NJ: Schaer will replace Cohen as key committee chairman

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Gary Schaer will replace Neil Cohen as Chairman of the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance CommitteeAssemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) is expected to be named chairman of the Assembly Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee. The post became available in July when Neil Cohen resigned his Assembly seat after being caught with child pornography on his state computer.  A formal announcement from Speaker Joseph Roberts is expected to come later this afternoon. �
With jurisdiction over the banking and insurance industries, the committee is considered to be one of the most powerful assignments in the Legislature.  Schaer, a two-term Assemblyman, has a background and career in the financial services industry and has formed a solid relationship with Roberts.  For now, Schaer will retain his vice chairmanship of the Assembly Budget Committee.

NJ: Merkt mulling bid for Governor

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Assemblyman Rick Merkt, a conservative from Morris County, is expected to announce tomorrow that he's forming an exploratory committee to look at a bid for the 2009 Republican nomination for Governor.

NY: Senate Press Office Flip

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ALBANY—The latest swap in the State Senate office shuffle: the press offices.
Austin Shafran, press secretary for Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, said the Democrats will be moving into the old suite occupied by John McArdle, the longtime Republican press hand. While some Republicans have been downsizing and packing for a while - some since before the majority flipped - the actual news was disseminated to McArdle this morning, according to a Senate Republican source. They were told to be out by Friday. Both suites are on the Capitol’s third floor.
The source said the Democrats had looked at the office and were initially unimpressed, but changed their tune after

NY: Bloomberg Says There Are Some Consultants He Hasn’t Hired

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Michael Bloomberg’s re-election campaign isn’t hiring everyone, he wants you to know.
“Last time I checked, there were probably a few other Democratic consultants in the country that we haven’t hired. Even I don’t think I have that kind of money necessary to hire them all. That’s not a particularly good strategy,” he said at a press conference in Battery Park today.
He was responding to a question from a reporter who asked about reports that his campaign is hiring numerous consultants and operative, including two who had been associated with his Democratic rivals: Hank Sheinkopf (from Bill Thompson’s side) and Basil Smikle (from Anthony Weiner’s campaign).

NY: The Public Comes to Seabrook

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A reader passes along this video of City Councilman Larry Seabrook being confronted by an unhappy constituent.
A rare public challenge for an elected official.
UPDATE: Well, not precisely the public. It should be noted that the guy confronting Seabrook is Jerome Rice, his political opponent.

NY: Expedited Schedule for Term Limits Case

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A small victory for the people fighting Michael Bloomberg’s term-limits extension: their legal case against it has been fast-tracked, according to a plaintiff in the case, City Councilman Bill de Blasio, who sent over this statement:

“Today our appeal of the term limits decision was granted an expedited schedule, a critical factor in making sure any decision on this issue is still relevant to this year’s elections. Just yesterday a new poll showed that 69% of New Yorkers still disapprove of the decision to extend term limits. As long as New Yorkers continue to be outraged by the mayor’s blatant disregard for the democratic process, we will continue to fight in court to ensure the voice of the people is heard.

NY: A Woman to Oppose Tedisco?

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ALBANY—Now that one early candidate to gain the Democratic nod to run for Kirsten Gillibrand’s House seat - Saratoga County Democratic Chair Larry Bulman - is out of the running, the various Democratic chairmen will begin interviewing other prospective candidates this afternoon.
Given news that Republicans have chosen Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco to run for the seat, two strategists I talked to said, female candidates will have an edge in the selection process. The thinking is that Tedisco’s high-octane style might become a liability along the lines of the Rick Lazio-Hillary Clinton model.
There are several that have emerged. Liz pointed out that Carol Schrager, an attorney from Greene County, was the first to declare her interest in the seat.

NY: Gillibrand Hires Consultant to Help with Latino Problem

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ALBANY—A Democratic source confirms that Kirsten Gillibrand has hired Roberto Ramirez, of Mirram Group, as a consultant.
The source said Ramirez had a hand in arranging a round of phone calls to Latino elected officials who were set to publicly oppose Gillibrand yesterday because of her poor record on immigration. That event has been indefinitely postponed.
Liz points out Ramirez's ties to Global Strategy, the same firm used by both David Paterson and previously by Gillibrand.
Meanwhile, City Councilman Joel Rivera is not keeping his beef with Gillibrand to himself.

NJ: Rooney prepares to seek 15th term in assembly

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It has taken him over a year to make a decision on whether or not he wants to stay in the legislature, but Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale), the senior member of the lower house, said today that he filed a letter of intent to the Bergen County Republican Organization announcing his plans to run for reelection.
Rooney, who at 69 is the youngest member of the District 39 delegation, has served in the assembly since 1983, and has been grappling the reelection question since overcoming a well-funded challenge to his seat by Democrats in 2007.  Complicating matters was a bad knee and hip replacement surgery, and later some fundraising disagreements with the new party chairman, Bob Yudin.
"I did file a letter of intent to run, so surprise, surprise, I decided that I do feel better.  My hip is great," said Rooney.  "The knee is fine, but I still need some work on it. I've started to lose weight, which is very important.  I need that more than anything else. Currently, as long as I feel well, I've got my name in."
But Rooney's letter of intent should not be read as an absolute commitment to running again, even if his health holds up.  While Rooney said he's more likely to run than not, he's meeting this week with Washington Township Councilman Bob Schroeder, a wealthy businessman and former gubernatorial candidate who has made no secret of his aspirations for an assembly seat.
Schroeder has also filed a letter of intent, but will not run if Rooney does.

NY: A Monserrate Protest, Obama on Snow Days

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The state chapter of N.O.W. is preparing to make some noise about Hiram Monserrate. [AW]
An upstate blogger is outraged that the stimulus funds will go to cities, and blames Chuck Schumer. [MR]
Dan Janison finds a biographer to explore rumors around the connection between Erasmus Corning and Kirsten Gillibrand. [