TRENTON — The state Senate rejected — by a vote of 14 to 20, with six senators not voting — a bill sponsored by Sen. Raymond Lesniak aimed at legalizing gay marriage in New Jersey.

Sen. Raymond Lesniak's dream of enacting a bill to legalize gay marriage was dashed by state lawmakers who feared voter backlash.

The debate over same-sex marriage peaked as the state senate prepared to vote on a bill entitled “The Freedom of Religion and Equality in Civil Marriage Act” sponsored by Lesniak, who wept during his floor speech advocating homosexual weddings.

“With today’s vote in the state Senate, the New Jersey legislature defaulted on its constitutional obligation to provide same-sex couples in New Jersey equal protection, as unanimously mandated by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2006,” said Steven Goldstein, president of Garden State Equality, the group that spearheaded the push for same sex marriage.

“That’s why we at Garden State Equality are here with our partner Lambda Legal, which has an extraordinary track record of advancing LGBT civil rights in the courts,” said Goldstein, who announced that the two organizations are going back to court.

Five states now allow same-sex unions. The measure was defeated by a vote of 14 to 20, with six senators not voting and Gov.-elect Chris Christie says he will not sign a same sex marriage bill into law.

Gay marriage legislation sponsored by Sen. Raymond Lesniak was defeated by a state Senate vote of 20 to 14

Sen. Diane Allen, who is suffering from cancer, was absent as was GOP Sen. Andrew R. Ciesla

“Three spineless Democrats stayed on the fence, James Beach of Cherry Hill, incoming Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney and Paul A. Sarlo,” said one disappointed observer.

New Jersey took center stage in the debate over same-sex marriage as the state senate considered the bill but prior to the vote, Lesniak said he expected trouble ahead for Democrats.

“The way I look at it to a large extent is the Democratic Party in this state has lost its moral compass,” said Lesniak. “We have to get that back. And if you don’t start standing up for principles and beliefs, civil rights and human rights, then we’re going to have difficulty in the elections coming up.”

Sen Barbara Bouno advocated gay marriage

Some advocates made several impassioned pleas based on equality and civil rights.

Sen. Barbara Bouno of Edison concluded her remarks in support of the bill saying, “I ask you to cast a vote for liberty and justice for all.

“Sen. Robert Gordon quoted James Madison, who wrote in The Federalist Papers, “It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part… If a majority be united by a common interest, the rights of the minority will be insecure.”

Sen Nia Gill compared homosexual unions to interracial marriages before a 1967 US Supreme Court decision.

Sen. Nia Gill of Montclair reminded lawmakers that not long ago the United States Supreme Court, in the 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision, overturned the one year prison sentence of a black woman and white man convicted under a statute that prohibited interracial couples from being married out of state and then returning to Virginia.

Responding to lawmakers who want a referendum Lesniak referred to women’s suffrage, “just as the New Jersey legislature did in 1914, when the voters rejected women’s right to vote by a 58%-42% margin.”

“Unless we vote for marriage equality, we will be interfering with the religious beliefs of many of our citizens,” he said before ending his speech choking back tears while reading a letter from a constituent thanking him for fighting for the right of his brother to marry.

Sen. Bill Baroni, the only Republican who supported the bill, said civil unions were not enough, and that “separate but equal” was clearly wrong.

“That is textbook, old-fashioned discrimination,” Baroni said.

Meanwhile, opponents had plenty to say.  Sen. Gerald Cardinale delivered a fiery speech warning that enactment of the bill will leade to legalized polygamy.

“In every state where it has been put on the ballot, the voters have voted to maintain marriage as between one man and one woman.” Cardinale said.

The approach was disputed by Sen. Sean Kean, a longtime holdout whose Asbury Park district includes many gay voters, announced he would oppose the bill only moments before the vote. “We don’t need to put it on the ballot,” said Sean Kean. “I believe we are elected to make these tough decisions.”

Nearly one thousand supporters and opponents of the bill held rallies outside the Statehouse and watched the floor action.

Even as the vote neared, Sen. Joseph Vitale said, “I’m just undecided for a number of reasons, personal and professional.” Vitale told reporters it would be one of the few times he went into a session not knowing how he stood on a major piece of legislation.

Ultimately, the Woodbridge Democrat voted for the legislation, along with other local Democrats Sen. Nicholas Scutari and Sen. Bob Smith.

Union County Republicans Sen. Tom Kean Jr. voted against the measure.

State Sens. James Beach, Paul Sarlo and Stephen Sweeney abstained.  Two Senators, Diane Allen and Andrew Ciesla were absent.  The Senate has one vacancy.

The measure, which would have made the state the sixth in the U.S. to allow same-sex marriage, needed 21 votes to pass the 40-member Senate.

STATE — The Democratic State Committee admitted to paying for a automated phone calls that disparaged GOP nominee Christopher Christie and encouraged Republican voters to support independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett.

After Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, who was appointed as state party boss by Gov. Jon Corzine, flatly denied responsibility for the robocalls a state committee spokesperson said the chairman was unaware of the operations but admitted they were funded by his organization.

A committee controlled by Assemblyman Joseph Cryan admitted to engaging in political dirty tricks to benefit Gov. Jon Corzine.

See the related story: Cryan Crime Family Update.

Republicans accused the Democrats of trying to deceive GOP voters into voting for the independent candidate to secure Corzine’s re-election.

The Star-Ledger said that Cryan denied that Democrats were behind the calls, telling a reporter: “No. Zero. Nada. No.”

A recording of the automated phone call posted on the newspaper’s nj.com website included a disclaimer that stated it was paid for by the “NJDSC, 196 West State Street, Trenton.” The location is headquarters for the New Jersey Democratic State Committee (NJDSC).

Cryan is employed at taxpayer expense as a $110,000 per year Union County undersheriff in addition to collecting a $49,000 Assembly salary.

TRENTON –  A man who served as a leader of the 2006 congressional campaign of state Assemblyman Joseph Vas pleaded guilty today to soliciting fraudulent campaign contributions, Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni announced.

According to Gramiccioni, Raymond Geneske, 73, of Perth Amboy, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Frederick P. DeVesa in Middlesex County to a third-degree charge of financial facilitation of criminal activity, commonly known as money laundering.

In pleading guilty, Geneske admitted that he solicited employees of the City of Perth Amboy and others to make fraudulent contributions to Vas’ 2006 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives for the 13th Congressional District.  At the time, Geneske was chairman of the Perth Amboy Democratic Committee and was a key advisor to the Vas campaign.  Geneske admitted that he paid cash to the people he solicited to reimburse them for writing personal checks payable to “Vas for Congress.”

Geneske said he was given a total of $30,000 in cash, and distributed $25,000 or more through payments to straw contributors. He said that, under Vas’ direction, he distributed the remaining $4,000 to $5,000 for get out the vote efforts for the campaign.  According to officials, Geneske is guilty of money laundering because he knew or should have known the money was derived from criminal activity, and by structuring funds into the campaign through people who falsely appeared to be making personal contributions, he avoided a transaction reporting requirement under the federal election campaign laws.

“This guilty plea represents a significant step forward in our prosecution of this corruption case, which involves a fraudulent scheme to illicitly pump cash into Vas’ congressional campaign while concealing the source of the money,” said Milgram.

The state will recommend that Geneske be sentenced to a term of probation, officials said.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 14.

On May 21, Vas, 54, the former mayor of Perth Amboy, and his longtime aide Melvin Ramos, 53, were indicted on numerous charges, including charges related to the fraudulent campaign contributions.  In connection with that scheme, they were charged with conspiracy and official misconduct, both in the second degree, and third-degree money laundering.  They allegedly requested city employees to solicit campaign contributions during work hours, solicited city employees and others during work hours, and used city facilities and property for campaign activities.

EDISON – Councilwoman Antonia Ricigliano is one step closer to becoming Edison’s first female mayor after defeating incumbent Jun Choi in Tuesday’s primary.

The two-term councilwoman had the backing of the township’s Democratic Committee as well as the local police union, but still trailed Choi by 18 points in a poll taken two weeks before election day.

“Does it get any better?” Ricigliano asked at her campaign headquarters on Tuesday night. “I couldn’t believe it. When the phone call came in, I didn’t know who it was—it was Mayor Choi conceding. We didn’t even have all the numbers on our board yet.”

Ricigliano received 6,582 votes — 378 more than Choi, according to unofficial results. Slightly over half of Edison’s 25,536 registered Democrats voted in the primary.

Choi said he would not run as an independent, calling himself a “lifelong Democrat” who hasn’t given up on his party. The mayor blamed his loss on negative campaigning. Ricigliano spent the campaign portraying Choi as a dishonest politician who distorts his tax and reform records.

Ricigliano was able to carry her slate of three council candidates to victory as well. The trio, Councilman Robert Diehl, former council president Charles Tomaro and newcomer Thomas Lankey, secured the Democratic nominations for three open council seats in November’s general election.

Republican mayoral candidate Ray Koperwhats and his council slate were unopposed in the primary. However, Ricigliano is the favorite in November since the heavily Democratic town hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since the 1950s.

Four independent candidates filed Tuesday to run for mayor in November. The best-known is Councilman Anthony Massaro, who has usually aligned with Ricigliano. Massaro had said that he would withdraw his name if Ricigliano won. Joseph Coyle, the chairman of the Neighborhood Preservation; Peter Cerrato, a local business who has run for mayor before; and newcomer Inder “Andy” Soni also filed to run as independents.

Incumbents carried the day in most of Middlesex County’s other contested primaries.

