Geist

Barbara Gambale, a supporter of Camden County Republican Committee Chairman George Geist, has been selected to fill a vacant seat on the Gloucester Township Republican Committee, according to party officials. Gambale, 28, a secretary who moved to Gloucester Township about a year ago, was recommended for the spot by Stephen J. Sejda Jr., a township party committee member who is a Geist supporter. "She has the vital credentials of energetic enthusiasm," Geist said. The selection of Gambale, which Geist said has been approved by the county committee, strengthens Geist's control on the party committee in Gloucester Township, where he lives.

On the last day of the lame-duck legislative session, fellow lawmakers gave exiting State Sen. George Geist (R., Gloucester) a parting gift: a three-year, $105,750-a-year job as a workers' compensation judge. The full Senate approved the judgeship yesterday just hours after the Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced the nomination in a blink-of-an-eye vote. Geist, a member of the committee, abstained from voting. "Assemblyman, senator and judge," Geist said after the vote.

Fred Madden - a political neophyte backed by millions of dollars from Democratic leaders - held a lead of fewer than 100 votes over Republican State Sen. George Geist in a race that went down to the wire yesterday. Madden, a career state trooper who rose to become acting superintendent under Gov. McGreevey, declared victory in the Fourth District shortly after 10:30 p.m., but Geist refused to concede. "I've listened to you," a smiling Madden told a crowd of nearly 200 cheering supporters at the Renaissance Room in Washington Township.

When George Geist won animal-cruelty convictions against kennel owners Michael and AnnaMarie Marcellino of Berlin Township, local court officials said the $10,000 the Marcellinos had to pay was the largest penalty they could recall a municipal judge levying in such a case. Despite the size of the fine, Geist, a municipal prosecutor and state assemblyman, wasn't satisfied with the case's outcome. He couldn't do the one thing he really wanted - block the Marcellinos from getting their abused dogs and cats back.

Concerned that a discrimination lawsuit against State Sen. George Geist was becoming a political football, a Superior Court judge issued a gag order yesterday, barring involved parties from talking about the case. The order, which comes just 12 days before the Nov. 4 election, will help insulate Geist from attacks related to the highly publicized lawsuit in his bitter battle with Democratic challenger Fred Madden. Geist, the Republican incumbent, is fighting to keep the seat in the Fourth District, which includes parts of Camden and Gloucester Counties.

Whether voters in a key South Jersey Senate race get a recount in a very close election depends now on whether incumbent Republican State Sen. George Geist decides to challenge the results - or pursue the lure of a judgeship. For the second day in a row, Geist ducked questions about a possible judgeship, and he did not return calls yesterday. Under the law, only a candidate can call for a recount, though Geist has yet to so. On Thursday, Geist issued a terse statement, saying, "I will pursue a recount when the voters and I know the count.

The state has hired a prominent law firm to represent State Sen. George Geist, who is battling a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former legislative aide. Generally, state lawyers represent legislators in lawsuits. In this case, however, the state Attorney General's Office decided to hire outside legal counsel to avoid conflict of interest, according to Lee Moore, spokesman for the state Division of Law. Geist, who lost his bid for reelection last month in a heated fight, is a Republican, and the Attorney General's Office is part of Gov. McGreevey's Democratic administration.

When George Geist sits on the bench, people call him "judge. " But when Geist isn't wielding the gavel, the workers' compensation judge sometimes plays another courtroom part - "defendant. " For two years, the former state senator from Gloucester County has battled a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former legislative aide. The case has cost taxpayers more than $30,000 in legal fees. Next month, attorneys for Geist and his accuser, Manon Yost-Buchter, will try to resolve the case in a court-ordered settlement conference in Superior Court in Camden.

Two former staffers to State Sen. George Geist say he directed a legislative aide to perform work for his private law practice while on taxpayer time, according to sworn statements. Geist challenged the statements, given last week, saying the aide had done some part-time clerical work for his law office but not on state time. The accusations are part of a discrimination lawsuit filed against Geist in April by another legislative aide, who says he fired her because she was getting divorced.

Camden County Republican Chairman George Geist yesterday called on county and federal authorities to hasten their investigations into allegations of wrongdoing by Democrats in Camden County government. "The public has a right to know how extensive is the dirt," said Geist, speaking at a noontime news conference on the plaza in front of the county Hall of Justice. Geist, whose Republicans could take control of the freeholder board in the November election after nearly two decades of a Democratic majority, ran down a list of probes involving county officials.

