That Was The Week That Was: 11/25/07

by Paul Eisenman [courtesy of Blog for America]

News from Bergen Grassroots
Monday, November 26, 2007

Voter Registration Deadlines

If you plan to help New Jersey pick a presidential candidate, there are some deadlines you need to know. Dec. 17 is the deadline for filing change of political party affiliation for the Feb. 5 presidential primary. That would apply if, for example, you are registered as a Republican and want to vote in the Democratic primary. Or vice versa. TW3 believes that if you are registered as unaffiliated, you may make that decision on primary day, but we’ll do some more checking to make sure that is so. If you are not a registered voter, you have until Jan. 15 to enroll and participate in the Feb. 5 primary.

Any More Fifth CD Candidates?

Speaking of registration deadlines, some Grassrooters seem impatient to proceed with what appears to be an Abbate/Shulman campaign. The deadline for candidates to register is 57 days prior to the primary, which falls on June 3 this year. That looks like April 1, 2008. Campaigns are far too long, TW3 believes, and waiting until April to get involved in one certainly seems to be a sensible plan. Anyone disagree?

Coniglio Probe Continues
Federal investigators are sorting through new boxes of evidence collected Tuesday morning (Nov. 20) from state Sen. Joseph Coniglio's Paramus home and his legislative office. The federal raids are the latest development in an ongoing corruption probe. The focus of probe is the Democratic senator's ties to more than $1 million in state grant money received by Hackensack University Medical Center over a two-year period during which Coniglio also worked for the hospital as a paid consultant.

Christie Rewards His Old Boss

Joe Moran of the Star-Ledger reports: “US Attorney Chris Christie, the state's crusader against corruption, has always been a big fan of former Attorney General John Ashcroft, his old boss. So it came as no surprise when Christie asked Ashcroft to help clean up a sleazy company that had fallen into his net. While prosecutors continue sniffing around for people to send to jail, Ashcroft is supposed to look over the firm's shoulder. So far, so good. But Ashcroft's price tag is one for the record books. His consulting firm, based in Washington, expects to charge between $29 million and $52 million for 18 months of work -- the kind of sum usually reserved for baseball MVPs. And suppose the sleazy firm thinks that Ashcroft is padding his bills with extra hours. The appeal goes straight back to Christie, who makes the call. This one has an odor to it."