Wally Edge's blog

Biotech millionaire John Crowley is seriously considering bid for the Republican nomination for Governor in 2009 – although some GOP leaders seem skeptical of his intentions after his on again, off again bid for the United States Senate last spring.  But if Crowley runs, he could make a move for votes in the base of his likely rival, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.  Sources say that Morris County Freeholder John Murphy, an old-time Christie foe who ran for Governor in 2005, has told some friends that he might be for Crowley.

The two possible ’09 gubernatorial candidates were on the campaign trail yesterday, both attending the swearing in of the recently elected members of the Jackson Township Council.  Governor Jon Corzine administered the oath of office to Michael Kafton, and U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie swore in Michael Reina.  While Jackson holds non-partisan elections, Kafton is a Democrat and Reina is a Republican.

South Jersey Republican leaders seem to think that by the time the general election ballots are printed, Cape May City Councilman David Kurkowski won’t be the Democratic candidate for Congress against Frank LoBiondo in the second district.  And LoBiondo, insiders say, seems almost obsessed with the idea that State Sen. Jeff Van Drew will enter the race against him. 

Arthur Albohn, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 86, was the last person to defeat an incumbent member of the State Assembly in a Morris County general election.  He did it in 1979, when he ousted Democrat Rosemarie Totaro by 3,088 votes.  (The last person to defeat an incumbent State Senator in Morris County was Anthony Bucco, who unseated Gordon MacInnes in 1997.  MacInnes had beaten John Dorsey four years earlier. 

If Joseph Kyrillos doesn’t get picked to run for Lt. Governor in 2009, he’s likely to retire from the State Senate in 2011, according to a Monmouth GOP leader with knowledge of Kyrillos’ plans.  The six-term State Senator is actively seeking the LG nod, hoping to run on a ticket with his friend, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin would be the front runner to succeed Kyrillos in the Senate -- though not at all automatic on the GOP side -- if the 13th district seat remains intact after redistricting.  If the seat is open, mapmakers could move State Sen. Jennifer Beck into District 13; her hometown, Red Bank, borders on the 13th.  That could boost the chances for Democrats to recapture the 12th district, where former State Sen. Ellen Karcher and former Assemblyman Michael Panter are mulling comebacks.

The New Jersey Legislature is often the breeding ground for gubernatorial candidates, but by 2009 it will have been 81 years since a sitting state legislator has been elected Governor -- the last time was in 1928, when Morgan Larson, a Republican State Senator from Middlesex County, won.

Over the last fifty years, only four incumbent legislators -- State Senators Malcom Forbes (1957), Wayne Dumont (1965), Raymond Bateman (1977) and James E. McGreevey (1997) -- have won gubernatorial primaries, and all four have lost their general elections.

Fifteen people on the PolitickerNJ.com 2007 Power List won't be back in 2008.  The list, which will be released this afternoon, doesn't include:

A four-hour impasse over public employee benefits reform legislation Monday night in the General Assembly left a number of top Assembly Democrats fuming after several Hudson Democrats held out their votes on the measure causing the delay.  The boycott -- apparently orchestrated by State Senator Nicholas Sacco, who holds three public jobs in addition to his wife's employment with the Hudson County School of Technology, forced Democrats to rely on Republicans to pass the measure, a common occurrence in the Senate but a rarity in the lower House which infuriated veteran Democrats. 

The State Senate confirmed the nomination of David Katz to become a Superior Court Judge on Monday. He’ll give up his post as a Counsel to the Essex County Improvement Authority – a spot sources say will be filled by State Senator Nia Gill. Gill abstained on Katz’s nomination in the Judiciary Committee, but voted yes on during a full Senate vote.

Gloria Bontempo, the widow of former Democratic State Chairman Salvatore Bontempo, passed away on Sunday.  She was 82.  Her son, Paul Bontempo, is a Trenton lobbyist.