Threesomes

PoliticsNJ.com ^ | 12/8/04 | Wally Edge (Unkown)

[BATNF]

At this point four years ago, BRET SCHUNDLER was the Mayor of Jersey City running against the longtime Senate President who was about to become the Acting Governor. Establishment Republicans initially dismissed him as a real factor in the gubernatorial candidate selection process, allowing him to spend considerable time quietly working his party's conservative base. It wasn't until the ethical woes of DONALD DIFRANCESCO became front page news that Schundler began to be viewed as a serious contender. When DiFrancesco dropped out and was replaced by former Congressman ROBERT FRANKS, the so-called establishment figured they had Schundler beat. Two months later, Schundler won the primary with relative ease.

Schundler supporters admit their candidate is not having an easy time raising money (it helps to be the incumbent Mayor of the state's second largest city), and is having an even tougher time assembling a campaign team.

One of the principal architects of Schundler's victory four years ago was MATT LEONARDO, a New Jersey native who, along with KIM ALFANO, ran a Washington-based political consulting and media shop. Leonardo was a hands-on general consultant who developed much of the strategy and message.

But Leonardo declined a chance to work for Schundler again, leaving the front runner without the type of consulting team that guided him to victory four years ago. Leonardo turned Schundler down, sources say, because he felt the candidate was not prepared to avoid some of the mistakes he made in 2001. “During discussions it had become very clear to us that Bret was unwilling to accept certain fundraising and political realities that would make it impossible for him to win. It was a suicide mission that we chose not to be part of," Leonardo said in an e-mail to PoliticsNJ.com.

There are no plans for Schundler's 2001 staff, which remained largely intact for his primary and general election campaigns, to return. Campaign Manager BILL PASCOE now lives in Chicago, where he operates a public affairs consulting firm. BILL GUHL, the Press Secretary, is now the Assembly Republican Communications Director. EVAN KOZLOW, who was the campaign's Political Director in the primary before performing a similar role in the general as Executive Director of the Republican State Committee, is the Chief of Staff to Congressman SCOTT GARRETT. Kozlow, who married Schundler Finance Director JENNIFER HODGES in 2003, are expecting their first child in January. South Jersey Field Director BROCK MCCLEARY now works the firm ROBERT SCHROEDER has hired to run his campaign. Research Director CHRISTOPHER LYON works for the New York State Assembly, and Central Jersey Field Director REBEKAH YEAGER BEHRENS has traded her job as a professional operative for the post of full-time mother. KATHRYN ENGLISH, who was the North Jersey Field Director, now works for the Associated Builders and Contractors Association. JOSEPH FARREN, a top Schundler '01 advisor who had spent the last few years as the Senate Republican Communications Director, just started a new job with a public policy group in Washington.

LAWRENCE BATHGATE, the GOP fundraiser who served as Schundler's 2001 Finance Chairman, is not expected to play a role in the current campaign. Neither is former Republican State Chairman FRANK HOLMAN, a top Schundler '01 strategist. Another supporter of Schundler four years ago is now running against him: Bogota Mayor STEVEN LONEGAN.

Sometimes in the Byzantine world of New Jersey politics, you have to just laugh things off. There is no other way to explain the relationship between New Jersey's most prominent political consulting firm and the race for the Democratic nomination for Governor. Trying to spin the political equivalent of a three-way with Acting Governor Richard Codey and Senator Jon Corzine, Message & Media head STEVE DEMICCO told the Star-Ledger: "Dick is a client of long standing. We do not have an existing consulting relationship on contract with either. But we've been assisting Sen. Codey in the transition, and we're also helping Sen. Corzine in the process he's engaged in. So it would be incorrect to say we're working for both or either, in a compensation arrangement. But we're advising both." It seems that DeMicco is working for Corzine, while business partner (partner: that means they both share in the profits of all their clients) BRAD LAWRENCE is handling the Codey account. One Democrat aligned with half of the Message & Media clients used the word "conflict" six times in a seventeen-word e-mail. If Codey doesn't force DeMicco (whose wife, JEANNE FOX, serves in Codey's cabinet) and Lawrence to pick a horse, it may be the best clue yet about his plans to pursue a statewide campaign this year.

If he wins election as Governor of New Jersey, JON CORZINE will name his own successor to the United States Senate. That is an amazing amount of power for an already powerful governorship. The identity of who Corzine would appoint -- there is hardly a shortage of Democrats interested in being appointed to the world's most exclusive club -- is already dominating the political rumor mill. Corzine is wisely keeping his thoughts to himself; better to let everyone think they're headed to the Senate, one Democratic insider opines.

A GOP operative says that the Republicans should make push Corzine to disclose who he would appoint to replace him in the Senate, and if he declines, make it a campaign issue. "The (Senate) seat belongs to the people of New Jersey. Corzine didn't buy his Senate seat, he merely rented it for $75 million. It is not his property to simply give it away after a closed-door meeting with party bosses after the election." But Corzine has little to gain now by declaring his hand. The longer he can keep multiple candidates in full-posture mode, the longer he can benefit from the ambitions of would-be United States Senators.

One Democratic party leader suggested that Codey go a step further and tell Corzine: "Jon, if you're bored in Washington and don't want to be a Senator anymore, that's your decision. But New Jersey needs a full-time U.S. Senator...someone who wants to be there...someone who will watch how the Bush administration prosecutes the war in Iraq...who will make sure that Bush doesn't appoint Supreme Court Justices who will repeal Roe v. Wade...someone who will help (Frank) Lautenberg fight for our fair share of federal dollars. Serving in the Senate is a full-time job, and Jon, if you don't want to do it anymore, that's fine. But resign now and I'll appoint a U.S. Senator who will work full time serving the people of New Jersey." Corzine is unlikely to resign early, but that doesn't make the scenario of Codey appointing a U.S. Senator any less interesting.

