It appears Kim Guadagno will get two for the price of one from the Christie/Guadagno victory on election night:
It appears that Gov.-elect Christopher Christie will nominate his running mate, Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Guadagno, to serve as Secretary of State. The law creating the new post requires that the LG also hold another position (anything but Attorney General), but the statute is vague as to whether it must be a cabinet job. Guadagno's nomination as Secretary of State is not Senate confirmable.
We're in uncharted territory with the new LG position, so Christie and Guadagno will be able to define the role and fill in the details as they go along.
We're just around the corner from the start of the Lieutenant Governor Debate between Loretta Weinberg, Frank Esposito and Kim Guadagno at 8pm. This is the first time in 214 years that we will elect a Lieutenant Governor and the role of the position is still being defined. You can watch the debate streaming here:What do you expect to see tonight? If you're watching, feel free to blog along.
Lieutenant governor candidate Kim Guadagno said she was afraid to cross the street in Newark, which made no sense since she was standing next to Christie so she knew he wasn't driving in Newark. That must be why the papers have, even with prodding from Democrats, not really been covering what should be a huge gaffe.
Why is it important? Because Chris Christie is a morbidly obese man in his late 40s, and if he doesn't get his health under control there is a good chance he could be incapacitated while in office.
I cringe every time someone mocks Christie for his weight, but it is a fact just like John McCain's history of skin cancer was a fact. It should not be ignored that this health issue forced Christie to ride in a car for the South Plainfield Labor Day Parade while Jon Corzine was fit enough to jog back and forth shaking hands with the crowd.
The LG is a new office, and a potentially important one. The only true role it has it to serve as Governor if there is a vacancy. Christie should release health records showing the health of his heart and circulatory system, just as Corzine should release records about his recovery from the car accident.
The Corzine campaign has put out this web video introducing their Lieutenant Governor nominee Loretta Weinberg to the voters:Loretta Weinberg is no stranger to many here at Blue Jersey, but this video is an enjoyable introduction that summarizes who she is and what she has fought for.
But she relishes the prospect. "I have always been direct; I'm not afraid to speak my mind," Weinberg said, adding: "Everyone needs a Jewish grandmother. Even the State of New Jersey."
They note that should Corzine and Weinberg win, Weinberg would be the first lieutenant governor, the first Jewish lieutenant governor, the first grandmother lieutenant governor. They forgot to mention the first woman to hold the position as well.
During a round table discussion with Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie and a group of parents, Guadagno said that her 16-year old son will be looking at colleges this summer with his father and he would not be looking in New Jersey. Her comment reiterated a key Christie/Guadagno campaign argument on higher education, saying that Gov. Jon Corzine has made public higher education more expensive in New Jersey.
"I have a 16-year old going around to colleges this year and we are not visiting a single college in New Jersey," she said. "That should be shameful on the current administration."
So while she was on talking point during the roundtable, she veered off script undermining the prior message and reasoning at a press conference following the event:
During a press conference following the event, Guadagno, the Monmouth County sheriff and former federal prosecutor, offered specfic reasons for her son's decision to look at schools outside New Jersey, that did not implicate the Corzine Administration.
During the press conference, Guadagno said her son, who is currently enrolled in a Navy Junior ROTC program in Monmouth County has been looking at colleges with a Navy ROTC program. There are no colleges with such a program in New Jersey.
Let me be clear, I admire her son and her family for their service and desire to join the Navy ROTC. But the cost of colleges in NJ has nothing to do with whether they offer a program her son wants. Don't let the truth get in the way of a good campaign message has been the Christie motto. She picked that one up real fast and was doing great, until the real reasoning just slipped out.
Chris Daggett announced his running mate yesterday on the steps of the capital in Trenton. Steve Audubato appeared on NJN news last night to analyze the choices for Lieutenant Governor, now that all three candidates have made their selections. In short, he says Chris Daggett is a decent guy, but he and his choice are very close to irrelevant in this race. On Corzine's selection of Weinberg, he says she wasn't his first choice, but that she is a first class Senator that has fought the party bosses who will be a very energetic campaigner. He's changed his mind on Chris Chrisitie now thinking "he knew what he was doing" in the wake of last weeks news:What do you think of Audubato's analysis?
"I know it is quite tempting, after the events of this week, to write off government as totally corrupt, out of touch and not worthy of anyone's time or support. Believe me, I've had those same thoughts more than once myself," Weinberg said at a campaign rally at the Bergen Performing Arts Center.
"Every time I have a thought like that, I redouble my efforts to fight. And now is one of those times when good people in government must stand up and fight.
"I know who I'm fighting for, and whose side I'll fight by," Weinberg said. "To all who are disillusioned, now is not the time to throw in the towel. The stakes are too high. This governorship is a serious job in a serious time, and it deserves specific plans."
