Year in Review: The Return of Sheila Oliver

After a tumultuous period as Assembly speaker from 2010 to 2014, Sheila Oliver fell prey to the same New Jersey Democratic bosses who had orchestrated her rise. She was seen as too independent-minded and not enough of a team player during a heady time when Democrats were busy cutting all kinds of deals with Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

Democratic powerbroker ends legal fight over improper campaign spending

For four years, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo waged a court battle against charges he failed to disclose thousands in campaign spending and misused thousands more on trips to Puerto Rico, tickets to sporting events, a gym membership and other expenses. On Wednesday, the powerful Democratic unexpectedly ended his fight with an agreement to settle the long-standing state enforcement action by paying $20,446 in penalties to resolve the case first brought by New Jersey's Election Law Enforcement Commission in 2013.

Christie says his staff didn’t do illegal campaign work. Let’s make sure | Editorial

As if the Bridgegate blowback couldn't get any worse, fresh evidence of the misuse of government, and Gov. Chris Christie's knowledge of it, has emerged. Newly revealed emails strongly indicate the governor knew staffers in his taxpayer-funded office were courting endorsements for his 2013 re-election campaign, doing his private political work on the taxpayer dime.