WHO’S UP

Bruce Springsteen

Fighting members of his own party over Northern Syria and the target of an impeachment inquiry, President Donald J. Trump (see below) lashed out at The Boss, calling him “Little Bruce Springsteen” during a campaign rally on Thursday night where supporters greeted Trump’s mention of Hunter Biden with cries of “lock him up, lock him up.”

Nick Sacco

From InsiderNJ columnist Al Sullivan: “Paul Juliano, Democratic chair for Bergen County, perhaps reflected the mood of the Mayor’s Ball when he said he was glad he could join the intimate gathering of Nicholas Sacco’s friends – which by conservative estimates numbered as many as 2,000 – each of them paying the $150 ticket price to be there. The Oct. 3 event is one of two political gatherings state Senator and North Bergen Mayor Sacco holds annually, and it may be the largest of its kind in the state. Although held yearly for more than 30 years, many attendees treated this year’s ball as a victory party, a celebration of a particularly sweet municipal election outcome from last spring, during which Sacco beat back a challenge by Larry Wainstein. 

David Richter

The Republican candidate running for the 2020 nomination in the 2nd District announced raising $413,000 during the third quarter and finished with $390,000 cash-on-hand. Conservative CD2 candidate Bob Patterson announced rasing $100,000 in the same period of time.

Anthony M. Bucco

Although not having the easiest time in his own Assembly reelection bid, Bucco is now officially on the way to replacing his late father in the state Senate. From InsiderNJ’s Fred Snowflack: “The younger Bucco was the only candidate to express interest in seeking the seat at a Republican convention next Tuesday in Mountain Lakes. Tuesday of this week was the deadline for candidates to tell the Morris County Republican Committee they wanted to run for the seat and Bucco was the only one to do so.”

Steve Sweeney

Running for reelection in LD39, Republican Assemblywoman Holly Shepisi praised the Democratic senate president for essentially smothering a GOP agenda in New Jersey. From her InsiderNJ interview with John Van Vliet: “I think Senate President Sweeney has done an excellent job of doing what some of the Republicans should be doing in New Jersey and has managed to steal some of our own arguments and be one of the louder voices on them.”

WHO’S DOWN

The Meadowlands Power Plant

Proposed by Los Angeles-based Diamond Generating Corp., a subsidiary of Mitsubishi, the project ran afoul of Governor Phul Murphy, who said he came to an epiphany after environmntalists called on him to oppose the plant. North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco also issued a statement opposing the plant.

Frank Nucera

The feds this week convicted the retired chief of the Bordentown Police Department – still on trial for hate crimes – of lying to FBI agents who questioned him about violating an 18-year old man’s civil rights during an arrest, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

William Rojas

Charged in January of violating the federal Travel Act by using the mail system to aid a voter fraud scheme that already felled Frank Pupie Raia, Hoboken’s Rojas this week admitted guilt in federal court in Newark.

Lawrence Caloiaro

Lt. Joseph Amodio, Sgt. Scott Stein, Detective Andrew Lee and officers Marc Caponi, Andres Mejia and Hector Nieves, all members of PBA Local 119, are suing the township and Police Caloiaro for allegedly “ordering officers to stop being lenient when it came to citations. The suit, filed Monday in Mercer County Superior Court, claims Lawrence police administrators ordered officers to write tickets and impound cars ‘every time they are eligible and without discretion.’ The reason was that revenue was down, according to the suit.”

Donald J. Trump

Republican Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois went further than many of his fellow GOP lawmakers in criticizing the President’s shift in Syria strategy, declaring he no longer supports Trump, who’ already up against an impeachment inquiry.