Possible floor fight for District 1 union endorsement

Unfortunately Asselta isn't nearly as strong as he thinks and Van Drew is going to easily overtake him. All I hear about is all of the good things Van Drew is doing or trying to do and I never hear about Asselta. He just woke up a few weeks ago and realized a portion of Route 9 is closed. Van Drew was on top of it two years ago. Nick's been asleep at the wheel and now Van Drew is going to be our Senator. The unions should go with Van Drew since that is who they are going to have to work with next year. Like Van Drew or not--nobody works harder.

First off I am a registered Democrat and a member of the afl-cio. It is interesting how the South Jersey Dems who say they are labor's friends only go after the Republicans who support labor. Senator Sweeney is just showing his true colors. He supports labor only if it can help him, like last year when he went after the public employees who are members of the same afl-cio that he is. It got his name in the paper saying he is trying to cut taxes. This spring he is all for protecting their pensions and demanding full funding of the public pension fund (he gets at least 2 public pensions). He is labor's friend as long as it can get him and his cronies elected to their multiple jobs and double and triple pensions. Nick Asselta is a good and fair Senator and it would be a loss for NJ if he isn't elected in November of 2007, and not endorsed by the afl-cio in June.

Actually, every year the Philadelphia Inquirer rates the effectiveness of legislators based on ratio of bills sponsored to ratio of bills passed, and Van Drew is consistently at the top of that list. I know there's a perception that he jumps on every the issue of the day, but some might call that responsive, and his constituents have come to love him for it. When the price of gas spiked in the late 90s, he didn't whine about it-- he got in his truck and did weekly surveys of each station's prices. Found out that Cape May County was being spot-zoned, and got the practice changed. Over the past decade, he has walked every line with unions throughout the county-- not that it's a hotbed of activity down there, but when it counts, he is there. I know Charlie is having a hard time on this one, but he needs to realize that this is a losing proposition. Did anyone see the stat in the Ledger the other day that the GOP has lost legislative seats in each and every cycle since 1993? Ouch. Even redistricting-- when it finally comes-- won't be able to make up that kind of a gap. Nick is a decent guy-- unless you've been on the receiving end of one of his infamous creepy hittings-on. But he has not been effective. He plays the Trenton schmooze game very well. But beyond that, what does the man have to run on? This is going to be a bigger Van Drew win than you think. Labor deserves to be on board.

Van Drew is a "do nothing" assemblyman. All his bills are frivolous. He hasn't proposed anything of substance. The casinos remember when he voted for the casino tax and was with the dems shutting down the casinos last year. Asselta has been trying to get something done about the Beesley Point Bridge for years, but his party isn't in power. Van Drew just remembered that's part of his district. But he would rather the road funds go to North Jersey. This is a low turnout year. Van Drew can spend millions on advertising, but it will come down to a turnout effort, plain and simple. If the AFL-CIO does not endorse, it's a victory for Asselta.

Van Drew has had more bills signed into law than almost every other legislator, especially Asselta. He also has a 100% voting record with Labor and is a prime sponsor of every labor bill there is. He did not vote in favor of the casino tax--check the voting records. He is great for labor--Nick is pretty good too but it's different when you just vote for a bill. Van Drew puts his name on them, sponsors them, and gets them through. He also helped Albano ( a labor guy) get elected. As far as the Beesley's Point Bridge--until a few weeks ago we never heard a word from Asselta. I live in this district and talk to alot of people--mainly republicans and they are going with Van Drew. Nick is fun to hang out with but Jeff just works harder.