West Orange

For those who are wondering how a State Assemblyman from Newark can get a police department in Morris County to drop attempted murder charges, the geography is easy. Ronald Zellman, the corrupt fictional legislator from the North Ward, could have had a legislative district that extended from Newark to South Orange, West Orange, Livingston and into East Hanover, where Tony Soprano picked up his son. The district could easily go from West Orange through Verona into North Caldwell -- Tony Soprano's hometown. This map, of course, would mean that Senate President Richard Codey is Zellman's running mate. Perhaps Jon Corzine was relieved that some fictional Governor of New Jersey didn't bail A.J. Soprano out of jail.

Acting Governor Richard Codey and Congressman Robert Menendez broke bread last Friday for lunch at Pal's Cabin in West Orange. The meeting was Codey's idea. While neither side is commenting on the content of the meeting, Codey is an experienced enough pol to know that nothing secret happens at Pal's Cabin.

First an update: The Forrester still has 36 minutes to reveal their guy's favorite band;otherwise Corzine wins by default.

OK, now back to the mailbag:

Steve, in your conversation with Gov. Codey, do you think he was being
coy, or did you sense that he was genuine about having reservations
about about being appointed to Corzine's Senate seat?
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I think he was being geunine, but that it's a little more complicated than that. I really think that if Corzine wins this thing and approaches Codey with a offer of an appointment and his best effort to clear the Democratic field, Codey would take it. That is just a hunch, nothing more. I also believe that Corzine might not want to do that. He may have already decided on Menendez, or someone else. And he may not like the idea of kissing Codey's ring. Codey's a smart inside player-- probably the smartest in the state-- so he's wise not to say much. It wouldn't look too good for him to say he wants the job, only to be snubbed by Corzine. But he's not just being coy ffor the sake of expediency; I get the sense (I think everyone does) that Codey would be just fine with going back to the state Senate, keeping the West Orange digs, and turning in another few seasons of basketball coaching.