Joseph Ariyan

State Sen. Gerald Cardinale says comments condemning his re-election campaign as divisive are “vile trash” and labeled Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan a “racist.” During the fall campaign, Cardinale said his Democratic opponent, Joseph Ariyan, was backed by "those who support terrorism."

“I partially agree with Cryin’ Cryan,” Cardinale told PolitickerNJ.com in an e-mail. “Inflammatory rhetoric that demonizes any ethnic, racial or religious group has no place in a political campaign. That's why I was very careful with the content of my ads. We identified a particular group, ADC, as being supportive of Hamas, Hezbollah etc. Those are recognized as terrorist organizations. We cited numerous Internet references including the ADL's web site reference to a Washington DC rally for Hezbolla on 8/12/06.”

There’s no love lost between Republican State Sen. Gerald Cardinale and his Democratic opponent, Joseph Ariyan.

The campaign has been nasty from the start, with Cardinale painting Ariyan as a puppet of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, and Ariyan criticizing Cardinale for taking trips paid for by the banking industry and then supporting their preferred legislation.

State Senator Gerald Cardinale’s latest attack on Democratic state Senate candidate Joe Ariyan has drawn sharp rebukes by some Jewish Democrats as well as at least one Republican.

Last week, Cardinale accused Ariyan of having ties to the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), an advocacy group whose former communications director, Hussein Ibish, has made some controversial remarks in the past. Ariyan's law partner and campaign donor, Hani Khoury, served as president of the group’s New Jersey chapter in 2005 and 2006, and is still a member.

Recently, Cardinale sent out a campaign mailer saying that Ariyan has allowed “his firm to defend numerous illegal aliens detained by the federal government after 9-11 for suspected terrorism,” and noted Ariyan’s relationship with Khoury. Of the ADC, it said “This group has instructed its members to right (sic) letters in support of radical and extremist Palestinian attacks against the Jewish people and Israel.”

Back from Portugal, Governor Jon Corzine has added four extra stops to his schedule today – all in the 39th district, where Democrats think they have a shot at ousting three longtime Republican legislators.

Corzine, who was in Bergen County earlier this morning for a Bergen County Democratic Organization breakfast and two labor rallies, will return at 4:15 PM for stops in Northvale, Old Tappan, Emerson and Demarest.

Arab-American activist Hussein Ibish, who was attacked by State Sen. Gerald Cardinale yesterday for his connection to Democratic Senate candidate Joseph Ariyan’s law partner, says that “this turn of events in New Jersey shows that some unprincipled politicians still feel that ethnic baiting of this kind might still be an effective campaign tactic.”

By virtue of party registration alone, Joe Ariyan is the underdog in the traditionally Republican 39th district, even if he has the backing of a rich and powerful county organization and is likely to outspend state Sen. Gerald Cardinale by a large margin.

But based on the flexing of fundraising and political muscle tonight, it’s hard to tell just who has the uphill battle.

The Englewood home of real estate developer David Kasparian, where the event was hosted, was a virtual who’s who of Bergen County Democratic politics.  To support Ariyan, warring county party factions – state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero, and everyone in between -- showed up to rub elbows at the swanky event, which was closed to the press.  They were joined by U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez,  U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, and Gov. Jon Corzine, who up until now had been notably absent from campaign events in competitive districts.

Sen. Bob Menendez was taken by surprise this afternoon when asked what he felt about the apparent peace treaty between the warring Hudson County Democratic Organization and the Democrats for Hudson County.

State Sen. Gerald Cardinale’s move to hold up the nomination of Matthew Boxer as New Jersey’s State Comptroller might be considered a good political move by Republicans interesting in keeping Gov. Jon Corzine’s ties to his former girlfriend in the news, but his colleagues in the Senate minority aren’t rushing to help him out.

Cardinale’s idea is to tie up the nomination of Boxer for the newly created office until Corzine appoints an independent prosecutor to look into the matter of Rocco Riccio, a brother-in-law of Corzine’s ex-girlfriend/paramour/companion Carla Katz, who he gave $15,000 after pressuring him out of his accounting job at the Turnpike Authority. Boxer was reportedly present at a meeting in which Riccio was asked to leave his job.

Joseph Ariyan is raising a lot of money for his race against GOP State Sen. Gerald Cardinale, but he’s not ready to go head-to-head with the veteran incumbent in a joint TV appearance.

The two 39th district candidates were invited to appear this weekend on Channel 9’s New Jersey Now. Cardinale accepted, but Ariyan, a first time candidate, declined.

Armenian-Americans seem like an odd group to go to battle over, but both 39th district state Senate candidates are vying for their support.

It’s common for politicians to court specific ethnic groups if they’re numerous enough to have an impact at the polls, but what makes Armenian-Americans different is their tiny population. There are just over 8,200 Armenians in Bergen County, according to the 2000 census, and about 17,000 statewide. But despite their small numbers, they’re cohesive and politically active, and they can be a powerful political force if they coalesce behind a single candidate. Now the support of the Armenian-American community has become a point of contention between Democratic state Senate candidate Joe Ariyan, who’s of Armenian heritage, and long-time Republican incumbent Gerald Cardinale, who just sponsored a Senate resolution that will appeal to many in the community.