Chauncey Brown

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Chauncey I. Brown III, the former Paterson Board of Education president and a long-shot candidate for Assembly last year, was arrested today for allegedly soliciting bribes, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office.

Brown, a former Paterson fire captain, was arrested this morning at the ambulance company where he worked as an EMT.

The arrest is directly tied to U.S. Attorney Chris Christie’s corruption bust of 11 public officials last September, who were accused of soliciting bribes to influence who received public contracts.

In his Assembly bid last year, Brown, the 35th district’s sole Republican legislative candidate, was initially running against a ticket that included Democrat Al Steele, who was one of those arrested public officials.

The Record has endorsed Democratic Assemblywoman Nellie Pou for re-election in the 35th district, but is supporting Republican Chauncey Brown over Pou's running mate, Assemblywoman-elect Elease Evans.  READ

The Record has endorsed Democratic Assemblywoman Nellie Pou for re-election in the 35th district, but is supporting Republican Chauncey Brown over Pou's running mate, Assemblywoman-elect Elease Evans.  READ

Assemblywoman Nellie PouPicked on by her Republican opponent as the existing weak link of a 35th District ticket riven by scandal, Assemblywoman Nellie Pou today stood in the rain at the head of 100 workers outside the Majestic Restaurant in Wayne and promised to get state Attorney General Anne Milgram to enforce New Jersey’s labor laws.

Restaurant workers have already bound together here with union backing to force several area restaurants to pay fair wages, but places like the Majestic are dragging their heels, according to Tony Tsai, a former employee. Charging a slave labor situation, Tsai says Majestic’s management doesn’t pay workers a base wage and demands kickbacks of $15 per day from the buffet restaurant staff. On weekends, they demand $20 per day.

State Sen. John Girgenti (left) and Passaic County Democratic Chairman John Currie with Assembly candidate Elease Evans
The Democratic Party chiefs in the 35th district united today behind a woman they say is a powerful community presence: a social worker, grandmother, public servant and churchgoer; someone with deep and important community ties in Paterson and the environs.

Hoping to represent a nearly 2-1 Democratic district, Passaic County Freeholder Director Elease Evans will have the added challenge of proving that the trust she built in her grassroots work and public service means something in a legislative district where a man with many of those same credentials on paper violated his office, according to the U.S. Attorney.

The Passaic County Democratic Organization this morning unanimously decided on Evans to replace former Assemblyman (and Passaic County Undersheriff) the Rev. Pastor Alfred Steele on the 35th district legislative ticket, and immediately made a statement regarding the new candidate’s intentions. Acknowledging that dual public office-holding isn’t a practice the public will tolerate, Evans said if elected to the Assembly on Nov. 6th she would hold dual office only for a period of months, and would not seek re-election to the freeholder board when her term expires at the end of 2008.

Paterson Board of Education member Chauncey Brown III, the Republican candidate for State Assembly in the 35th district, says that he's "just taken back in shock -- I'm totally caught off guard" by Rev. Alfred Steele's arrest today on bribery charges early this morning.

“Al Steele’s a great guy. Every person is innocent until proven guilty, and my prayers are with his family," Brown told PoliticsNJ.com reporter Matt Friedman. "“It's unfortunate that this has happened, "It’s a tragic day right now for their families, and I think it would be premature for me to make remarks at this time.”

The arrests of two Democratic Assemblymen could impact the mid-term elections just two months away. Mims Hackett represents the 27th district, where there are enough suburban Essex voters to potentially create an opportunity for Republicans, despite the popularity of Senate President Richard Codey at the top of the ticket -- if Hackett remains a candidate for a fourth term.

The Republican candidate is Mark Meyerowitz, a 52-year-old financial advisor from West Orange and son of a Holocaust survivor, whose only political experience was volunteering for Ross Perot in 1992. The GOP did not nominate a second Assembly candidate, and incumbent John McKeon, the Mayor of West Orange, is considered a shoo-in for re-election anyway.

Some candidates will admit they’re long shots, that the odds are stacked against them. But they don’t consider themselves “kamikaze candidates.”

Rev. Clenard Childress switched parties in January and is the GOP Assembly candidate against Tom Giblin and Sheila OliverTake Rev. Clenard H. Childress, Jr. who’s running for the State Assembly as a Republican in the 34th District. Talk to him about his campaign, and you can tell he’s a man of faith.

“Most of what I do is long shots, trust me. But I believe our message resonates with the community, and we’re looking forward to a spirited debate,” said Childress, a Montclair resident who is running with Robert Bianco; there is no Republican state Senate candidate.