there was any that there's work still to be done. This is the 'It Gets Better' video that's going to the press later today, with our thanks to Senator Frank Lautenberg's office for the advance heads-up:
Bob Menendez: Banking (chairs the Housing, Transportation, and Community Development subcommittee); Energy and Natural Resources; Finance; Foreign Relations (chairs the International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection subcommittee)
Frank Lautenberg: Appropriations (chairs the Homeland Security subcommittee); Commerce, Science and Transportation (chairs the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security subcommittee); and Environment and Public Works (chairs the Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health, Chair subcommittee)
Former prosecutor and current New Jersey governor Chris Christie is no stranger to tampering with the independence of the judicial system to fulfil his political agenda. His refusal to re-nominate State Supreme Court Judge John Wallace is the most notable example.
Now, there could be something fishy about his announcement of his intention to appoint 9/11 defense counsel Sohail Mohammed as a Superior Court judge in Passaic County.
As an attorney, Mohammed has defended Muslims who were detained in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. If that’s where the story ends, then it would be a no-brainer. All Americans, no matter how heinous the crime of which they are accused, have a constitutional right to a defense lawyer. And in the aftermath of the tragic events almost a decade ago, Mohammed was actively promoting dialog between the Muslim community and Jewish organizations.
But it’s more complicated than that.
One of Mohammed’s more notorious clients was Mohammed Qatanani, who was the imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County during the reign of Chris Christie as U.S. Attorney. In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security initiated deportation proceedings against the imam, alleging that Qatanani was connected with Hamas. Sohail Mohammed was his defense attorney.
Here’s where it gets really complicated.
Professional terrorism watcher and author Steve Emerson has written extensively in support of deporting the imam. He points out Qatanani’s connections not only with Hamas but also with other terrorist organizations in the Middle East. Is Emerson one of those “sky-is-falling” terrorist-under-every-bed-sheet alarmists, or does he have some credibility? There are endorsements (on Emerson’s web site) from reliable people like Richard Clarke and A.M. Rosenthal, so that needs to be factored into the equation. (Not surprisingly, Emerson is also praised by Bill O’Reilly and Senator Jon Kyl - not exactly bellwethers of fair play.)
Further complicating the story...
The night before the immigration judge was to announce his decision regarding Sohail Mohammed’s client, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie praised the defendant, announcing at a Ramadan break-fast dinner, “My view is he’s always had a very good relationship with us, and he’s a man of great goodwill.”
But Christie was not alone. Then-governor Corzine and Democratic congressman Bill Pascrell joined Christie in intervening on behalf of Qatanani.
Some aspects of this story are not unexpected.
Not surprisingly, the conservative bloggers and right-wing Jewish writers are apoplectic about Christie’s nomination of Sohail Mohammed to the Superior Court. Yet both of these groups decry Mohammed’s association with Qatanani, and present very little credible evidence that Mohammed himself is associated with terrorist organizations. The anti-Mohammed writers accuse Governor Christie of pandering to the growing Islamic community in Passaic County.
So how will this play out?
No one has accused New Jersey politics of being dull. So the confirmation hearings for Sohail Mohammed should be interesting. Will the Islamophobes dominate? Will Mohammed’s outreach to the Jewish community be a factor in the hearings? Will Christie’s support of a Muslim judicial candidate doom his presidential ambitions? Will Mohammed’s appointment be derailed because he aided Americans in exercising their constitutional rights? Is Christie pandering to the Muslim community, or is the governor nominating a well-qualified attorney who deserves this appointment? Will the Tea Party demand to see Chris Christie’s birth certificate?
Fasten your seatbelts, this should be an interesting ride.
If LGBT rights matter to you, you might wanna check out this website to see how your Congressman stacks up in the fight for gay rights.
I am in NJ's 3rd Congressional district where freshman Congressman John Adler turns in an impressive score of 92%. Looks like Adler gets an A in this class.
