2011 Power List and Year in Review - PolitickerNJ.com

People to Watch
Anna Little
The former Highlands Borough mayor has
declared her intent to challenge Menendez.
Some in the GOP fear she will play the role of
spoiler, but the feisty Tea Partier says she’s in
it to win.
Sen. Bob Menendez
Menendez is up for reelection in the coming
year and is sitting on a huge and growing
war chest with which to run. To date, his
challengers are limited to a unknown primary
opponent and former Highlands Borough
Mayor Anna Little
Chris Bollwage
Will the 20-year mayor of Elizabeth run for
another term against a battle-tested opposition
that beat his allies this year on the mayor’s
home turf, or will he retire and set his sights on
a 2013 gubernatorial bid?
Dick Codey
Codey’s profile as a statewide candidate
reemerged with a convincing win in GOP
dominated Morris County. But the state
Senator from Essex County took a thrashing
from Gov. Chris Christie in the waning days
of 2011. It remains to be seen if the retaliatory
strike from the governor is enough to motivate
Codey to challenge Christie in 2013.
Carlos Cedeno
The Elizabeth City councilman is the
likely challenger to Elizabeth Mayor Chris
Bollwage. The 2011 Democrats for Change
candidate lost the LD 20 Assembly contest,
but in the process demonstrated the strength
of his organization as he and his allies carried
Elizabeth. If he runs, Cedeno would have to
fight through a potentially weakend portion
of his base: the Elizabeth Board of Education,
which is under investigation.
Joe Kyrillos
The Republican from Monmouth County is
the front runner to challenge Democratic U.S.
Sen. Bob Menendez in November. Kyrillos has
not officially declared but look for the official
announcement early next year.
40 PolitickerNJ