Stephen Sweeney

State Sen. Paul Sarlo could be Dick Codey's choice for Senate Judiciary Chairman

Paul Sarlo, a three-term State Senator with close ties to indicted Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero appears to be the leading candidate for chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to sources close to Senate President Richard Codey, who has not made a final decision on one of the state's most powerful committee chairmanships.  Codey must decide by January who will replace John Adler, who was elected to Congress.

Sweeney should hold Bryant to the same standard he held others who cost the county money.

It is interesting to note that the Gloucester County Times and the Courier-Post, both newspapers that have editorialized in support of a ban on dual officeholding, have endorsed dual officeholders in the 2008 general election.  Both papers are backing Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney for re-election to the Gloucester County Board of Freeholders, and the GCT is backing the re-election of Freeholder Frank DiMarco, who is also a West Deptford Councilman.

A summary of daily newspaper endorsements in local races:

SWEENEY/BURZICHELLI/FISHER DECLARE COUNCIL'S RULING ON RURAL STATE POLICE PATROLS 'A WIN'

Third District Legislators Say Council on Local Mandates' Decision Marking Municipal Funding of Patrols an Unfunded Mandate Protects Taxpayers

(TRENTON) - Third District legislators Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney and Assemblymen John J. Burzichelli and Douglas H. Fisher (all D-Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem) called today's ruling by the state Council on Local Mandates that language in the fiscal year 2009 state budget constitutes an unfunded mandate "a win for the wallets of rural taxpayers."

The budget language in question would have required the 89 rural municipalities that rely on State Police patrols to pay for the $12.6 million service or risk losing the patrols.  The council, in a verbal statement, ruled that "line 8 on page 158 of the Annual Appropriations Act to line 17 on page 159, inclusive, constitutes an unfunded mandate and is null and void."

GOP Freeholder candidates call on Stephen Sweeney to tell the voters how much he knew

Sweeney tabled Kean/Bateman bill so he could continue to hold dual offices

GOP Freeholder candidates call on Stephen Sweeney to tell the voters how much he knew

Mr. Sweeney has failed the working families of Gloucester County

By most measures, Gloucester County should be a politically competitive place.

Its towns are mostly rural and suburban, it has a large blue collar population, and it only went for John Kerry over George W. Bush by about 6,000 votes in the last presidential election.

But over the last decade, Democrats – aided in part by George Norcross’ powerful political machine in neighboring Camden County, the political prowess of native son Stephen Sweeney and plenty of Republicans willing to switch parties – have had little trouble holding on to full control of the county’s government and taking over the majority of most towns’ elected offices.

Maybe they say it every year, but Republicans feel that this time they may be able to pry at least one county-wide seat out of the Democrats’ grasp: the one that belongs to Freeholder Warren Wallace, whose re-election comes about just as his one-time political ally – former State Sen. Wayne Bryant – faces a corruption trial over a job he held at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), where Wallace worked as associate dean for academic and student affairs for School of Osteopathic Medicine before being dismissed over accusations of unethical behavior. In 2006, he was accused of shredding documents while the school was being investigated.

In May, Wallace filed a lawsuit against the school, charging racial discrimination over his firing.  But he may be called to testify at Bryant’s trial as a “person of interest” – further associating him with the former state Senator.

“We absolutely have a real shot at it,” said political consultant Steve Kush, who this year is running the Republican freeholder candidates’ communications shop.  “The proof is in the pudding.”

Republicans Phyllis Scapellato, Larry Wallace and Dan Roberts are running against Democratic incumbents Wallace, Sweeney (the state Senate Majority Leader who reconsidered his decision not to run for freeholder again) and Frank DiMarco.  Roberts replaced Frank Stellaccio, who dropped out in June.

The pudding, according to Kush: a letter Democratic counsel Timothy Chell sent to Gloucester County Republicans, warning candidates not to use several claims about Wallace recently outlined in a Philadelphia Inquirer article.  He thinks its proof that the Democrats are running scared.

“Any use of the factual inaccuracies published in the Inquirer will be considered actionable by the Gloucester County Democratic Party and Dr. Warren S. Wallace personally,” wrote Chell.