The Blue Jersey community was very excited to read this week that our very own, Jeff Gardner, has made his electoral intentions official and opened up a legislative campaign account. Ever since John Girgenti voted against marriage equality and set in motion a process that was kicked into high gear when Jeff's slate of County Committee candidates defeated Girgenti's last June, enabling Jeff to become Hawthorne's Municipal Chair, I have thought about how redistricting might impact Jeff's chances of running for and winning a State Assembly or State Senate seat in 2011.
There has been a lot of talk about John Girgenti's future with regards to redistricting, primarily because he was a loyalist of Governor/Senator Richard Codey's when the Steve Adubato/George Norcross axis of corruption staged their takeover of the Democratic leadership in Trenton. As a result, neither Jeff nor Girgenti have any advocates for keeping their otherwise Republican-leaning town of Hawthorne in the very Democratic (thanks to Paterson) 35th LD on the legislative redistricting commission. I could be wrong, but I think that if there is anything that Jeff and Girgenti agree on, is that it is in their best electoral interest for Hawthorne to stay in LD35.
But without any advocates on the LRC, the only thing that might help them keep Hawthorne in LD35 is a compelling argument that serves the agendas of some of the commission's members. There are two members of the LRC in particular whose agendas have become quite clear over the last year.
Two very interesting articles about redistricting were posted on PolitickerNJ.com today that could provide anyone interested in the redistricting process with some insight into the developing drama as Republicans appear united in their efforts to reclaim majorities in the State Assembly and State Senate that have been out of their grasp for the last decade against Democratic adversaries who seem to be anything but that.
After a year that has seen the Democrats in Trenton capitulate to our state's Republican Governor on issue after issue, thanks primarily to overly cozy relations between the Governor and acolytes of Steve Adubato and George Norcross, the two most powerful Democratic Party bosses in the state, the unholy alliance between Adubato and Norcross seems to be fraying at the most dangerous possible time for all Democrats, when division could result in a legislative district map that could guarantee Republican dominance in the state for most if not all of the next decade the way that the last map, conceived by then-Senate Minority Leader, Richard Codey, who would go on to become Senate President and Acting Governor before being unceremoniously ousted from his leadership position in a coup, led by his fiercest adversaries, Adubato and Norcross and their acolytes, enabled the Democrats in Trenton to enjoy the majorities that they have held and squandered for the last decade.
Wishing the Sheriff all the best in his new endeavor. (But, I can think of more than a few people who'd be thrilled if he took this advice.) - JG
Full Disclosure: I am an elected County Committeeman from the 3rd Voting District in Wanaque for the Passaic County Democratic Organization, Inc. - Matt
Passaic County Democrats were hit with a political bombshell yesterday. Political superstar and popular Sheriff Jerry Speziale abruptly resigned and took a position with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. A deal nearly nine months in the working, the appointment was orchestrated by State Senator Kevin O'Toole and Assemblyman Scott Rumana, leaving county Democrats reeling after the stunning revelation. Chairman John Currie was not given the respect of a phone call to fill him in on the situation.
While sympathizing with Speziale's family situation, and respecting his right to make this move, local and countywide Democrats are disappointed with the abruptness in which Sheriff Speziale left the campaign trail. After a disappointing 2009 election cycle where three Freeholders seats and the County Clerk's race were all lost, Democrats in Passaic County are in a make-or-break situation. A loss of one seat in November means losing majority control of the Freeholder Board in a county where there are 28,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.
The rank-and-file Democrats in Passaic County are not happy. With Labor Day rapidly approaching, Sheriff Speziale's resignation has both empowered a Republican Governor to appoint a replacement and left Democrats with no candidate for the office. Speziale has stated he will donate his $1 million dollar war chest to "charities." Some might view that as a noble gesture, but the reality is that it would be extremely unfair to the local Democrats around the county who were counting on him during the Fall. Much of that money came from donors who want to keep the County and the Sheriff's office under Democratic control.
