2011 Power List and Year in Review - PolitickerNJ.com

PolitickerNJ.com
Power list 2011
PolitickerNJ.com
34
Charlie
35
Michael
36
John
37
Michelle
38
Dennis
39
Glenn
40
Anthony
41
Robert
Stile
Bergen Record columnist
Stile’s analytical insights into politics, and especially battleground Bergen politics, always have the
advantage of texture, which is vital in New Jersey. Tapping a big selection of insider contacts, Stile
reveals more than anyone the catacombs of Christie’s political network — and with finesse. He is
one of the only featured political columnists who works full-time out of the State House and his
columns reflect it.
Kempner
President and CEO of MWW. DNC Deputy National Finance Chair.
One of the top party fundraisers in the country, Kempner on a bi-weekly basis plays host to national
power players, including the president and vice-president. He also runs one of the world’s most
successful public relations firms in MWW. Kempner will play an especially important role this
coming year as President Barack Obama seeks re-election.
Farmer Jr.
Dean, Rutgers Law School – 13th member of Congressional Redistricting Commission
We know this list doesn’t include former governors, but Farmer’s stint in the chair of power
amounted to a 90-minute fill-in, served in his capacity at that time as attorney general. This year,
the dean of the Rutgers Law School was not only part of the Rutgers team charged to create a
new map for legislative redistricting, but he is the 13th, tie-breaking member of the congressional
redistricting commission.
Brown
Governor’s Appointments Counsel
Brown vets everyone who works for Christie, her boss going back to his earliest days at the U.S.
Attorney’s Office. Like others on this list, and most notably like Christie, Brown is a tough, veteran
prosecutor who has the governor’s implicit trust.
Bone
President of Verizon New Jersey
His power comes not only from his executive role at a mega company, but from the inroads he’s
made into the community. Newark’s North Ward Center honored Bone this year because of
what Steve Adubato cited as Bone’s commitment to Newark. Under Bone’s leadership, Verizon
donated more than $800,000 to Newark organizations, including The North Ward Center, as well
as $250,000 to Newark Public Schools. Bone drops this year by virtue of a big loss on telecom
deregulation, his biggest initiative of the year.
Paulsen
Attorney
The Burlington County power player taught his successor as Burlington County GOP Chairman,
Bill Layton, how to run the operation, but never faded from influence wielding in this key
Republican building-block county.
Coscia
Attorney
Though Coscia is gone from his power seat as Chairman of the Board of the Port Authority, he still
remains a frontline attorney in the state. Coscia has moved to the national stage as one of President
Obama’s appointees to Amtrak’s board of directors.
Grady
Chairman of the New Jersey State Investment Council
The former communications director for Gov. Tom Kean and current managing director of
Cheyenne Capital Fund LP, the well-connected Grady is in charge of guiding investment policy for
the state’s $68 billion pension fund
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