Freeholder Carol Barrett defeated challenger Jusleine C. Daniel 13,724 votes to 3,387 in the Democratic primary for the nomination to run for the final two years of David Crabiel’s term on the board.

Freeholders H. James Polos and Ronald Rios easily defeated Donald Hansen and Robert E. Garibotto in the Democratic primary. Hansen and Garibotto did not mount a campaign and ran only to help Choi secure a better ballot position.

In the Democratic primary in Carteret, incumbent Joseph W. Sitarz and Dennis DiMascio beat Sultan M. Babar for two three-year terms for borough council. DiMascio received 711 votes, Sitarz, 698 and Babar, 211.

The only other contested Middlesex County primary took place in Jamesburg, where borough council candidates Thomas Busco and Russell White defeated Democratic incumbent Brenda Deans.

STATE – Unpopular incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine will face liberal Republican Christopher J. Christie in November after both men secured primary wins Tuesday.

At his victory celebration, Christie told a crowd of supporters, “I am honored by the confidence you continue to show in me. I will work hard each and every day, just like all of you do, to prove to you that your confidence was well-placed.”

Christie defeated his more conservative rivals, former Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan and Assemblyman Rick Merkt. With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Christie led Lonegan 55 percent to 42 percent, with Merkt drawing just 3 percent of the vote.

Corzine, who won an easy victory in the Democratic primary after facing only token competition, officially kicked off his re-election campaign with Vice President Joseph Biden in West Orange Tuesday night.

“Barack Obama and Joe Biden are committed to Jon Corzine’s re-election. Period. End of sentence,” Biden said just after polls closed at 8 p.m. “We need Jon Corzine at the helm.”

Corzine accepted his party’s nomination for a second term. “Being governor of New Jersey is the highest honor of my life,” he said. “Serving the people is my highest calling.”

Corzine, who had a 53 percent disapproval rating in a recent Quinnipiac University poll, will face a tough challenge in his re-election bid. A series of polls has shown him trailing Christie, a former U.S. attorney under former President George W. Bush.

UNION COUNTY — Plainfield Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs won by a narrow margin in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, defeating a field of five opponents that included a city councilman, a school board member and the chairwoman of the municipal utilities authority.

Just four Union County communities had contested primaries, though 17 of 21 held elections. There are no local elections this year in Clark, Elizabeth or Rahway.

Freeholder chairman Alexander Mirabella and Freeholder Deborah Scanlon, along with Democratic party-endorsed candidate Mohamed Jalloh won the Union County Freeholder primary race. In November, they will face Republicans Anthony Sytko, Nicole Cole and Modesto Miranda Jr.

Philip Morin, the head of the county Republican committee, expressed confidence that his trio will break the monopoly that Democrats have on the freeholder board. This year’s 5.3 percent tax increase in the county budget included unnecessary expenditures, Morin said, adding, “every dollar being spent by the government equals a higher tax burden on the population.”

In the two Roselle borough council races, incumbent Democrats Christine Dansereau and Sylvia Turnage both easily won their primaries. In Linden, Democrats Christopher Kolibas and Brian Tomko were unopposed in their city council primaries.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY—Four cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed in Middlesex County, according to the Middlesex County Public Health Department.

Three of the cases, two from Highland Park and one from Edison, are from an influenza cluster in students from a private parochial school in Piscataway. A cluster is defined as two or more individuals with symptom onset within seven days of each other who have common exposure, i.e. school.

The private school was closed for a week, and reopened on Monday, June 1.

County health officer David A. Papi said, “We have been working closely with the school, local physicians, parents, and all local health departments in the county, particularly Piscataway and Edison health departments.”

A fourth confirmed case involves an adult male from North Brunswick and is not related to the cases from the Piscataway school, officials said.

Papi said, “We will continue to provide residents with information about this situation and advise them of any steps necessary to protect their health.  What is important for parents and residents to do now is:
• Know the symptoms of flu
• Report illness to your school nurse
• Call your doctor if you have symptoms of the flu
• Practice respiratory hygiene practices”

The symptoms of H1N1 flu are similar to seasonal flu and include fever, lack of appetite, muscle aches, chills, coughing and fatigue. Some people have also reported having a sore throat, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Papi said, “Our department continues surveillance of influenza activity in an effort to identify cases of H1N1 flu in the community.”  At this time residents are being encouraged to follow recommended respiratory hygiene practices

Respiratory hygiene practices include:
• Covering coughs and sneezes with tissues and disposing of tissues properly, or by coughing and sneezing into you upper sleeve.
• Washing your hands with soap and water often.
• Using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available.
• Staying home if you are sick.
• Contacting your doctor if you have symptoms of the flu.

Other healthy habits residents can do to help prevent the getting the flu include: eating a well balanced diet, drinking plenty of water and getting rest.

