New Jersey Politics

Latest NJ Statehouse, Legislature and election news

Measures include restrictions on marketing credit cards at colleges, more access for principals of certain students' criminal records Full story »

Gov.-elect Chris Christie's transition team is starting to take a more solid shape. Christie, a former prosecutor, released a list today of 19 people he has recruited to help him ease into office and the areas they will cover. More people will be named to each subcommittee next week, according to a statement from his office. His lieutenant governor,... Full story »

Gov.-elect Chris Christie's transition team is starting to take a more solid shape. Christie, a former prosecutor, released a list today of 19 people he has recruited to help him ease into office and the areas they will cover. More people will be named to each subcommittee next week, according to a statement from his office. His lieutenant governor, Monmouth... Full story »

Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone and his wife Diane will have to wait a little longer before their first day in court. Their arraignment in Superior Court in Mercer County was postponed until Dec. 1, said Peter Aseltine, spokesman for the attorney general's office. Chiappone (D-Hudson) said they planned to enter a plea of not guilty. They were charged in August with... Full story »

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who many Republicans have been pushing to run for governor in 2010, is instead leaning more toward a run for U.S. Senate, according to two party advisers. "From staff, we have been hearing that he has been indicating quietly and privately recently that governor might not be the best fit... Full story »

  The political fight for control of the state Senate is over, barring a miracle. Now the victors are turning to the job of revenge. Their first victim is Sen. Joe Vitale, the champion of children’s health care, who will be stripped of his role as chairman of the Health Committee. "This isn’t personal," says Sen. Steve Sweeney, a... Full story »

Challenges outlined as N.J. deals with fiscal woes  Full story »

TRENTON -- Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver now has a clear path to become speaker of the lower house, after her only remaining competition for the post, Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, dropped out of contention today. The decision means Oliver will likely receive the unanimous support of the Assembly’s Democratic majority on Monday and assume the third-most powerful position... Full story »

MIDDLESEX COUNTY -- Middlesex County freeholders will not name a new director of shared services, a money-saving decision that one freeholder fears will endanger initiatives to reduce costs. "The county will make a huge mistake that will hurt the communities at time they need our help the most," Freeholder H. James Polos said today. Since 2007, Middlesex County employed a... Full story »

NEW BRUNSWICK — A vote recount will take place in New Brunswick’s battle over whether the city should be split into wards for city council elections, said Jim Vokral, administrator of the Middlesex County Board of Elections, today. The board received a request late Wednesday afternoon for a recount, Vokral said. The recount will take place the week after Thanksgiving... Full story »

ATLANTIC CITY -- Following a dust-up over gay marriage in which he said his quotes were taken out of context, Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney said today it would be irresponsible for Democrats to bring a bill to a vote if they are not sure it will pass. The Gloucester County Democrat, speaking at the New Jersey State League... Full story »

TRENTON -- Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver, the front-runner for taking over the Assembly speaker position next legislative session, said today a Mercer County lawmaker is no longer campaigning for the leadership post. The decision by Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) to drop her campaign for the position paves the way for Oliver (D-Essex) to ascend to the Assembly's top... Full story »

ATLANTIC CITY -- New Jersey's first Lieutenant Gov.-elect Kim Guadagno addressed a crowd of fellow women in government during the annual League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City this morning, and urged them to push for their ideas on government efficiency. Kim Guadagno, who will stay in her job as Monmouth County Sheriff until January, also invited the mayors... Full story »

More New Jerseyans support legalizing gay marriage than oppose it, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton poll released this morning. The poll, conducted between Nov. 6 and 10, found 46 percent of adult residents want to extend the right to gay couples while 42 percent oppose it. Still undecided were 12 percent of respondents. “While this tests opinion outside the intensity of... Full story »

ATLANTIC CITY -- Feeling unfairly burdened by New Jersey government for years, mayors and municipal leaders looking ahead to a new governor say they are apprehensive about whether Trenton actually can change. At an annual mega-municipal meeting in Atlantic City, everyone from mayors to ex-governors took the chance to rate the job outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine did, while tepidly... Full story »