Paul Aronsohn

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's PAC has contributed $5,000 to 5th district Democratic congressional candidate Dennis Shulman: Getty Images Photo
PARAMUS -- Sitting at a conference table with Dennis Shulman at IBEW Local 164's headquarters with labor officials and two reporters this morning, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) was asked whether he planned to back up his visible support of Shulman with a significant amount of cash.

Hoyer, smiling, pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Shulman.

"Here's another $2,500.  Talk is cheap, right?" said Hoyer.  "It's not in the mail.  It's in his pocket now."

It was the second $2,500 check that Hoyer's political action committee, AmeriPAC, had given to Schulman's campaign - something he said would be a taste of things to come if Shulman continues to run a vigorous campaign against three-term Rep. Scott Garrett in the fifth congressional district.

PolitickerNJ.com's Winners & Losers of the Week

Paul Aronsohn, the former press secretary to Gov. James E. McGreevey who lost a bid for Congress in 2006 by eleven percentage points, is now a Ridgewood Councilman-elect.  He was among three challengers who ousted two incumbents in Tuesday’s non-partisan municipal races.  Aronsohn’s election to public office makes it more likely that he’ll seek higher office again in the future; that could be as early as July, when the new five-member Council meets to elect a Mayor.

Anne Zusy recently registered as a Democrat to vote for Barack Obama.  Paul Aronsohn likes Hillary Clinton.  And Keith Killion, who’s registered as a Republican, is a John McCain supporter. 

But the three stood outside of a post office in Ridgewood today to run as a team for three council seats, saying that the village needs new blood in its government.  The fact that the three of them could run together, they say, is evidence how seriously this traditionally Republican town takes its non-partisan elections. 

Their opponents are incumbent council members Betty Wiest, the town’s Deputy Mayor, and Jacques Harlow.  Wiest spent most of the day at home calling supporters to get them out to the polls, while Harlow competed in a senior citizens’ tennis tournament, which he said would help take his mind off of the election. 

A robocall in Ridgewood caused a stir in the village’s municipal elections this week, with all of the candidates it supported disowning it.

The call, made by the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) on Sunday, voiced support for council incumbents Betty Wiest, Jacques Harlow and new council candidate Keith Killion.

According to Killion’s campaign manager, Ron Verdicchio, the call sounded “as if Keith Killion was running with and endorsing Jacque Harlow and Betty Wiest.” Killion, the town’s second-in-command policeman, is actually endorsing two other non-incumbent candidates: Paul Aronsohn and Anne Zusy.

Ridgewood Mayor David Pfund isn’t up for reelection tomorrow, but he may not keep the mayoral seat much longer.

The town’s five member council, governed under the Faulkner Act, chooses one of its own every two years to become mayor.  Pfund has been mayor for four years, and his council seat is not up for reelection until 2010.  But with five candidates vying for three seats on the body in tomorrow’s election, Pfund may either step down and allow someone else to take the helm.  Or he could try to hold on for reelection at the council’s July 1st reorganization meeting. 

As of right now, Pfund isn’t letting on what he’s going to do, though some local insiders have suggested that he's getting ready to step down. 

“The focus right now is on the municipal election, and afterwards we’ll have a closed-session meeting and we’ll discuss all these issues to move forward in the next term,” said Pfund. 

In the small, densely packed Bergen County village of Ridgewood, five candidates are competing for three council seats in the May 13th municipal elections.

Up for reelection are Deputy Mayor Betty Wiest and Councilman Jacques Harlow. Councilwoman Kim Ringler Shagin is stepping down, and three new challengers are vying for a spot on the board: political veteran Paul Aronsohn, police captain Keith Killion and community activist Anne Zusy.

While the town has long been considered Republican leaning, its elections are non-partisan, and its council race seems almost completely void of party politics.