2011 Power List and Year in Review - PolitickerNJ.com

PolitickerNJ.com
Power list 2011
Editor’s Note
We are proud
to present
PolitickerNJ’s
2011 Power
List of the 100
most influential
people in New Jersey politics.
To compile this year’s list, we combed
through literally hundreds of names of
politicos from all corners of the state,
leaving out as usual elected officials,
former governors and U.S. Senators, as
well as sitting judges.
As always, the list contains some
familiar names and what we hope will
be some surprises.
It was a tumultuous year in Trenton
as Gov. Chris Christie continued to
dominate headlines with a presidential
dalliance and growing national
presence. But it was also a year that
saw Democrats score some important
victories. One victory in particular
stood out, as you’ll see from our choice
for the most influential politico of the
year.
Congressional redistricting is
winding down as this list goes to print,
and there’s no telling how the map
may change. With that in mind, we
left off congressional staffers, some of
whom could find themselves looking
for work in 2012. But recognizing the
importance of the new map and the
drama unfolding over it, redistricting
commission 13th member John Farmer
Jr. holds a prominent place on the list.
A last minute shake-up in the
governor’s administration had us
scrambling to make the necessary
changes to our list, but we got them
done and it now represents the most up
to date information out there.
The coming year is likely to be one of
turmoil in the state as the presidential
election moves into full swing and
the 2013 gubernatorial race begins
to crystallize. The governor has an
ambitious agenda but Democrats are
determined to make their voices heard.
We look forward to watching the names
on this list as they help shape the year
to come.
As always, this list is subjective and
ever changing. As this year’s legislative
leadership battle showed, today’s power
player is tomorrow’s back-bencher and
a power player can just be a deal and a
handshake away.
Governor Chris Christie
and Mayor Cory Booker
welcome President
Barack Obama at Newark
International Airport.
Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen
4 PolitickerNJ