2011 Power List and Year in Review - PolitickerNJ.com

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year in review 2011
Cage Match
Christie v. Codey
Keeping in mind that the two could face
each other two years from now in the battle for
gubernatorial supremacy, Gov. Chris Christie
brought the pain early to Sen. Dick Codey. In a
move that was equal parts Niccolo Machiavelli
and Macho Man Randy Savage, Christie went
straight for Codey’s jugular in nixing the former
governor’s state funded car and security
detail and firing two Codey allies from their
government jobs. The retaliation from the
Gov. was launched after the Guv demanded an
apology from the Gov. for a trademark tongue
lashing he delivered to the Guv.
Mark Sheridan v.
Bill Tambussi
The state’s biggest legal showdown featured
Democrat Bill Tambussi against Republican
Mark Sheridan. Tambussi represented LD
8 Senate candidate Carl Lewis against a suit
filed by the Burlington GOP, questioning the
Olympian’s residency status. Sheridan championed
Burlington County Republican Chairman
Bill Layton. It was a stamina test as much
as anything as each side appealed alternating
rulings until an appellate court reversed itself
and determined Lewis’s ineligibility to run for
elected office.
Kim Guadagno v.
Carl Lewis
When Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno
– acting in her capacity as secretary of state -
overruled a judge and removed state Senate
candidate Carl Lewis from the LD 8 ballot,
the Olympian fought back, arguing that the
Christie Administration directive was a politically
motivated decision. Guadagno stood by
her directive, setting in motion a dramatic and
prolonged legal brouhaha.
Buono v. Sweeney
They didn’t get along in caucus. Senate
President Steve Sweeney’s (D-3) allies said it
was because Sen. Barbara Buono wants to run
for governor. Buono’s people said the Senate
majority leader thought Democrats should
be tougher on Christie. In the end, Sweeney’s
allies cut Buono loose and replaced her with
state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-37).
Cryan v. Norcross
South Jersey willfully embraced pension
and benefits cuts, while Assemblyman Joe
Cryan (D-20) became the Trenton face of the
public workers. There was already a history of
Cryan being discomfited by South Jersey political
boss George Norcross and the pension
battle only intensified the divide. It cost Cryan
his Assembly majority leader position and a
shot at the speakership.
Codey v. O’Toole
The ongoing turf war between the two senators
- one Democrat and one Republican - carried
on this year in the backrooms as Sen. Kevin
O’Toole (D-40) attempted to weaken Sen. Dick
Codey (D-27) during redistricting, and Codey
used the challenge to ultimately prevail on Election
Day, warranting redoubled GOP efforts to
debilitate the Democratic Party veteran.
Lesniak v. Cryan
Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-20) lost his
bid to consolidate leadership in the Assembly,
but this past year he demonstrated considerable
local organizing strength and was the
backbone of the LD 20 re-election campaign.
He could very well be a 2013 candidate for
Senate against former running mate Senator
Ray Lesniak (D-20).
Wisniewski v.
Buono/Vitale
During the redistricting process Assemblyman
John Wisniewski (D-19) presented a map
that would have pitted Sen. Barbara Buono
(D-18) against Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-19) in a
Democratic Primary. When the pair found out
about it they doubled up against the Sayreville
Assemblyman. Wisniewski allies insist he was
simply offering a possibility based on Prof.
Alan Rosenthal’s requests for a minority majority
map. But the senators took it personally
and vowed not to forget.
Weinberg v. Buono
The caucus’s two most voluble progressives
faced off again this year, and the results
were the same as their first match two years
ago. Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-37) edged
Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18) for the lieutenant
governor candidate slot in 2009, and this year
supplanted her as Senate majority leader.
38 PolitickerNJ