Speziale should give the maximum allowed under law - $7,200 - to every local organization in the county. He should write a $37,000 check to the Passaic County Democratic Organization and max out to both Freeholder candidates and the eventual Democratic nominee for Sheriff. That still leaves money left over for charity. Karma is a funny thing in politics, and I respect the Sheriff for wanting to work in a job free from running for reelection or the pressures that come from political office, but he needs to realize the ramifications and perception of his actions.
Sheriff Speziale worked behind the scenes - for nine months - with high ranking Republican officials and a Republican Governor, all the while acting like a candidate, giving his fellow Democrats no indication of his intentions. Now his supporters - those who volunteered their time and efforts thanklessly on his behalf - are left to scramble for a replacement who will have less than three weeks to get a campaign infrastructure in place and raise money to compete with the Republican nominee, who has been campaigning since the start of the year. I'll echo Chairman Currie's words, if the reasons for taking the job were related to a man's family, you have to respect that. But the least Jerry Speziale can do is make one final political act to help the people who worked to get him elected in 2004 and 2007.
Last week, the Supreme Court handed down an important decision in the North Carolina redistricting case Bartlett v. Strickland. The decision prompted Essex County Senator Kevin O'Toole to threaten a new challenge to the legislative map. Earlier this week, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll joined the Republican cacophony railing against the legislative map.
Carroll and other Republicans are misinterpreting the Court's decision in Bartlett v. Strickland. The decision narrows the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits electoral practices that prevent minority groups from electing reprentatives of their choice. An earlier Supreme Court decision, Thornburg v. Gingles, held that only a minority population that is "sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a single-member district" can claim that a redistricting plan dilutes its votes and therefore violates section 2. The decision in Bartlett v. Strickland clarifies this requirement, so that a specific minority group (normally blacks or Hispanics) must constitute 50% of the voting-age population in a proposed district to assert a claim of vote dilution under Section 2. Thus African-Americans in the proposed single-member "coalition" district based around Plainfield could not make a claim of vote dilution, but Hispanics in the proposed Newark district could. (note: populations for "proposed single-member districts" are half the population of an average legislative district, because each legislative district elects two representatives to the Assembly.)
Hispanic voters in Newark may make a claim of vote dilution...
New Jersey delegates the responsibility of decennial redistricting to two bipartisan commissions, one for the Congressional map and the other for the Legislative map. If a Congressional map is thrown out, the state constitution provides for the commission to be re-organized to draw a new map before the next election:
If a plan certified by the commission is declared unlawful, the commission shall reorganize and adopt another Congressional district plan in the same manner as herein required and within the period of time prescribed by the court or within such shorter period as may be necessary to ensure that the new plan is effective for the next succeeding primary and general election for all members of the United States House of Representatives.
There is no such provision for the Apportionment Commission that draws legislative districts. The constitution only contains a prohibition on scrapping the commission's map mid-decade:
Such establishment and apportionment shall be used thereafter for the election of members of the Legislature and shall remain unaltered until the following decennial census of the United States for New Jersey shall have been received by the Governor.
Of course, as federal statute takes precedence over state constitution, this provision does not protect the map against a challenge under the VRA. Since the constitution provides no remedy for an judicially-overturned legislative map, the principle of judicial restraint dictates that it should be within the power of the legislature, rather than the courts, to craft one.
A legislatively-drawn map would give Democrats a rare chance to draw a flagrantly partisan plan designed to eliminate as many Republicans as possible from the legislature. Republicans in Democratic-leaning and swing areas, including Kevin O'Toole, Gerald Cardinale and Tom Kean Jr, would be fair game. O'Toole is especially vulnerable; most of his constituents live in Passaic and Bergen Counties, while his home town abuts Montclair, home of 34th district Senator Nia Gill. So, Senator O'Toole, if you wants a fight over the current map, then bring it on, but don't complain when Nia Gill sends your insincere self back to Cedar Grove.