The Governor sent an email out to supporters ahead of the events today where he will unveil Senator Loretta Weinberg as his running mate and candidate to become the first Lieutenant Governor for the State. From his email:
I am proud to announce that I have selected State Senator Loretta Weinberg as my nominee to serve as New Jersey's first Lieutenant Governor.
After inviting people to attend the annoucnement, he continued to introduce Weinberg:
For those of you who may not know Senator Weinberg, I know that you will be impressed by her legislative experience, the significant and positive change she's brought to our state, and by her personal values and unquestionable integrity.
Often called the "conscience of the Legislature" because of her principled stands on issues large and small, Loretta Weinberg isn't afraid to take on the tough fights:
Loretta has been leading the charge on ethics reform for years. She's passed legislation to require greater financial disclosure by local government officials, toughen regulations for lobbyists, strengthen anti-nepotism rules on campaign contributions and limit public contracts to businesses that make political contributions.
She has put the safety of our children and New Jersey residents first. Loretta battled the powerful gun lobby to protect our children by mandating safety locks on all handguns and fought to lower the blood alcohol level state-wide for which a person can be considered to be guilty of drunk driving.
She is a tireless advocate for protecting New Jerseyan's health. Against stiff opposition, Loretta took on Big Tobacco and sponsored the law making indoor public places smoke-free. She stood up to insurance companies and succeeded in forcing hospitals to provide longer stays for new moms and their babies. And she has made combating autism a primary focus as the sponsor of several laws funding treatment, education and research for autistic children.
The list goes on and on. For over forty years, Loretta Weinberg has been an advocate for better health care, honest government, environmental protection, women's rights, and protecting the pocketbooks of New Jersey's working families.
She shares my commitment to our state and my vision for what New Jersey can be, and I cannot think of a better person to serve as New Jersey's first Lieutenant Governor. I'm confident that as you get to know her you will become as big a fan of Loretta Weinberg as I am.
I'm confident that Loretta's steadfast commitment, her deep legislative experience, and her personal integrity will prove to be invaluable as we continue to build on the remarkable successes of my first term. I know that Loretta will be a partner that I can trust and will become a unique and important voice in the next Corzine Administration.
I'm confident that she will set the highest standard for what New Jersey's Lieutenant Governor can and should be, and I'm looking forward to working side-by-side with her over the next four years.
The announcement comes at 2pm at the Bergen Performing Arts Center and then the candidates will makes stops around the state from the north on down south. Some reaction to the Weinberg selection can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. If you can't make it to any of the events, you can hear the new Lieutenant Governor Nominee live with Jeff and myself on Blue Jersey radio this Tuesday night.
Randall Pinkett will hold a press conference tomorrow to deliver "an official statement regarding the speculative reports on the lieutenant governor position." But his potential candidacy for Lieutenant Governor may be over before it gets past the speculation stage according to Wally at PNJ:
It is expected that the business executive and Rhodes Scholar, the winner of Donald Trump's Apprentice competition, will announce that he will not be a candidate for public office this year.
We'll see what he has to say. The Governor is not scheduled to be at the press conference. He has until Monday, July 27 to announce his choice for a running mate.
Coming soon - special announcement exclusively on Twitter and Facebook! #takebackNJ
That's been interpreted in some further tweets that Christie will be announcing his LG shortly on those accounts. We'll see if that speculation is correct. Who do you think he goes with if it is his LG choice?
Updated # 2 by Jason: It all depends what your definition of soon is, because 8 hours later, still no announcement. Good thing I'm not a Christie supporter anxiously waiting.
Updated #3 by Jason: Still not soon enough at the end of the day, almost 14 hours after the original tweet. I hope his supporters weren't on standby. Maybe they're having technical difficulties and the Democrats could put up a clock.
There have been rumors flying all day long about when, where and who Governor Corzine would be announcing as his running mate. Much of the speculation has centered around Dr. Randal Pinkett. Despite a report in the Asbury Park Press saying Pinkett would be named to coincide with the visit of President Obama Thursday, PolitickerNJ said the Governor will wait until after the event to make his pick. Here is some information from his biography and a video talking about some of his accomplishments:
Dr. Randal Pinkett has established himself as an entrepreneur, speaker, author, scholar and community servant. He is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of BCT Partners, a multimillion dollar management, technology and policy consulting firm based in Newark, NJ. BCT Partners works with corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the areas of housing and community development, economic development, human services, government, healthcare and education
What do you think of Pinkett's name being floated out there as a potential running mate with the Governor? What are the practical and political implications of his choice. Take the poll below the fold and tell us how you feel.
