John Bennett

The New Jersey General Assembly Alumni Association – and the Marlboro Mayoral Alumni Association -- took another hit this week when Morton Salkind, who served from 1974 to 1976, pleaded guilty to tax evasion.  A Democrat, Salkind was the Mayor of Marlboro when he ran for the Legislature in a heavily Democratic district in 1973.  That was the Watergate year when Republicans lost 25 Assembly seats.  Two years later, Salkind was ousted by Republican Marie Muhler.  After his political career ended, Salkind became a real estate developer, and after moving to Secaucus, became a member of the Hudson County Improvement Authority.

The Keansburg Board of Education is under fire for a $740,000 retirement deal offered to their Superintendent of Schools, Barbara Trzeszkowski.  The state Attorney General is seeking an injunction to block Trzeskowski’s golden parachute.  If the deal winds up in court, the school board would be represented by their attorney, John Bennett, who served as Co-Senate President before a scandal caused his defeat in 2003.

Monmouth County Republican Chairman Adam Puharic is expected to resign his party post soon, according to GOP leaders who were on a conference call with him on Monday afternoon. That will trigger a special election to elect a new County Chairman. Former Senate President John Bennett, who was defeated for re-election in 2003 amidst allegations that his law firm overbilled clients, including the Township of Marlboro, is a potential candidate for the post.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will file a slate of delegate candidates today that represents huge representation from supporters of his vanquished rivals – there are more Rudy Giuliani supporters on the ticket than early McCain backers, and the list includes some Mitt Romney backers.  None of Mike Huckabee’s state campaign leaders are running as McCain delegates, and retiring Rep. Jim Saxton, who backed Duncan Hunter, was not offered a delegate slot.

There was a fairly fierce internal battle over delegates in District 12, where State Senator Jennifer Beck and former Senate President John Bennett -- both originally Giuliani supporters – were both in competition for one Monmouth County slot.  Adam Puharic, the Monmouth GOP Chairman, picked Bennett, designating Beck for an alternate slot.

The McCain delegates:

Carmen Orechio served in the State Senate from 1974 to 1992, and was Senate President from 1982 to 1986: He's been a Nutley Commissioner since 1968Carmen Orechio is the only former Senate President who still holds public office, and is one of eight living former Senate Presidents. With the death of 98-year-old Wesley Lance last August, the 81-year-old Orechio is now the second oldest living ex-Senate President; the oldest is Frank McDermott, 83, who ran the Senate in 1969. The other living ex-Senate Presidents: Raymond Bateman, Frank Dodd, John Russo, John Lynch, Donald DiFrancesco, and John Bennett.

One valued reader asked for more information regarding the 84 hours that John Bennett served as the Acting Governor of New Jersey.  Two New York Times stories tell it all:

Is it just us, or do you cringe, or do you feel it just slightly annoying at the annual State of the State address when the Governor recognizes John Bennett as a former Governor?  While Donald DiFrancesco and Richard Codey had full years as Acting Governor – a subsequent state law removed the Acting from their titles, elevating them to former Governor status, Bennett’s term of office lasted exactly three and one-half days. 

Because the Senate was split 20-20 after the 2001 election, and since DiFrancesco’s term as a State Senator ended a week before James E. McGreevey was to take office, Codey and Bennett split the week.  Bennett moved into Drumthwacket, through a family party there, ordered ceremonial pens bearing his name, and even pardoned an old friend and contributor.

Of course, there is some irony to Bennett’s recognition by Jon Corzine yesterday: the Democrat who defeated him in a 2003 State Senate race, Ellen Karcher, was not there.  She lost re-election last November.  And Bennett, whose ethical woes seem to have disappeared, has made a political comeback, albeit a tiny one: now a lobbyist (what a surprise!), he got elected Republican State Committeeman from Monmouth County in 2005.