Sunday, May 19, 2013
NJ results part of a national trend charted in just-released report from U.S. Census Bureau.
A new report on voting in the 2012 presidential election found that blacks in New Jersey, like those across the nation, turned out in greater percentages than any other racial or ethnic group and the youngest voters, those age 18 through 24, turned out in the smallest numbers. The report by the U.S. Census Bureau released on Wednesday said that a greater percentage of eligible blacks voted than whites for the first time since officials began publishing voting statistics in 1996. Nationally, two in three eligible blacks voted in the presidential election, which was slightly higher than the 64.1 percent of non-Hispanic whites. In New Jersey, 68.5 percent of eligible African Americans voted, compared with 63.4 percent of whites. James Harris…
Gubernatorial candidate speaks in Newark Monday about the 'scourge' of gun violence
The likely Democratic candidate for governor accused incumbent Chris Christie on Monday of supporting "shallow" gun control legislation in order to avoid alienating conservatives elsewhere in the country. “This governor calibrates every decision he makes with an eye towards 2016. He calibrates every decision he makes with an eye towards making sure it plays well with voters in the cornfields of Iowa, instead of standing up for what’s right for the people and neighborhoods of New Jersey,” state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) said during a press conference held at Good Neighbor Baptist Church in Newark. Buono is expected to win next month’s primary, but is an underdog in the November governor’s race against the popular Christie, who is …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
GOP lawmakers says proposal’s too expensive, not needed because people can cast absentee ballots.
Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have created a system for early voting in New Jersey, which Democrats saw as needed to expand voting opportunities but the governor deemed unnecessary. Inspired by the state’s chaotic 2012 presidential election held in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the bill, S-2364and A-3553, would have permitted voters to cast ballots in person at designated polling locations as early as 15 days prior to an election. It was sponsored by and supported by only Democrats. All Republicans in both the Senate and Assembly opposed it, and given the composition of the Legislature, it is impossible to override a veto without GOP support. In his veto message, Christie said New Jersey voters have been able to …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Even with backing of both teachers unions, Buono faces challenge to articulate how she differs from Christie.
It's taken a while, but Gov. Chris Christie’s aggressive school reform agenda -- and the Democrats’ counter to it -- could be emerging as a big issue in the 2013 gubernatorial election. Christie’s very public involvement in the public schools -- especially in some of the state’s most troubled districts -- has been one of the hallmarks of his education agenda for the past three-and-a-half years. To recap some of the governor's political -- and personal -- initiatives: appointing a reform-minded superintendent in Newark, and playing a large role in hammering out a new teachers contract there; opposing Abbott v. Burke school-equity decisions; pushing for private school vouchers; blocking the surrender of state control in both Newark and …
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
New Jersey law allows contributors who donate less than $300 to remain anonymous.
A report published last week revealed New Jersey’s current campaign donation system needs to be revised after it was disclosed politicians can receive more money while still keeping the names of their donors secret — as long as the contributions are less than $300. The NJ.com report said most states allow campaigns to keep only those donors who give $100, $50 or less private, but Garden State politicians don’t have to report any information about people who contribute less than $300. The report said because of the state’s secretive laws, candidates were able to hide about $12 million out of the $100 million donated. The state’s rule allowing campaigns to keep these donors anonymous could undergo a re-evaluation after one of the state’s …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Many Senate and Assembly incumbents face competition in bids for slots on November ballot.
While the governor’s race tops the ballot, a number of legislative contests throughout the state, more of which target incumbent Democrats than Republicans, may prove at least as interesting to local voters. Monday was the deadline for partisan candidates to file petitions to get on the primary ballot in June. Both Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), his expected Democratic challenger, have primary opponents. But so do five incumbent state senators -- four Democrats and one Republican – and seven Assembly members – four Democrats and three Republicans. There are at least some other challenges for open seats or for the right to challenge incumbents in November. The entire makeup of the election landscape is …
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
NJ jobless rate higher than national average and neighboring states still a vulnerability for Christie.
With New Jersey’s governor’s race already in general-election mode, last week’s 0.2 percent dip in the state unemployment rate to 9.3 percent drew immediate partisan responses. Charles Steindel, Gov. Chris Christie’s chief economist, gushed that the “solid” month continued “the general, upward trend of growth and progress established under the Christie administration.” Meanwhile, Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), Christie’s Democratic challenger, declared that “the fact that Gov. Christie’s administration calls this ‘another solid month,’ after losing 2,200 jobs in January, just shows how the governor is out of touch with reality." In actuality, the February drop continued a slow five-month improvement from a 35-year record-high …
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Gov. Christie: “I intend on living here after I’m governor... and I do not want to live under a Democratic governor.”
Gov. Chris Christie told Republicans Thursday that members of his party should work together to elect strong GOP candidates across New Jersey in the coming years. Christie, speaking at Bergen County Republican Organization Headquarters in Hackensack, urged the audience that strong Republican leaders and candidates are needed at all levels of government. “This can’t just be about me,” said Christie. “After we win re-election in November it’ll be just four more years that I can be governor and then I’m term limited. [We need] good candidates that can run for governor, run for the legislature, run for freeholder, run for local offices. If we don’t have that set up then we haven’t done as good of a job as we could.” The governor's speech …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Just by showing up for interview, governor demonstrates how his relationship with union has evolved.
The fact that Gov. Chris Christie didn’t win the New Jersey Education Association’s endorsement for governor this weekend wasn’t all that unexpected. The surprise was that he participated in the process at all. Four years after Christie sent a public letter rather than showing up for his pitch to the NJEA, the governor walked across West State St. in Trenton -- right on time for his 6:30 appointment. In what was described as a cordial back and forth, Christie spent 45 minutes in front of the 15 union leaders who make up the screening committee, responding to probing questions about everything from pensions to teacher evaluation. Ultimately, the union’s PAC picked the Democratic challenger, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), by a …
Saturday, February 23, 2013
A Quinnipiac University poll released this week shows Chris Christie with a big lead over his Democratic challenger, state Sen. Barbara Buono.
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Saturday, February 23
Gov. Chris Christie is the best person to lead New Jersey over the next four years, according to voters polled in a survey released this week by Quinnipiac University. Christie, a Republican, leads his Democratic rival, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), 62 percent to 25 percent in the state's 2013 gubernatorial race, according to the poll. The governor's overall approval rating also remains high. Christie's 74 percent approval rating and 69 percent favorable rating tie his personal record highs from January, the Huffington Post reports, both numbers buoyed by public perception of the way he handled Hurricane Sandy's impact and its aftermath. Christie appears to have strong support on the other side of the aisle, as well. In the …
Tugwalla
10:02 am on Monday, May 20, 2013
Corey...by default this is a story based on race. However...why did the left accuse whites would did not vote for Obama as being racists...but not the blacks who voted for him? more ›