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Codey set to take reins { August 18 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
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Codey set to take reins
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Senate President Richard Codey walked out of the governor's office yesterday afternoon, giving every indication he would soon be its next occupant.
In brief remarks following a meeting with Gov. James E. McGreevey, Codey, D-West Orange, dismissed persistent rumors that the governor would step down within the next couple of weeks, forcing a special election in November in which U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine would be the likely Democratic candidate.
"(McGreevey) is very firm in his resolve to stay until Nov. 15. There was no equivocation," Codey said of the governor, who stunned the state on Thursday by saying he would resign in November over a secret extramarital affair with another man that had left his administration vulnerable. The man is said to be Golan Cipel, a former aide whose appointment to a security post stirred controversy in the first weeks of his administration.
Codey went on to say he and McGreevey were "talking about the transition," although he declined to say more about their discussion.
If McGreevey leaves office after Sept. 3, Codey will take over as acting governor, under the state constitution. New Jersey power brokers who are adamantly opposed to a Codey-run government have been trying for the past several days to enlist enough support to push McGreevey out early to force the special election.
Despite Codey's assertion, the McGreevey succession is far from settled, Democrats observed.
People in the Corzine camp were quick to say yesterday that the senator was not one of the people doing the shoving, while they stopped short of saying what Corzine would do if McGreevey were, in fact, forced out before Sept. 3.
"The senator is not among those who are pushing the governor to get out early," said David Wald, a Corzine spokesman.
But Wald also said "there was no deal" over McGreevey's succession between Codey and Corzine, who met yesterday morning. He added, "The decision is something he would need to think about."
Indeed, Democrats here said Corzine, in the state for the first time yesterday since McGreevey's announcement, was assessing support for his candidacy. Corzine spent the day in private meetings while his staff spoke with constituency groups.
Codey, who met with Corzine yesterday, would only say of that meeting, "We talked about the government and where we were going."-- -- --
Some county leaders, labor groups and regional power brokers, such as George Norcross of Camden County and John Lynch of Middlesex County, have maneuvered behind the scenes to get McGreevey out now by trying to rally the party around Corzine as its nominee in a possible special election. Norcross and Lynch are longtime foes of Codey, Democrats said, adding that the two believe they would wield no influence in his administration.
"Codey would shut these guys out," said one Democratic insider.
In Hudson County, Sen. Bernard Kenny, D-Hoboken, chairman of the Hudson County Democratic organization, has called on McGreevey to step down immediately. Kenny, who has been allies with McGreevey and Codey, said he was trying to gather support for Corzine to run in a special election.
Kenny did not return a phone call yesterday.
Rep. Robert Menendez, D-Union City, had indicated on Monday he was going to hold a news conference today calling on McGreevey to step aside. Menendez would be first in line to replace Corzine in the U.S. Senate, with the possibility that Kenny would succeed Menendez.
A spokeswoman for Menendez, Desiree Ramos, said yesterday, however, that no news conference was planned.
Few other Democrats have publicly called for McGreevey to step down.
In Middlesex County, Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Woodbridge, and Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Metuchen, yesterday declined to sign onto a letter calling for McGreevey to step down in time for a special election in November.
"Calls for a special election do a disservice to the general voting public because invariably a short-term sprint to the Governor's Office minimizes the dialogue between candidates and potential voters and promotes a system where a handful of politically connected individuals circumvents the primary process in favor of partisan deal-making," Vitale said in a written statement.
Buono issued a statement expressing support for Codey as well.
Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Lawrence, said she had heard no calls in Mercer County for a special election.
McGreevey aides reiterated his intention to stay until Nov. 15 to tie up loose ends. The governor was back at work yesterday, participating in homeland security preparations in the morning, they said.-- -- --
Democrats say they have received calls from McGreevey's chief of staff, Jamie Fox, who said that the governor would only be forced out "over my cold dead body."
The administration is threatening to strike back at the power brokers who are pressuring McGreevey to depart now with an executive order imposing strict regulations on government contracts.
"The past few days have demonstrated that the county bosses, the warlords, are out of control," said one administration official. He said the executive order to ban the "pay-to-play" system, using government contracts to reward and induce campaign contributions, is being drafted.
"We are considering it as a parting gesture, one nobody will pay the political price of undoing," the McGreevey aide said. "We are now free to do a lot of things we couldn't do before."
The State Investment Council is expected to adopt stringent conflict-of-interest rules today. Last month, the council's meeting was canceled in a move widely perceived as an attempt by the governor's office to block the rules from being put in place.
Several Democrats are growing anxious for the infighting to end, saying they fear the squabble is damaging the party's image.
"We look like juvenile delinquents on the playground without supervision," said one.
Republicans, meanwhile, huddled to discuss strategy should there be a special election. Former Gov. Thomas H. Kean did not return calls yesterday to comment on reports the party may try to draft him.
But he did tell the Associated Press in Washington, "I'm doing this now, not that," apparently referring to his work with the 9/11 commission.
Contact Tracey L. Regan at (609) 777-4465 or tregan@njtimes.com
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