Samantha Maltzman

Lautenberg district director Steve Lenox, Andrews chief Bill Caruso, and Democrats 2000 executive board member Elizabeth Meyers

SEA GIRT - It was a happy political scene to walk into there in the basement of the Parker House last night, as Obama button-clad volunteers with clipboards approached Hudson County political operatives and asked them if they wanted to sign on to help with the campaign.

Some of the latter were onetime Hillary Clinton backers for whom the change-up to Obama is a painful perhaps but ultimately natural function of primary politics.

They didn’t need the enthusiastic prodding of volunteers to get them to go there.

"We’re already on board," said Jason O’Donnell, chairman of the Bayonne City Regular Democratic Organization.

Samantha Maltzman is Frank Lautenberg's new Finance DirectorThe former finance director for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has joined the re-election team of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).

Samantha Maltzman starts work today as finance director for Lautenberg, who's running against challenger, former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer.

After his primary with U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1), Lautenberg is in financial rebuilding mode, and that's where the campaign intends to make use of Maltzman's expertise.

Chris Christie and Jon Corzine as The HoneymoonersRead PolitickerNJ.com's The Year in Review 2007, our annual lists of Winners & Losers of the Year, Politician of the Year, Best & Worst Campaigns, People to Watch, Rising Stars, and much more.

The list of Best Operatives of 2007 is headed by Raiyan Sayed, who managed Jim Whelan's Senate race, and Tom Fitzsimmons, who ran the campaigns of Jennifer Beck for State Senate and Caroline Casagrande and Declan O'Scanlon for Assembly.

Find out why Rodney Frelinghuysen is tougher than he looks, why Don DiFrancesco doesn't shock us, how Joe Roberts made the worst prediction of 2007, and what Jim Devine, Gerald Lange, Malik Cupid, Chris Daul and Chris Thieme have in common.

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