Promoted by Jason Springer: Feel free to tell us about your Legislative District.
New Jersey, the state that constantly has an election looming, will be voting in 2009 for all 80 members of the General Assembly and the Governor's office. These races, along with municipal and county elections are all important in building party infrastructure and developing candidates for higher office. Recruiting viable Assembly candidates, especially in districts that do not lean Democratic is difficult.
My hometown of Wanaque is part of the 40th Legislative District, represented by Senator Kevin O'Toole and Assemblymen Scott Rumana and Dave Russo. O'Toole is a moderate Republican from Cedar Grove ,who, fortunately is not on the ballot in 2009, because his presence at the top of the ticket would surely provide a bounce for the down ticket Assembly and local candidates.
The 40th consists of parts of Essex, Bergen, and Passaic Counties and has a Republican tilt. This is not a district a Democrat issupposed to win, but is definitely somewhere a Democrat can win if he/she has the right formula of name identification and fund raising ability.
Kevin O'Toole, 8/29/08, on McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as VP:
DENVER - Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz) selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin roused the fighting mood of state Sen. Kevin O'Toole, one of a handful of elected officials who has stood with McCain from the beginning of his presidential run.
"It's a curve ball, which Democrats were not expecting, and it opens up a whole new constituency,"said O'Toole. "It is a stroke of brilliance."
Today, 10/10/08, New York Times reports on the just-released Troopergate report:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.
Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.
The inquiry looked into her dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.
The panel found that Palin let the family grudge influence her decision-making even if it was not the sole reason Monegan was dismissed. ''I feel vindicated,'' Monegan said. ''It sounds like they've validated my belief and opinions. And that tells me I'm not totally out in left field.''
Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.
Brilliant! I'm guessing Kevin O'Toole wishes he could have this one back.
Charles Stile at the Bergen Record is reporting that Republican State Senator Kevin O'Toole is charging Senate Democrats with racism for saying he scowls too much. I couldn't make up something this dumb, so I'll let Mr. Stiles fill you in:
O'Toole said the press-release primer -- actually a satirical jab over O'Toole's role in a state budget tussle -- contained a "veiled racial slur" at his Korean heritage. O'Toole, whose mother is Korean, took offense to its recommendation to "smile more. A lot of the time, you seem angry."
"You're obviously an intelligent, up-and-coming senator with lots of great ideas who has rightfully shed the common, lower-house affliction of senatorial courtesy envy. But you seem to be scowling all the time. Life is short -- enjoy the trip."
O'Toole, whose 40th Legislative District includes parts of Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties, said it stoked old stereotypes of Asians as "inscrutable," humorless and grim. Several staff members had a similar reaction, he said.
Oddly enough, Mr. O'Toole never made any public statement back when State Senator Sonny McCoullough was telling openly racist jokes about Asians and Blacks. I guess humorous press releases by Democrats are racist but racist jokes by Republican office-holders are just funny.
The thing is that there is no bright line people will not cross to take offense when they want to do so. I was even told that using a stick figure to represent Barack Obama might make people think of lynching Black people because, you know, people use stick figures in the game "Hangman". I thought that was pretty stupid and about as far as someone could stretch to play the race card. Congratulations, Mr. O'Toole, you beat even that Herculean effort. Gee, I hope the reference to mythology isn't construed as racism against the Greeks.
/snark
Update I would like to point out that for a comment to be "racist" it must contain some racial reference. "Scowling" is not a racial reference. Many people who are not Asian scowl. Furthermore the statement by O'Toole that it plays on some stereotype of an "angry" and "inscrutable" Asian person is, in itself, a vast contradiction. One cannot be both obviously angry and inscrutable. In fact, if one is inscrutable, then no one would ever know that they are angry. It has nothing to do with how one feels - the press release was obviously disrespectful and made fun of O'Toole, but it was not racist.
(Trenton) -- I wanted to share some of the flavor from today's Inaugural festivities.Kinda like the Assembly itself, our latest Vlog is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.Enjoy!
