by Matt Compton

Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee

November 4, 2009

On a night when state Democrats were looking for good news, the New Jersey Assembly offered a sharp counterpoint to elections elsewhere.

Headed into Tuesday, Democrats held a solid majority, but Republicans had been talking about mounting a serious effort to cut into that margin, if not win the eight seats they would need to tie the chamber.

The Democratic Assembly Caucus met that challenge head-on. In the weeks before Election Day, New Jersey Democrats built up formidable advantages in fundraising, candidate quality, and organization. That in turn allowed them to counter a bad set of national trends and a strong statewide campaign from GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie.

Last night, the Democratic Caucus protected all of its incumbents. The only seat that appears to have changed hands was left open by retirement in District 4.

By Chris Megerian

Star-Ledger

October 26, 2009

TRENTON -- As the nail-biting governor’s race consumes just about all of the political oxygen this campaign season, there’s a quieter battle being waged for the 80-seat state Assembly, where Democrats are confident they will continue nearly a decade of dominance.

Under-funded and lesser-known Republicans are struggling to make headway in legislative races, and few expect Democrats to lose control of the lower house, where they hold a 48-32 majority. 

 Law Signed by Gov. Corzine Bars Sex Offenders from Youth Groups

(NEWARK) – Legislation Assemblyman Albert Coutinho sponsored to protect New Jersey children by prohibiting sex-offenders from serving in youth organizations was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

The law (A-1731) prohibits those who have been convicted, adjudicated delinquent or found not guilty by reason of insanity of committing a range of sexual offenses from working or volunteering for youth sports teams and groups that provide recreational, educational, cultural, social, charitable and other activities to those under 18 years of age.

(TRENTON) – Assembly Democratic legislation sponsored by Nelson Albano, Peter Barnes III, Elease Evans, Linda Greenstein, Matt Milam and Fred Scalera sponsored to give law enforcement enhanced abilities to crackdown on child Internet crimes was signed Tuesday by Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

The bills are part of Attorney General Anne Milgram’s Internet safety initiatives. They were approved by the Assembly in March.

“This helps give law enforcement the tools they need to better protect children who use the Internet for education and recreation,” said Greenstein (D-Middlesex/Mercer). “No longer will Web sites be the playgrounds of criminals looking to prey on vulnerable children.”

The laws:

(TRENTON) – Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) released the following statement after Monday’s Assembly Republican gathering:

“It’s laughable that this partisan sideshow once again failed to discuss legislation that would, for instance, tackle whether law enforcement officials should use their public positions for political gain while squandering taxpayer dollars on luxurious travel.

“I also find it odd that the panel failed to discuss whether taxpayers would appreciate lifting travel restrictions that have sav ed taxpayer money in recent years. 

“Then again, circuses are purely for entertainment, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised these Assembly Republican confabs are so out of touch with the public’s concerns.