NEW JERSEY: Although it remains to be seen whether he'll accept her support on the campaign trail, New Jersey candidate Chris Christie, (R) will not be making a Palinesque choice of running mate. The Newark Star Ledger reports that both Christie and Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine will "stay away from the kind of controversy Palin sparked last year on the presidential ticket."
Even if they don't go the Palin shock and awe route, Christie still has the offer from his National Chairman to bring Palin to town. The Christie campaign seemed less than anxious to go that route either however. I wonder who they'd rather have in to campaign, Sarah Palin or George Bush. We continue to see stories speculating that choices will be made soon for both candidates.
I've got a better idea. Assemblyman Reed Gusciora. He's progressive and he brings diversity to the ticket, both geographically and as a minority candidate (Reed's an out gay man).
I don't give this much of a chance, but I think Reed's worth a look.
Sitting among an audience that included New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) attended, she said, "to celebrate the success story of a city that has pulled itself up by its own bootstraps."
A short-list candidate for lieutenant governor, according to Democratic Party sources close to Corzine, Buono either clerked or practiced law in New Brunswick for 18 years.
"I'm a couple of weeks away from that (making a decision about LG)," Corzine told reporters.
Will be in Rutherford tomorrow, stopping by the Pancake House around 11 am with Kathe Donovan, hope to see you there
Vincent had an in depth looks at the prospects for both the Republicans and for the Democrats a few weeks ago, but we've seen some additional names added to the list since. Who do you think is the frontrunner now?
Governor Jon Corzine is set to undertake the historic task of selecting an individual to run as the Democratic candidate to become the first Lieutenant Governor in New Jersey history.
On Monday, we looked at the potential Republican picks for Lieutenant Governor. Today, below the fold is a diverse list of ten possible Democratic contenders. It is subjective and, more than anything, written to solicit the opinions of Blue Jersey readers on the strengths and weaknesses of each potential pick.
As the final weeks of the Republican primary unfold, Chris Christie and Steve Lonegan will be busy campaigning, trading criticisms of one another, and making the case on the air waves and the internet that they alone are best suited to take on Jon Corzine in this November's gubernatorial election.
Corzine, and whoever wins the GOP nomination on Primary Day, will also undertake the historic task of selecting an individual to run as their respective party's candidate to be the first Lieutenant Governor in New Jersey history. Below the fold is a list of ten possible Republican contenders. It is subjective and, more than anything, written to solicit the opinions of Blue Jersey readers on the strengths and weaknesses of each potential pick.
Please click the headline, read on, comment away, and look out this Thursday for an analysis of potential Democratic choices for Lieutenant Governor.
I'd like to start off the week with a question. There has been talk about names and possible running mates for Governor Corzine. If you take away the names, I wonder what people think are the most important qualities in the potential candidate?
Should the Governor make his decision by adding diversity to the ticket choosing a woman or minority running mate? Should he forget any of those factors and make a decision based on who will get him the most votes given his current position in the polls and the makings of a difficult campaign? Should he look for someone with policy expertise to sure up any perceived weaknesses in his campaign? Should he consider geography in making the decision? Do you think there is a candidate that encompasses any or all of these qualities?
From reports, the Corzine campaign believed that Cory Booker filled the bill, but he has rebuffed repeated overtures. I would argue that choosing someone based on policy expertise doesn't matter if they don't get enough votes to implement the policies. Now if you can tell me there is someone that brings votes with that expertise, I'm open to hearing it, but I don't really see it.
Senator Weinberg endorsed the idea of Buono, Sweeney and Watson Coleman. Sweeney wouldn't qualify as a woman or minority, but definitely falls under regional considerations. I don't think Sweeney would want it and don't think the Governor is going in that direction, but the name is out there. Ron Rice wants a minority candidate to be the choice, but given that Cory Booker said now, you wonder whether he can say I offered and it was turned down. Former Party Chair wants Bonnie Watson Coleman to be the choice, saying she has the issues, leadership, and would help with the urban base.
Ultimately, I think the choice will either be Barbara Buono or Bonnie Watson Coleman. I think the calculation is that the race will be about the Governor and his policies, regardless of who the running mate is. I wonder not only who you think it will be, but why you think they should be chosen.
Let the race for Lieutenant Governor begin as past appearances that would have been considered standard protocol, will now be scrutinized for further meaning. Governor Corzine attended an event last week with Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer at a community health clinic where Palmer made this joke:
"I don't know why for the first time, being with the governor, I feel like I'm auditioning now."
Palmer said the Governor has told him he is on the short list. The article goes on to talk about other possibilities under consideration as well. Who would you like to see on the list for the newly created Lieutenant Governor position and why? Is there anyone the Governor could choose that would make you question your support for him as well?
