Bonnie Watson Coleman

JERSEY CITY - Asked about state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex) as a potential candidate for lieutenant governor, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-Hoboken) said he liked the idea.

"She is one of several people in our party who would be an excellent candidate," Menendez told PolitickernJ.com at an Obama rally on Saturday. "It's the governor's decision ultimately, of course, and I do not envy him, because there are numerous qualified people."

Other potential lieutenant governor candidates among the Democrats include Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing).

Some Republicans think former State Sen. Richard LaRossa is preparing for another political comeback bid, this time as a candidate for State Assembly in the 15th district against Democratic incumbents Bonnie Watson Coleman and Reed Gusciora.  This week, LaRossa announced that he was filing an ethics complaint against Gusciora for sending out a political press release attacking GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin from his legislative office.  He also came to the aid of Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose after a Democratic staffer questioned her intellectual capacity.

Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer: Politicker file photo

DENVER - The name of Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer often appears on people’s short lists for lieutenant governor in 2009.

Palmer doesn’t have a problem with that.

"I’m thinking about it," he told PoltiickerNJ.com, regarding attempting to land an under-card position on a ticket with Gov. Jon Corzine.

Voters don’t care if Gov. Jon Corzine picks a woman or a minority for Lt. Governor if he runs again next year, according to a Zogby International poll of likely voters commissioned by Garden State Equality.  Just 31% says a ticket balanced by gender or race is important, while 65% say it is unimportant. 

Among women voters, 58% say they don’t care if Corzine picks a woman running mate, while 37% say they do. 

Racial balance is more important to African American voters that Latinos: 66% of African Americans consider it important, while just 31% of Latino voters do. 

Is Jon Corzine following the Barack Obama model and auditioning candidates for Lieutenant Governor by taking a road trip?  The Governor, who says he’ll seek re-election next year, is leaving today for Fort Bliss in Texas, where he’ll lead a bi-partisan delegation to visit with New Jersey National Guard troops.  Four of the five Democrats joining him have been mentioned as possible candidates for Lt. Governor: Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney, Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, and State Sen. Teresa Ruiz.   

There’s even a Chuck Hagel-type on the trip: former Republican Congressman Bob Franks, who nearly beat Corzine in the 2000 U.S. Senate race but has now become a close friend and sometime policy advisor.

Tom Hester, Jr. has joined the Assembly Majority Staff as Associate Executive Director.Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts has picked Tom Hester, Jr., a veteran state house reporter, to serve as the new Associate Executive Director for Communications in the Assembly Majority Office. Hester replaces Mike Muller, who left this month to run the coordinated Democratic campaign. Hester has covered the Legislature and the Governor’s office for the Associated Press and the Trenton Times, and worked for the Express Times and the Hunterdon County Democrat. His father, Tom Hester, Sr., was also a well-known statehouse reporter.

If Gov. Jon Corzine picks Bonnie Watson Coleman to run for Lt. Governor in 2009, it would spawn two new campaigns: one to replace her on the Democratic ticket for State Assembly in the fifteenth legislative district, and one to pick a new Assembly Majority Leader.   While Watson Coleman lives in Ewing, her seat is widely viewed as the Trenton seat; her brother, Bill Watson, is a top political insider there, and her late father, John Watson, served many years as a City Councilman and Assemblyman.

Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing)Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden) told PolitickerNJ.com he believes Gov. Jon Corzine would do well to select Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) as his running mate in 2009.

Watson Coleman, a veteran of the Assembly and former state party chair, would be the state’s first lieutenant governor if Corzine were to run with her and win re-election.

"He’s got to pick someone who’s compatible with his style, of course," said Roberts. "I happen to be a big fan of Bonnie Watson Coleman’s. Her strengths are that she is highly respected, very well thought of in the legislature, where she was unanimously elected majority leader, and she is highly committed to the faith-based, African-American community."

Some Democratic insiders suggest that the hyper local political problems that seem to be plaguing Newark Mayor Cory Booker might help the nationally prominent rising star more interested in running for Lieutenant Governor in 2009.  Booker, Democrats say, would make a very attractive running mate for Jon Corzine, but could have trouble winning re-election to a second term as Mayor in 2010.