NEWARK - Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo tonight praised Gov. Chris Christie's work to date, and specifically lauded the new Republican governor in anticipation of Christie's proposal of a 2.5% cap on spending at all levels of government. 

"Are you asking me, 'Do I agree with what he's proposing in terms of a cap on spending? Yes, I agree," said the county executive. "This will force towns to know they will have to merge and share services.

"I think he is doing a very good job," DiVincenzo added. "He's looking at nearly an $11 billion budget deficit, high foreclosure rates, people who no longer can afford to pay taxes. What he's doing makes excellent fiscal sense."

Having helped relegate once powerful Hudson County to the nonentity category during last year's Democratic Party leadership fracas and enjoying relative peace internally at the moment even as Bergen County prepares for an intense inter-party battle for county executive, DiVincenzo said this may not be his last term.

"If I feel as good as I do right now, there's no question I would consider running again," DiVincenzo told PolitickerNJ.com. "I haven't made up my mind."

All ten members of the East Orange City Council endorsed Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo for re-election to a third term, a move that limits the ability of Mayor Robert Bowser to enter the race for the Democratic nomination. 

DiVincenzo also has the backing of three other prominent East Orange political leaders: Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, Freeholder Carol Clark, Democratic Municipal Chairman LeRoy Jones, and Essex County Register Philip Thigpen, the Democratic County Chairman.

“It is easy to talk about Joe DiVincenzo because of all the positive things he has done for Essex County. As someone who has been involved with County government since the charter change in 1978, I can say Joe has been the best County Executive to have served our 22 municipalities,” Oliver said. “East Orange has always stood up for Joe because Joe has always stood up for East Orange,” she added.

The councilmembers backing DiVincenzo are: Quilla Talmadge, Andrea McPhatter, Jacquelyne Johnson, Virginia Cross, Ted Green, William Holt, Sharon Fields, Alicia Holman, Jamal Barnes and Lonnie Hughes.

“It is a pleasure to stand here in support of Joe DiVincenzo. He is the right person for the job and has always had a love for this county,” said Talmadge, the City Council President and a former Assemblywoman.  “The East Orange City Council stands strongly behind Joe for re-election."

East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser is expected to announce today that Jose Cordero will return to local government as the city’s police director.  Cordero held the post until Gov. Jon Corzine named him to serve as the statewide law enforcement director in 2006.  Cordero, a 21-year veteran of the New York City Police Department, became Bowser’s police director in 2005.

At an event that will never be ajudged as the model for Roberts Rules of Order, the municipal chairs of the Essex County Democratic Committee lined up last night in near unanimity behind the re-election of Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo.

Of the 26 chairs either in attendance at a Monday night Nanina's in the Park meeting or accounted for, only state Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D-Newark) did not signify his support for the two-term DiVincenzo.

That's no newsflash, given the history.

Targeted by DiVincenzo in his own ultimately successful 2007 senate campaign, Rice's no-show last night occurred against the backdrop of a low-grade Essex County civil war between DiVincenzo and Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), a Rice ally.

Codey was irritated in the fall when his rival for the senate presidency, Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) declared his victory over Codey in the Democratic caucus, in part with the help of two DiVincenzo employees: state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark) and state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Montclair).

Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo plans to formally kick-off his bid for a third term on Dec. 11th.

Over the past few days in particular, sources say the county executive has made the rounds and confirmed considerable support toward his re-election.

Although no one has emerged as a serious challenger to the popular county exec, there are hold-outs, notably Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser, and state Sen. Ronald L. Rice (D-Newark), who all believed DiVincenzo helped engineer Codey's collapse from his power projection platform as head of the state senate.

In his defense, DiVincenzo maintained that Codey was clearly wounded following the caucus reorganization vote after the 2007 elections.

When Sen. Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) defeated the Codey-backed Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) for senate majority leader, DiVincenzo said he read that as a sign that the Essex County -based Codey couldn't summon the votes to suppress Sweeney's upward mobility.

One of the last senators to announce publicly that he would support Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) for leadership over Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), state Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Linden) today said he intends to stick with Sweeney.

"That's not the first time I have heard that, but I don't think it changes my thinking," Scutari said to an argument made by East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser that Democrats should remain with the veteran Codey as senate president to ensure the toughest top legislative negotiator in the coming era of Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

"I certainly don't think Steve Sweeney is a poor negotiator and I believe he would do a fine job," Scutari explained. "Senator Codey would do a great job - and has. But with the new governor coming in I think there are real opportunities for change. Senator Sweeney has been a strong advocate for stabilizing our pension system and he will lend credence to our efforts."

East Orange Mayor Robert Boswer today said he believes Chris Christie's victory over Jon Corzine in the governor's race earlier this month should spark Democratic Party senators to reconsider their abandonment of support for Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland).

"I don't know what to expect at all from Chris Christie, and probably won't get any kind of clues until the transition team changes the guard, but I do believe Christie's win changes the dynamic for the senate presidency and the same thing for the speaker of the assembly," said Bowser.

At last public count, Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) has 15 caucus votes to Codey's eight heading into their Nov. 23rd Statehouse confab and presumptive legislative leadership change.

Running for reelection this year in pursuit of a fourth term in what amounts to a walk-over Nov. 3rd election for him in his heavily Democratic city, East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser didn't rule out running again next year, for a different office, though - against Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo.

News today that DiVincenzo's county employee underlings - state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark) and state Sen. Nia Gill (D-Montclair) - plan to back South Jersey product, Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford), in his challenge of Codey, thereby swinging the balance of senate power to South Jersey, rankled Bowser.

"I think Joe DiVincenzo has his priorities twisted," said Bowser. "He should be supporting Dick Codey.

"Nothing against Sheila Oliver," Bowser added of the Assemblywoman who ran against him in a 1997 mayoral primary and lost by 51 votes, who now stands to be Speaker of the Assembly as an Essex County counterweight to Sweeney's upper house ascension. 

EAST ORANGE - As New Jersey's media and political classes focus on corruption and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie stands astride the backwash of arrests from nearly two weeks ago selling a message of change as the Republican candidate for governor, Gov. Jon Corzine redirected the public spotlight to violent crime and murders with numbers from the state Attorney General's Office that show a reduction in both.

“We are winning important battles in the war against violent criminals and gangs,” said Corzine, standing in Memorial Park with Mayor Robert Bowser; Attorney General Anne Milgram; Jose Cordero, New Jersey's first statewide director of gangs, guns and violent crime and the former police director of East Orange; Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo; Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow and a buttressing platoon of law enforcement officials.

“Thanks to the efforts of Attorney General (Anne) Milgram and the New Jersey law enforcement community, county task forces, police departments, and partner agencies, more than  4,200 offenders have been arrested for crimes including murder, assault with a firearm, armed robbery, and gun and drug trafficking," added the Democratic Party incumbent. "We know more work remains.  Even one act of violence against a New Jersey citizen is one too many.”

MAYORS JOIN GUN CONTROL ADVOCATES IN PRAISING LEGISLATURE FOR PASSING “ONE HANDGUN A MONTH” BILL

 
TRENTON- Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, Mayor Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City, Mayor Douglas H. Palmer of Trenton, and Mayor Robert Bowser of East Orange today joined the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence President Paul Helmke in praising the New Jersey State Legislature for passing the “One Handgun A Month” bill through both the Senate and the Assembly.