Payne

A clear sign that Sharpe James has no intention of seeking re-election to a fourth term in the State Senate this year: his son, John Sharpe James, today endorsed Teresa Ruiz for the 29th district Senate seat.  Ruiz, who has the backing of James' rival, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, faces Assemblyman William Payne in the June Democratic primary.  

The younger James ran unsuccessfully for his father's old South Ward City Council seat last year -- a seat Payne's brother, Rep. Donald Payne, held for six years.

NEWARK - Gov. Jon S. Corzine today said Rep. Donald M. Payne, who is serving his tenth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, has his unflagging support now, and in 2008.

By Max Pizzaro
PoliticsNJ.com

NEWARK, March 14 - Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. says he would definitely support Rep. Donald M. Payne for re-election in 2008, but Newark Mayor Cory Booker stopped short of giving the ten-term incumbent his unconditional endorsement.

Booker and DiVincenzo Wednesday endorsed Teresa Ruiz for the Democratic State Senate nomination in the 29th district. The congressman’s brother, Assemblyman William D. Payne, says he will run for the same seat.

State Senate candidate Teresa Ruiz, with Newark Mayor Cory Booker

By MAX PIZARRO
PoliticsNJ.com

NEWARK, March 14 - Opposing State Senate primary candidates in Newark’s 29th district have a subtly different but ultimately connected sensibility when it comes to politics, which in this city, they say, leads back to the neighborhood, the block, the family.

“Politics can be about bringing good things into the neighborhood,� says 32-year-old Teresa Ruiz, whose career is just beginning.

Then there is the veteran’s perception, which is that politics at some point must have an end.

“There is politics,� muses Assemblyman William D. Payne, “And there is beyond politics. There is the way you were raised.�

It was a stunning declaration by Payne Wednesday, who pointed out he wasn’t reared in a Democratic Party that disrespects a senior member of a key legislative district, which he is, and which he serves.