Ronald C. Rice

At-large Councilman Luis Quintana: Politicker photo 

NEWARK - Coming off a press conference in which he stood with former Councilwoman Dana Rone, veteran Councilman Luis Quintana said he favors keeping Rone’s Central Ward council seat vacant until the public votes in a Nov. 4th special election.

"I’d be willing to introduce a resolution saying leave it alone," Quintana told PolitickerNJ.com.

Keeping the seat unoccupied makes sense from several vantage points, argued Quintana, an at-large representative who lives in the city’s North Ward.

Assemblywoman Grace Spencer (D-Newark): Politicker photo 

Assemblywoman Grace Spencer (D-Newark) officially opened her district office on Hawthorne Avenue in the South Ward on Friday in a well-attended event.

U.S. Rep. William Payne (D-Newark), Essex county Party chairman Phil Thigpen, Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex), Assemblyman Thomas Giblin (D-Montclair), Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark), Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Newark), and local elected officials were among the 150 people who joined Spencer for the kick-off.

"I plan to have a larger event in September," said Spencer.

The office opening comes in the wake of a suggestion by former Assemblyman William Payne (D-Newark) that he wouldn't rule out a primary run against Spencer. Although he bucked the system last year and ran off the line, Payne remains in a powerful inner sanctum. He serves as deputy chief of staff to Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, a job title shared by Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, who in 2007 topped the ticket with Spencer. 

NJ for Obama organizers Julie Diaz and Keith Hovey.

The Obama campaign started small here, with handfuls of coffee house organizers lining up behind a grassroots operation called NJ for Obama in the face of a big party machine backing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and an unpopular war in Iraq.

Founded in an Edison coffee shop in December of 2006, the group’s leader was Damian Bednarz, 25, a Master’s student in international relations with Seton Hall University’s Whitehead School of Diplomacy.

"Obama has something that Hillary Clinton can’t buy or reproduce, and that’s a sense of inspiration," Bednarz said at the time. "If anything, I’m encouraged by Clinton’s frontrunner status because I know our work is so special."

In the months following, some elected offiicials endorsed the Illinois senator, among them Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D-Union), who came out in favor of Obama in April of 2007, followed by state Sen. John Adler (D-Camden) a couple of weeks later.

"At this time we need someone special... someone who is going to build a bridge brick by brick to peace through negotiation," said Cohen, a graduate of Howard University who arrived at politics through the Civil Rights era.