If Corzine were to step down before the April filing deadline, there would be a June primary election to pick candidates to run in a November 2005 special election to fill the remaining fourteen months of Corzine's term. There would be no guarantee that the person Codey appoints would become the Democratic nominee. If Corzine were to resign before September (as he wanted Governor JAMES E. MCGREEVEY to do last summer), the respective state party organizations would pick the candidates. Codey would still make the appointment.

In early 1994, Oklahoma Senator DAVID BOREN announced that he would resign his seat later in the year to become the new President of the University of Oklahoma. After Boren's announcement, the state legislature passed a new law that enabled a special election to be held in anticipation of a Senator's resignation. An election was held in November, and after the winner was certified, Boren submitted his formal resignation and the new Senator was sworn in. New Jersey law does not permit a special election to be scheduled prior to the effective date of a resignation.

New Jersey's other United States Senator, FRANK LAUTENBERG, will join Jon Corzine on Monday night at a private dinner for Democratic County Chairmen.

Another great line -- this one (not for attribution, of course) from a daily newspaper reporter: "New Jersey Democrats advocate the right to choice, unless it involves the right to choose their Governor or Senator."

Less than a week after entering the race for Governor, Jon Corzine was named to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee -- a prestigious panel (Corzine ceded his Foreign Relations Committee seat to get it) that he calls "the most important assignment any Senator could have in this age of terrorism." So far, none of Corzine's political opponents have questioned how he will manage to maintain a strong attendance record at Intelligence briefings while actively running for Governor. In the recent presidential race, Republicans made an issue of JOHN KERRY's missed votes on the same committee.

An Executive Order creating the post of Inspector General -- an important-sounding job without the authority to inspect or the power to command -- might be a good tactic to help Acting Governor RICHARD CODEY look like a reformer. But if Codey really wants to empower someone to root out waste, he might want to consider that New Jersey already has a State Auditor: his name is RICHARD FAIR, a 55-year-old accountant who has been on virtual holdover status for almost ten years. Fair was the Assistant Director of the State Division of Taxation when the state Legislative Services Commission selected him as Auditor-Elect on September 26, 1989. He got the job following the retirement of GEORGE HARPER, who had resigned from the State Senate in 1964 to take the job. Fair was formally appointed by a Joint Session of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1990. Fair's term expired on March 15, 1995, but the Legislature has not yet considered his status. The New Jersey Constitution calls for a State Auditor to serve a term of five years, or until a successor is appointed. From 2002 to 2003, Fair served as president of the National State Auditors Association; in some states, the State Auditor is elected directly by the voters. Codey, as Acting Governor and Senate President, can call the Legislature into session for the purpose of actually voting on who the State Auditor is.

The Forrester campaign is experiencing some internal problems. The candidate has reportedly had some discussions with GREG STEVENS, a Washington-based consultant who was Chief of Staff to Governor THOMAS KEAN when Forrester was Assistant State Treasurer, about playing a role in the campaign. Forrester has also had some discussions with GEORGE GORTON, who along with DON SIPPLE runs a California political consulting shop that handled the 2003 campaign of ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER for Governor of California.

Forrester has not received an enthusiastic response from Republican activists to his Conga Line of Corruption television ad, and reviews of his ads calling for the resignation of CBS anchor DAN RATHER were mixed Forrester, a fairly serious kind of guy who would rather look stiff than undignified, seems to be taking the buzz about his campaign rather seriously. The worst-kept secret in New Jersey GOP circles these days is that some of the state's most powerful establishment Republicans, anxious to deny Bret Schundler the nomination, are unable to become excited over the prospects of Forrester as their standard bearer. There is considerable talk among party leaders of recruiting a new candidate to join the field.

One of the key issues seems to be a struggle between Forrester's friends and his consultants over top campaign staff positions. Some Forrester insiders want to recruit staffers who were involved in major statewide races during the 2004 campaign cycle, while his current consultants, Jamestown Associates, prefer to fill staff positions with operatives whom they have worked with in the past.

Forrester is also not happy with comments made by consultant ARTHUR FINKELSTEIN, who enjoys a strategic partnership with Jamestown. In an interview with an Israeli newspaper shortly after the November election, Finkelstein criticized Republicans for moving too far to the right during the re-election campaign of President GEORGE W. BUSH. The comments resulted in a very public rebuke of Finkelstein by own of his premier clients, New York Governor GEORGE PATAKI, and Forrester was said to have considered firing Finkelstein -- but LARRY WEITZNER, a Jamestown princpal, lobbied hard to save him.

On Sunday, a front page story carried by several Gannett newspapers reported that Forrester exceeded federal contribution limits to the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign. Forrester and his wife each gave $2,000 to the campaign, and his Liberty and Prosperity PAC also gave $2,000. Forrester and his wife contributed $20,000 of the $34,101 raised by the PAC. In the last cycle, the PAC contributed $4,000 more to federal candidates -- all outside New Jersey -- including a Jamestown client, GOP Congresswoman NANCY JOHNSON of Connecticut. The balance of the money went to Jamestown and to SUSAN JESTER, a political operative who has been helping build support for Forrester's campaign for Governor for most of the year. This leaves Forrester open to criticism that he avoided state gubernatorial spending caps by paying Jester through his PAC.

A National Research poll last week that showed Forrester and Schundler statistically tied in the race for the GOP nomination for Governor. The owner of National Research, ADAM GELLER, once worked for Jamestown and still has extremely close ties to that firm. Geller says he does not currently work for any of the gubernatorial candidates. How did Forrester suddenly take the lead? "Obviously his media is paying off at this stage," Geller explained. PoliticsNJ.com declined to post the poll on this website last Friday.

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