The Public Health Department’s Division of Epidemiology and Public Health Preparedness, and the Nursing Division are continuing to work with county hospitals, healthcare providers, local and state health departments, schools, childcare centers and other departments and agencies to ensure quick identification of influenza cases in Middlesex County.

Papi recommends that schools and childcare settings increase education on respiratory hygiene and monitor attendees for acute febrile respiratory illness.  School or childcare participants with acute febrile respiratory illness should be sent home according to facilities-established procedures with instructions to stay at home until 24-48 hours after their symptoms resolve, or for seven days if they are diagnosed with influenza.

H1N1 flu is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by a type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza among pigs. Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans; however, human infections with swine flu do occur. You cannot get swine flu from eating properly handled and properly cooked pork or pork products.

Information can be obtained by visiting the Middlesex County Public Health Department web site at http://co.middlesex.nj.us/publichealth/.  The site contains facts sheets, phone numbers, websites, guidance documents, links to podcasts, mental health services, and resources for schools.

LINDEN – Municipal taxes will rise about $100 for the average Linden resident under the proposed 2009 budget, which calls for furloughs of city employees and deferrals of municipal pension contributions.

Taxes will go up $103 on a property assessed at the city average of $141,100. While the planned increase is smaller than in recent years, the average municipal tax bill will climb to $2,100.

The proposed 2009 budget comes in at around $88 million, more than $4 million less than the 2008 budget, which was $92.5 million. But the tax increase is necessary because revenue is down more than $4 million.

Personnel costs, which make up about half the budget, were the major target for cuts, officials said.

“The council and the mayor definitely tried to eliminate positions where possible while still maintaining the same level of service the citizens of Linden are used to,” said treasurer Alexis Zack.

City officials negotiated voluntary furloughs with most of the unions representing city employees, except for firefighters and police officers. Municipal employees will be required to take four furlough days during the year, which can be taken in days or hours.

The city will save $3.1 million by reducing pension contributions by 50 percent, Zack said. Linden will need to form a plan for making the outstanding payments next year.

The city council will vote on the budget June 16.

ELIZABETH—A Jersey City man was sentenced to 60 years in state prison on Friday after having been found guilty of first degree murder, Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow announced.

Omar Holmes, 24, must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole, officials said.

In March, after a three-week trial and less than a day of jury deliberations, Holmes was also convicted of several weapon offences, said Assistant Prosecutor Michael Henn, who handled the case.

According to the investigation, Holmes, a verified member of the Bloods, was at Club Flight on Routes 1&9 in Elizabeth on April 3, 2006.  An associate of Holmes got into a fight with William Green, 26, of Newark and the scene “quickly turned into a brawl,” said Henn.

Within minutes the Jersey City members of the Bloods were fighting with Greene and members of his family and during the course of the melee, Holmes shot Green five times. Green was pronounced dead at the scene, said Henn.

Following an intense investigation by Elizabeth Police Department Detective Paul Pasternak and Union County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Michael Manochio, Holmes was identified as the suspect and arrested in January 2007.

Union County Superior Court Judge James C. Heimlich handed down the sentence.

STATE – New Jersey’s Supreme Court ruled last week that Gov. Corzine’s revised school aid formula can replace the system instituted by the Abbott school funding case that has sent billions to 31 city school districts during the past 30 years.

The court unanimously ruled that the School Funding Reform Act adopted by lawmakers last year is “a constitutionally adequate scheme.”

Earlier this spring, state Attorney General Anne Milgram told the court that the revised formula spreads money based on “children’s needs, not children’s zip codes.”

The court’s opinion, written by Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, places a condition on the ruling: the system must be reviewed for fairness in three years.

“There is no absolute guarantee that (the revised funding plan) will achieve the results desired by all,” the opinion states. “The political branches of government, however, are entitled to take reasoned steps, even if the outcome cannot be assured, to address the pressing social, economic and educational challenges confronting our state.”

The state Supreme Court had previously ordered that New Jersey’s poorest communities be funded on par with the most affluent. The new plan distributes school aid money based on enrollment, with additional funding going to districts with high concentrations of students who are poor, have special needs or have limited English skills.

“The new school funding formula recognizes that in addition to the children living in the 31 so-called ‘Abbott’ districts, there is a universe of low-income students among the other school districts,” said state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex), sponsor of the state’s new school funding formula.

“In fact, nearly half of the low-income, special needs children in the state live in districts other than the Abbott districts. We enacted a school funding law that takes this into account and ensures the money the state provides for education finds its way to the students who need it, regardless of where they live.”

Not everyone is convinced that the court decision represents a victory for New Jersey’s school children.

“We are deeply concerned that the (School Funding Reform Act) formula will quickly return New Jersey to the unequal school system we had in the past, and undo a decade of measurable educational improvements for our poorest school children,” said David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center in Newark.