U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra got his just reward for helping Christopher Christie get elected governor. In a story the Hudson Reporter broke on-line last week (www.hudsonreporter.com) and confirmed this week by the governor’s office, Marra will shift his position from U.S. attorney to that of state attorney general.

Marra’s timely conclusion of a massive sting operation last summer is seen as a key factor in solidifying Christie’s anti-corruption platform. The sting may have especially helped get out the vote in predominantly Republican areas and helped to suppress the vote for Incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine in predominantly Democratic areas.

The general reaction to Marra’s appointment among local Democrats is largely panic. The move signals to Democrats statewide that Christie isn’t yet through with them, and will apparently continue to dismantle the Democratic political machine over the next four years, using Marra as his chief tool.

Marra will begin this crusade on Jan. 19 after Christie is sworn in as the next governor. This keeps Marra from becoming one of the state’s unemployed, since it is unlikely that he would retain his position under Democratic President Barack Obama. While Christie claims current Attorney General Anne Milgram said she was not interested in remaining in the post, a spokesperson for Milgram said she has not spoken to the Christie transition team.

“Christie will bring his best people from justice to the state attorney general’s office and continue to clean house,” said one prominent Hudson County Democrat. “He has already dismantled the machine in Bergen and scattered the operatives in Hudson and Essex.”

Another prominent Hudson/Bergen Democratic operative compared Marra’s appointment to “Pompey, the executioner for the Roman dictator, Sulla.”

He added, “Personally, I think it sucks. When Sulla invaded Rome with his legions, he posted the death lists all over the city with names of prominent Roman Republicans who were to be executed. Christie will do the same thing except that they won’t be executed; they will be criminally prosecuted by his attorney general. So it is good that I am no longer active in politics. When they are done, expect that half of the Democratic leaders that survived U.S. Attorney Christie will be gone.”

Another West Hudson official said this will be like a chess match, and that Christie is a formidable opponent.

Corzine may have created his own defeat

Although Christie managed to galvanize his base through a campaign very similar to the “dump Florio” campaigns of the early 1990s, some Democrats believe Corzine’s loss was his own fault and the fault of a lacklustre campaign.

“I really think bringing in Obama last minute hurt Corzine,” one Democrat said. “Once this became national and put spotlight on Obama, the Lonegan supporters who hate Christie and were staying home came out to stick it to Obama. HCDO got 20,000 less votes for Corzine than in 2005, but Christie got 5,000 more than Forrester.”

Steve Lonegan is a prominent Republican who lost his primary bid for governor against Christie last June. Douglas Forrester lost to Corzine in the 2005 governor’s race.

“I am certainly disappointed with the outcome of yesterday’s election, but the governor’s defeat does not come as a shock to me,” said another prominent Hudson political observer. “The campaign has known for several months now that a [Chris] Daggett vote total below 9 percent would ensure a Christie victory. This race should serve as a warning to Democrats in the state as well as in our own county that it is time to change the way we do business. We can no longer assume that counties such as Hudson and Essex will be there to bail out statewide candidates with their enormous pluralities. We must also take a hard look at those among us who call themselves Democrats yet openly support Republican candidates to serve their own interests.”

Never too shy to put himself on the record, newly reelected Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone took a shot at Bayonne Democrats for the poor showing of Corzine, saying Corzine should have stuck with state party consultants such as Joe Conte and Patty McCarthy, rather than rely on local officials to get out the vote.

“Corzine’s campaign was poorly run in Hudson County and in Bayonne,” he said. “There was no push.”

Others see the opposite problem, claiming Corzine did not have the political smarts to win a tightly contested election.

“Corzine is not a politician,” one observer said. “He needed someone to help him. Instead he used Tom Shea. The state campaign disrespected county chairmen and ignored the legislative races. Although Republicans are trying to say Christie’s victory was a reaction to President Obama, this was not a referendum on Obama. It was all about Corzine.”

Local impacts are likely to be huge. Hudson County will see the tap on state funds drying up as federal and state money gets steered towards Republican counties such as Monmouth and Ocean. Local officials with key state positions such as Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner on the state’s Local Finance Board will be replaced with those with more Republican ties.

Bayonne’s inability to get out the Corzine vote means that Bayonne Mark Smith will not be in a position in 2011 to claim chairmanship of the Hudson County Democratic Organization. The fight will likely be between state Sen. Sandra Cunningham and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy instead.

This column will have more reactions to the local races next week.