I had a major video crash today and lost some great footage. Apologies to Grace Spencer and Wayne DeAngelo who were so kind to say hello.
(Note to self: when it comes to video you're NOBODY unless you've had your first painful crash.)
Diversity has come slowly and painstakingly to the New Jersey state legislature, no doubt, a legislative body that often serves as a pipeline to NJ's congressional delegation. Some with little conscience for social justice might say "we" are post-race or post-gender and thus shouldn't even bother with a diary about this kind of thing, but we progressives know better, especially in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision that, for all practical purposes, overturns the 1954 Brown decision.
In the state senate, the new gender breakdown among the minority membership of the upper chamber will be radically altered, and not just the minimum 4-3 split. It could likely be an even more significant 5-2. It would be yet another sign of the turnover this election cycle, and points to one more way the dynamic in the Statehouse will be different come January '08.
Recently, the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) developed and funded campaign literature that stated that Deputy Minority Leader/State Assemblyman Kevin O?Toole (R-40) was ?the Republican Al Sharpton.? The paid mailer claimed that when it came to redistricting, O?Toole?s seat was protected because of his ?Asian/Korean? descent. The mailer included a grainy, black and white side by side photo of Assemblyman O?Toole and Reverend Al Sharpton. The photo of Mr. O?Toole is one that showed him a bit unshaven, so that his facial hair was comparable to Mr. Sharpton?s.
The seven legislators named in the ethics complaints today are: Senator Joseph Kyrillos, Senator Peter Inverso, Senator Robert Singer, Assemblyman Chris Connors, Assemblyman David Wolfe, Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole and Assemblyman Richard Merkt.
We have a 15 page pdf including all the complaints (or in text format below the fold). I haven't had time to browse through it carefully yet, but each complaint details specific budget items purported to be conflicts of interest.
Cheers from your northern neighbor. With campaigns sparse this coming year, I might be looking to cross the border and help out with some Northern New Jersey state races. In particular, I'm curious to see if there will be any viable challenges to the Republicans in Districts 25, 26, 39, and 40 (the four closes to my home in Orange County). Have there been any announced challengers yet? If so (even if not), who of the incumbents are most vulnerable?
Hot off the press, we get a release from the Assembly Republicans (careful with your mouse, the ink is still wet). The release claims that the bonified valiant Republicans have saved the day with $2.2 billion in cuts, so that we need not raise the penny sales tax!
To think that just yesterday Senator Bob Littell was sounding like Doomsday was upon us! The tosser could have just picked up the phone and given a ringy-dingy to his buddies DeCroce et al. in the Assembly!
Anyway, tucked into the cute release is this:
Republican Budget Officer Malone and fellow budget committee member O'Toole said that this cut list has been the product of a deliberative, bipartisan five-month long budget process.
"Our budget committee met for five months and both Democrats and Republicans have meticulously studied the Corzine spending proposal," said Malone, R-Burlington, Ocean, Monmouth and Mercer. "As a result of that process we have been able to identify areas where we can achieve legitimate savings in this budget."
"Republicans and Democrats on the budget committee have utilized the budget process to uncover waste and to determine what programs we can cut," said Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole, R-Essex, Passaic, and Bergen. "These cuts reflect the hard work of the budget committee toward making responsible, thoughtful spending reductions."
WOW! So, here is the $20,000 question.
If indeed these cuts are of a "bi-partisan" nature, why aren't Democrat signatures on this press release?
Bonus snark: If I were a certain Senator, I would ask for "the details" of these cuts. Cuz contrary to the promise at the end of this release :
A detailed list of the proposed spending cuts by department is attached to this press release. The list will also be made available today on njassemblyrepublicans.com.
It ain't there yet. The short list they provide in the release adds up to $513 million in cuts. Which leaves us with nearly $1.7 billion in detail-less cuts.
UPDATE: And neither is this press release. It's there now.
