Alyana Alfaro reports for the Observer on known departures from the New Jersey Legislature at the end of the year and the possible losses of several other key figures:
A sea change in New Jersey politics is coming next year, not only because Gov. Chris Christie will be leaving office, but because many prominent voices in the Legislature will be gone or are shuffling into other positions.
A string of departures announced this year in the Assembly and Senate and the death of state Sen. Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic) will take a toll on the body’s institutional knowledge. And, depending on the outcome of the November elections, even more legislative leaders and longtime hands could be headed for the exit.
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) likely will be ousted from the top job in the lower house by his fellow Democrats and replaced with Assemblyman Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), and there’s a chance Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) could lose re-election in his district to a Republican challenger backed by the powerful New Jersey Education Association.
In the Senate, Whelan was the go-to lawmaker on Atlantic City issues during a time when the resort has seen unprecedented financial troubles, five casino closures and a state takeover of its finances. State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) is retiring after a long career pressing liberal causes, including animal rights, criminal justice reform, same-sex marriage and environmental protections.
Three Republican senators with a long record of bipartisanship — state Sens. Diane Allen (R-Burlington), Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) and Kevin O’Toole (R-Essex) — are also out the door. O’Toole, who often teamed up with Christie as the point man cutting deals with Democrats, already resigned and took over as chairman of the Port Authority. Allen, a popular Republican with a track record of working with Democrats on women and children’s issues, is retiring after this term. Kyrillos, a well-connected GOP fundraiser who also partnered with Democrats on big projects, is moving on. Those three departures alone could make bipartisan deals harder to reach in the Senate.
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