Authorities said yesterday that an Exton man committed numerous crimes when he pulled a gun on a Realtor visiting his property - an incident that led to the discovery of counterfeit money in his possession. Jason Geist, 26, might have reacted stupidly, his attorney argued, but at the time it seemed the only way to get an overzealous agent to leave. As for the phony money, Geist had no plans to use it, attorney Samuel C. Stretton said. Geist recently had inherited a printer and did some copying to show friends, Stretton said.

Imagine the new slogan on license plates: "Pennsylvania, Land of Tolls. " The state legislature is increasingly enchanted by the notion of converting free interstates into toll roads as a way to raise money for highway maintenance and mass transit operations. When the state House reconvenes Monday to tackle transportation funding, there are likely to be new calls for new toll roads. I-80 across northern Pennsylvania. I-81 in eastern Pennsylvania. I-79 in western Pennsylvania. Even Philadelphia's two main interstates, the Schuylkill Expressway (I-76)

When George Geist sits on the bench, people call him "judge. " But when Geist isn't wielding the gavel, the workers' compensation judge sometimes plays another courtroom part - "defendant. " For two years, the former state senator from Gloucester County has battled a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former legislative aide. The case has cost taxpayers more than $30,000 in legal fees. Next month, attorneys for Geist and his accuser, Manon Yost-Buchter, will try to resolve the case in a court-ordered settlement conference in Superior Court in Camden.

Former State Sen. George Geist lost his election in 2003, but his chief of staff came out ahead. As he was packing up his legislative office, he gave his longtime aide a $24,400 bonus, compliments of the State of New Jersey. Whether it's called taxpayer-funded severance pay or justified compensation, New Jersey lawmakers routinely reward their legislative staff with lump-sum payments as they leave office. Lawmakers defend the practice as smart money management. They say they are frugal enough to have leftovers from the $110,000 the state allots them for staff salaries each year - and that their hardworking, underpaid employees deserve what they term retroactive raises.

On the last day of the lame-duck legislative session, fellow lawmakers gave exiting State Sen. George Geist (R., Gloucester) a parting gift: a three-year, $105,750-a-year job as a workers' compensation judge. The full Senate approved the judgeship yesterday just hours after the Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced the nomination in a blink-of-an-eye vote. Geist, a member of the committee, abstained from voting. "Assemblyman, senator and judge," Geist said after the vote.

Gov. McGreevey has nominated lame-duck State Sen. George Geist to a workers' compensation judgeship, ending weeks of speculation over the longtime GOP legislator's future after he lost the most expensive legislative race in state history by 63 votes. Geist said yesterday that he would take the same second-tier judgeship he rejected last year when Democrats were trying to pluck him out of his South Jersey reelection campaign. The Senate is expected to approve his nomination Monday, his last day as senator.

Gas-tax status quo will cost drivers over long haul Re: Gas taxes and jellyfish politicians. So the time is not right for an increase in gas taxes? The case is well made. If the present gas tax is needed to service debt, no tax increase means very limited federal matching funds. Fears that a tax increase would add hundreds of dollars of cost per year per vehicle are hysterical. For a car driven 16,000 miles per year and averaging 20 miles per gallon, the cost is $100.

The state has hired a prominent law firm to represent State Sen. George Geist, who is battling a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former legislative aide. Generally, state lawyers represent legislators in lawsuits. In this case, however, the state Attorney General's Office decided to hire outside legal counsel to avoid conflict of interest, according to Lee Moore, spokesman for the state Division of Law. Geist, who lost his bid for reelection last month in a heated fight, is a Republican, and the Attorney General's Office is part of Gov. McGreevey's Democratic administration.

A day after learning that an ethics complaint filed against him was faxed from Democrat Fred Madden's campaign headquarters, State Sen. George Geist said yesterday he would seek legal advice on the issue. But Geist, the Republican who lost to Madden by 63 votes last month, stopped short of saying he would take legal action and said he would not contest the election results. "I wish the voters knew these revelations before the election," he said. "Respectfully, I move on, but the controversy continues about the conspiracy.

George Geist is not quite ready for the political graveyard. After losing his state Senate seat to Democrat Fred Madden by 63 votes in a recount, Geist seems determined to remain politically relevant. Perhaps because he knows no other way. Two days after he conceded to Madden in one of the state's most combative races, Geist met with Republican leaders in Camden County to discuss the party's future. The next day, the lame-duck legislator appeared before a Senate committee in Trenton to peddle a bill that would eradicate no-show jobs.