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ABC's Nightline let New Jersey Democrats pile on the Chris Christie controversy and take shots at the Republican governor, on Friday's show. Anchor Dan Harris hyped the nasty gossip and asked if Christie's political future was over. "Democrats in Trenton, the state capitol, clearly see an opening," Harris touted. He added that "Democrats, including Christie's former opponent, Senator Barbara Buono regaled us with stories about the governor's alleged abusive behavior." [Video coming soon. Audio here.] Harris also spoke with Democratic state senator Richard Codey and quoted Fort Lee's Democratic mayor Mark Sokolich, both of whom blasted Christie. Harris teed up...

State Sen. Richard J. Codey would rather focus on his family-owned funeral business than run in November against Gov. Christie, the Essex County Democrat said Friday. Despite weeks of speculation and a trip to Washington to woo big donors, Codey decided to scrap a campaign after his youngest son, Chris, said he would like to go into the family business and asked Codey to forgo the gubernatorial race. … With less than nine months before the election, Democrats have yet to rally around a gubernatorial candidate. Christie, meanwhile, becomes ever more the juggernaut: The Republican has raised more than $2...

November and December are the months when newly elected officials and their allies finally start telling voters about things they didn't want to mention during the campaign. New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon Corzine and his predecessor, outgoing Acting Gov. Dick Codey, finally 'fessed up about the Garden State's precarious fiscal health Thursday in speeches at the convention of the state's League of Municipalities. And it ain't pretty. "We're pretty much broke," conceded Codey. "We have more debt than we can afford. Next year's budget deficit is at least $5 billion. School construction and transportation funding have virtually dried up. And we...

While Corzine is the only one who can choose his replacement in the Senate, Codey has said he is unlikely to take the job if Corzine offers it to him. “His first inclination would be to say no because he really thinks it would be a strain on his family life,” said Codey spokeswoman Kelley Heck. “But he’s not saying he wouldn’t consider it.”

In January, shock jock Craig Carton caused an uproar by insulting the acting governor's wife. More recently, he took aim at Asian-Americans. On Thursday afternoon, the NJ 101.5 WKXW-FM radio personality switched off his irreverent persona and turned on his serious, public-service side to host a live, two-hour debate among five of the Republicans running for governor of New Jersey. "Hopefully people know that at times we have the ability to be serious and straight and at other times, when it warrants it, to have a good time and not be so straight," Carton said during a commercial break at...

N.J. gov. outlines his agenda for the year By Alex Savvides / Correspondent Published: 12/8/2004 New Brunswick Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey outlined his agenda for the next 13 months Monday evening, saying his administration would look into raising minimum wage, getting more homeland security money, and increasing the number of jobs in the state. Codey and State Democratic Committee Chairwoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman addressed the audience of several hundred New Jersey Democrats in the Regency Ballroom of the New Brunswick Hyatt Regency hotel, promising large returns for the Democratic Party in November 2005. Codey added that increasing minimum wage is...

<p>Driving will be on the minds of state lawmakers as they convene today in Trenton, where they are scheduled to consider bills that would toughen the definition of drunken driving, ban motorists from using cell phones and mandate cleaner-running cars.</p>