John Adler

Democratic congressional candidate John AdlerJohn Adler is the richest open seat congressional candidate in the nation, according to a report from Congressional Quarterly.

Adler, a Democrat, has approximately $1 million on hand in his quest for the open seat of retiring Republican Rep. Jim Saxton. Adler is unchallenged in the June 3rd Democratic primary, while three Republicans are enmeshed in a tough primary fight to take him on.

Meanwhile, 7th district Democratic candidate Linda Stender is the fourth richest open seat challenger, with about $845,000 on hand. Stender also faces no opposition in the primary, but there are seven Republicans competing for that party’s nomination, the richest of whom has amassed a little over one-third of Stender’s war chest.

South Jersey Democrats threw a punch at Chris Myers today, just as the third district Republican congressional candidate was getting ready to hold a press conference hitting back at Jack Kelly, his Republican rival for the nomination.

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr today slammed Myers as a “pawn” of Republican bosses for accepting money from the “Corrupt Burlington County GOP Machine.”

At issue are two donations that show up in Myers’s Federal Election Commission filings: $2,300 from former Burlington County Republican Chairman Glenn Paulsen, and $2,300 former Burlington County Bridge Commission Chairman J. Garfield DeMarco.

While state Sen. John Adler, the unopposed third district Democratic congressional candidate, sits on $1.15 million dollars, his two prospective Republican opponents admit that their fundraising numbers will pale in comparison.

But that’s ok, the Republicans say.

A few weeks ago, Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly told PolitickerNJ.com that he had raised approximately $200,000 for his primary bid against Medford Mayor Mayor Chris Myers, who at that point had raised about $275,000. 

Kelly said that he should have his final numbers for the quarter ready by the end of the week.  But he insisted that Adler’s huge cash reserves are not intimidating.    

On the day President George W. Bush visited a credit counseling service center in Freehold to address a national housing crisis, Democratic candidates for Congress seized the opportunity to denounce what they see as Bush’s failed economic policies.

"With about 3.5 million foreclosure filings since 2006, the Federal Reserve banks estimates that 2 million more are on the way over the next two years," said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. "Meanwhile, new homes sales are at their lowest point in 13 years tumbling 40.6 percent in the Northeast alone. The President's short term foreclosure 'timeout' is a band-aid approach that does nothing to stimulate the economy or increase homeownership."

Medford Township Mayor Chris Myers, GOP candidate in the 3rdChris Myers Congressional district, today demanded that House Democrats stop stalling and re-authorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

"The number one complaint I hear about Congress on the campaign trail is that they’re ineffective do-nothings who continually put politics before the people they are elected to represent," said Myers, who was joined at a press conference outside Fort Dix with U.S. Rep. Charles Dent (R-Pa.), a member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

"The House Democrats’ failure to enact comprehensive (FISA) reform is just another example of this, and another reason why we need real change in Washington," added Myers, a vice-president at Lockheed Martin in Moorestown and decorated service veteran.

U.S. Rep. Frank PalloneATLANTIC HIGHLANDS - Buffeted by a Republican majority in Congress through most of the Bush years, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6) told Monmouth County Democrats at the Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands on Saturday that it is critical for his party to pick up more seats in the House and Senate.

"But the most important thing is the presidency," said Pallone. "This president has just completely screwed up."

The congressman said the country is in an economic downturn as a direct result of the Bush administration’s policies, and lamented America’s loss of respect around the world as a consequence of the War in Iraq, which Pallone opposed from the beginning.

Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo, one of the sponsors of the Assembly version of paid family leave, which came out of committee today. 

The lobbyists' feeding frenzy continued in Trenton today as representatives from both the business and labor communities zeroed in on lawmakers in the hallways of power and attempted to elicit the promise of a yes or no vote on the issue of paid family leave.

The measure would extend state liability insurance to employees for up to six weeks, enabling workers to care for themselves, a newborn or a sick relative. Funding would come from the workers contributing on average a dollar a week from their salaries.

Republican Congressional candidate Chris Myers today demanded that his potential Democratic opponent, State Sen. John Adler, block the reappointment of Jeanne Fox as president of the Board of Public Utilities.

Fox presided over the board when its Clean Energy Program was criticized for its placement of $80 million in a private bank account.

During a press conference this morning at the Buttonwood Park and Nature Reserve in Eastampton, state Sen. John Adler accepted the Sierra Club’s endorsement for his third district Congressional campaign.

"Not only has he been a leader and a champion of environmental causes, he also knows how to get things done,” said New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel in a press release. “We believe that he will be a great asset in Washington and will take his proven legislative experience and environmental leadership to the Congress of the United States."

Although the Sierra Club endorses Democrats more often than Republicans, outgoing Republican Rep. Jim Saxton had repeatedly received the group’s backing in this district that cuts clear across New Jersey and includes a large portion of the shore. This time, the group passed over Republican Medford Mayor Chris Myers – Saxton’s heir apparent.

Governor Corzine’s fiscal restructuring plan has become the issue du jour in both of New Jersey’s hotly contested Congressional race.