Plainfield Dem Primary a proxy for things to come?

Who is this guy? And what does he have to do with Plainfield, anyway?

 
Was Tuesday's Plainfield Democratic Primary a proxy for things to come?

Consider the results --

Ward	Candidate	Tally	Percent
1	Emmett SWAN	199	25.75
	Diane TOLIVER	491	62.50
	Siddeeq EL-AMIN	83	10.75
2/3	Rebecca WILLIAMS	1082	53
	Charles EKE	948	47
3	Charles McRAE	507	46
	Gloria TAYLOR	560	51
	Rasheed ABDUL-HAWW	31	3

The first thing to note is that Assemblyman Jerry Green was powerless to stop incumbent New Democrat Rebecca Williams, despite his refusal to give her the line, his continuous smears throughout the campaign (including the so-called 'Sweeney letter'), and his dissing her in interviews with the media (for detailed coverage of the Plainfield contest, see various articles on PoliticerNJ here).

Secondly, though Green spent a fortune on mailers, flyers, cable TV spots, robocalls and street workers, his candidate Gloria Taylor only won by a whisker over New Democrat Charles McRae in the contest to fill Mayor Adrian Mapp's unexpired Ward 3 Council seat -- especially if the votes for longtime activist Rasheed Abdul-Haqq are taken into account.

The surprise is the strong showing by newcomer Emmett Swan, who vied with Green's handpicked candidate Diane Toliver to replace retiring Councilor Bill Reid. Swan garnered 25% of the vote, not shabby at all since Green has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to sandbag the Ward after his humiliating defeat in Ward 1 at the hands of the New Democrats in 2002's primary.

WAR BY PROXY IN PLAINFIELD?

While many recipients were shocked by the so-called 'Sweeney letter' mailing piece in which the Senate President attacked and smeared Rebecca Williams, it was only the latest evidence of a longstanding and deepseated connection between Jerry Green and South Jersey political boss George Norcross.

Sweeney, a Norcross front man, has ambitions to run for governor in the next race. This mailer is only the latest in a string of connections -- of which perhaps the most dramatic was the 'wheeling' by the Norcross machine (at that time by Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts) of $36,000 at the last minute to help elect Sharon Robinson-Briggs mayor back in 2005.

Meanwhile, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is also making moves to position himself for next governor's race. And it is no secret that Mayor Adrian Mapp has close ties with the dynamic and progressive new mayor, whose city is one of the economic bright spots in an otherwise bleak landscape presided over by a wounded Chris Christie.

Jerry Green must run for re-election next year. Though, at 75, others might be thinking of retirement, one has to recall Charlotte DeFilippo's apt characterization of Green as 'like a firehouse dog that must get up and run every time the bell rings'.

I don't think Green will ever think of stepping down.

So, the next question is whether he wll face a challenger next year in the bullpen warmup for the governor's race.

Meanwhile, Jerry Green was so focused on the Plainfield contest, he dropped the ball elsewhere in his Union County domain (where an anti-machine Democrat captured the Linden mayoral Democratic primry). This may make him vulnerable as Union County Dem chair when that re-election takes place -- also next year.

A victory for Green in Plainfield yesterday?

Yes, but Pyrrhic.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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