Wally Edge's mea culpa to Senate President Richard J. Codey.

A report published two weeks ago in The Inside Edge that Senate President Richard Codey would pick Sandra Cunningham, not Frederick Madden, to chair the Senate Labor Committee if Paul Sarlo moved to Judiciary was just plain wrong.   Realizing that Madden was the most senior member of the Senate without a committee chairmanship, Codey promised to give the South Jersey Democrat strong consideration the next time a slot became available.  It is now apparent that Madden was always going to get Labor, and that Cunningham was not a candidate for this particular position.  Codey kept his word.

More on Codey’s word: on Sunday, the Senate President will read The Night Before Christmas during a performance of the Boston Pops at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.  Our sources, hopefully correct this time, say that Codey has edited the classic story to reflect some of his own views.  That ought to be fun.

PATERSON – On a mid October morning, state Sen. Paul Sarlo’s (D-Bergen) wife found him unconscious in the couple’s bed, suffering the effects of a pulmonary viral infection in conjunction with a sever acid reflux condition.

Early reports out of the hospital weren’t good.

Over a month later, Sarlo says he has made a full recovery as he prepares to assume the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee to succeed U.S. Rep.-elect Jon Adler (D-Camden).

“My recent episode puts a lot of things in perspective,” said the 40-year old Sarlo. “What I learned is the need for balance. I am in great shape and truly honored to be able to serve as chairman of such a prestigious committee and to play a vital role in our Constitutional duty to vet and examine all executive and judicial branch appointments.”

New Jersey Senate Democratic Photo

Senate President Richard Codey administers the oath of office to State Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham (D-Jersey City) in 2007. Cunningham could wind up as Senate Labor Committee Chairman, if Codey picks Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) to head the Judiciary Committee

If Paul Sarlo becomes the new Senate Judiciary Chairman when John Adler leaves for Washington in January, Senate President Richard Codey will need to name a new Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee.  The two other Democrats on the panel now are Frederick Madden and Sandra Cunningham.  Statehouse watchers say that one could be a no-brainer: Codey will pick Cunningham, his ally, and not Madden, who is aligned with Codey's rival, South Jersey Democratic Chairman George Norcross.  

Madden, elected in 2003, is the most senior Senate Democrat without a committee chairmanship, followed by Loretta Weinberg, who entered the Senate in 2005. 

Assemblyman Tony Chiappone (D-Bayonne) and state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson)

BAYONNE – It was a bruising fight for Assemblyman Tony Chiappone (D-Bayonne), one he wanted badly to win, but his ally in last week’s mayoral election lost, and now Chiappone must look ahead to his own re-election bid next year and the grim prospect of running off the line.

Whether on or off, Chiappone makes it clear.

 “I’m running,” he said.

The Jersey Journal’s Political Insider points out that Mark Smith’s defeat of Pat Conaghan on Election Day gives the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) the necessary leverage to dump Chiappone, who comes from that part of the 31st Legislative District composing a third of what is otherwise dominated by Jersey City.

JERSEY CITY – Although the pro-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) crowd in the student center of New Jersey City University was juked with polls showing their candidate in possession of a double digit lead in Jersey, they supplied no demonstration of shock and awe support three days before Election Day.

Waiting for keynoters New York Gov. David Paterson and Gov. Jon Corzine, local politicians warmed up the proudly attentive audience.

“If you don’t stand for this man (Obama), you don’t stand for anything,” state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson) cried. “Get up. Get up!”

The crowd jolted to its feet.

Obama volunteer Karin R. White Morgen: Politicker photo 

BAYONNE - Forget about president, there’s a war for mayor going on, and millions of contract dollars at stake as this hard knock dock town faces redevelopment of the Navy peninsula.

But the mayor’s race and its implications for next year’s politics have now produced a smaller - but no less intense - spin-off war between regular and renegade Democrats scrambling to prove their allegiance to Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) with a little more than two weeks until Election Day.

Leading mayoral candidates, police director Mark Smith and retired judge Pat Conaghan, don’t want to publicly back Obama as they court 7,453 independent voters and 2,157 Republicans in what is billed as a nonpartisan election in an overwhelmingly Democratic (15,894 registered voters) yet historically white city.

The Republicans see opportunity here in this onetime Reagan Democrat stronghold, and have made targeted phone calls on behalf of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). But Obama’s 13-point lead over McCain in New Jersey and the Democrat’s frontrunner status nationally have at least one conspicuous Conaghan ally rushing to quell the perception that he’s operating outside the auspices of Obamaland.

On Saturday, Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne) enlisted the help of his ally, state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson), and opened an Obama for President headquarters at the corner of Avenue C and Andrews Street.

From that vantage point, he launched an attack on what he sees as a stalled-in-the-past local party organization he said has soft-pedaled its Obama outreach.

CUNNINGHAM BILL TO ESTABLISH ELLIS ISLAND ADVISORY COMMISSION IS NOW LAW

JERSEY CITY – A measure sponsored by Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham which establishes the “Ellis Island Advisory Commission,” became law today at a public bill signing at Ellis Island’s Ferry Building.

“For millions of immigrants, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty served as their first view of the United States, after a weeks and sometimes months-long journey in search of more opportunity and a better life,” said Senator Cunningham, D-Hudson. “Regardless of how our ancestors entered this country, this site stands as a reminder of the sacrifices that were made to ensure that the words 'liberty and justice for all' ring true. I can't think of a better way to preserve such an integral part of American history.”

The big race to watch in Jersey City next year is for mayor, but the politics of that contest are already spilling out into the legislature.

The recent buzz is that Jersey City Incinerator Authority CEO Oren Dabney is being positioned for an Assembly run in District 31 by State Sen. Sandra Cunningham, who herself is said to be considering a mayoral bid next year.

Reached for comment yesterday, Dabney wouldn’t commit one way or the other, but admitted that he’s mulling the possibility.

“I’ll do anything possible that’s going to benefit the city of Jersey City, period,” he said. “I haven’t made any decisions on anything at this point. So if anyone is giving information such as that I must be well-liked.”

One of Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop's two ballot initiatives suffered a severe blow earlier this week by a prominent city official, but Fulop said the move has energized his base.

"Yesterday I sent out that email letting people know about it. We got 60 new donors, 25 new volunteers and we're just starting," he said.

A move by Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis on Tuesday sparked outrage in an already politically charged atmosphere. Fulop had just turned in 1,800 signatures for two ballot initiatives: one which would enact new anti pay-to-play rules, and another that would bar council members from receiving more than one public salary (six of the nine council members have more than one taxpayer funded salary).

State Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex).: Politicker photo 

Nothing’s ever rock solid in politics, but the top of the Trenton power heap may contain more potential for movement than usual in the lead-up to Statehouse reorganization come January.

Two possible factors include Speaker Joseph Roberts’s (D-Camden) imminent departure from the Assembly, and the possibility that a newly crowned Obama administration would haul former Wall Street guru Gov. Jon Corzine out of New Jersey to crunch numbers in Washington.

In the thicket of this political drama, it’s difficult not to identify Senate President and former Governor Richard Codey (D-Essex) as a protagonist.

"I’m just a kid from Orange," Codey told a packed auditorium in his native Essex County town last month - but he’s also a former governor, who by all appearances liked the job and enjoyed great popularity.