Speaker Roberts leaving N.J. Assembly in January

Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., South Jersey's most influential sitting lawmaker, said yesterday he will not seek reelection this fall, signaling the end of his 22-year Assembly career.

His decision, long rumored, sparked a flurry of speculation about who would succeed him in one of Trenton's most powerful seats and whether fellow South Jersey Democrat Stephen M. Sweeney could assume the region's mantle in a bid for the Senate presidency in November.

Roberts, who helped build South Jersey's once-small Democratic delegation into a powerful voting bloc, sounded yesterday like a man who would be happy to be away from the hassles of politics, but maybe not for very long.

"I want to take a bit of a break because, to do this job right, you're going at 100 miles an hour every single day of the week," said Roberts, 57. He said he would like to have more beach time in the summer but would not turn his back on the policy issues he cares about most.

"I may well end up after a brief period of time back doing something that's just as demanding as this," said Roberts, who will serve until his term ends Jan. 11.

Donald Norcross, cochair of the Camden County Democratic Party and brother of South Jersey political power George Norcross, is expected to replace Roberts on the Assembly ballot. Roberts said Norcross had his "full support."

After the election, Norcross is expected to be named to the Senate seat likely to be vacated by Dana Redd, a Democrat running for mayor of Camden this year, according to top Democrats familiar with the plans. A Camden official would likely move into the Assembly.

Roberts cited his work on property taxes, affordable housing, and health care for children and young adults with autism as some of his proudest accomplishments. He said he hoped this fall to revisit legislation that gave Camden a $175 million infusion to fuel its recovery, potentially returning some power to city officials.

Roberts and George Norcross together built South Jersey's political muscle. With shrewd tactics, candidate recruitment, and massive amounts of campaign cash, they took Burlington, Camden and Gloucester County seats from Republicans and unified the region's Democratic voices in the Legislature.

Unless the South Jersey delegations banded together, Roberts realized, they would never achieve the influence of Democrats from more populous areas such as Essex, Hudson, and Bergen Counties.

The caucus "has been mindful of the fact that they need to stick together to advocate for what matters to the region," Roberts said.

Perhaps the most dramatic sign of his commitment to that cause came in 1999 when he led a revolt against North Jersey Democratic leaders in the Assembly, arguing that South Jersey was not afforded its share of leadership posts and respect.

"This is open warfare," Roberts said then. For a time, he and other South Jersey Democrats refused to caucus with their northern colleagues.

By 2002, however, Democrats had retaken the Assembly, and Roberts became majority leader. In 2006, he became speaker, which ranks with the governor and Senate president as the most influential positions in Trenton.

"He put South Jersey on the map," said Sweeney, a state senator and Gloucester County's freeholder director. "We're more of a force now because of Joe's leadership and team-building."

Sweeney is expected to try to take advantage of that team legacy - and South Jersey's Senate seats - in a bid to unseat Senate President Richard J. Codey (D., Essex). If Roberts stayed in office, Democrats would almost certainly have blocked Sweeney to prevent South Jersey officials from controlling both houses.

"Steve still has to get a majority of Democrats to support him, and I think that's up in the air," said Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D., Union). "It's going to be a very close call."

The contest to replace Roberts as Assembly speaker also will draw much attention. Majority Leader Bonnie Watson-Coleman (D., Mercer) said yesterday that she was "very much interested." Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D., Middlesex), who chairs the transportation committee, said he, too, might seek the job. Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D., Union), head of the state Democratic Party, is another possible contender.

Roberts said he would not endorse a replacement.

He played down rumors that he might run for Redd's Senate seat, saying, "I want to be careful not to jump from one thing to the next."

Roberts said he had known for years that he wanted to serve two terms - four years - as majority leader and another two terms as speaker.

He did not announce his plan to step down before June's primary because he said it would have hurt his effectiveness in dealing with a difficult budget at the time. He said he also had wanted to have the summer to help Assembly candidates prepare their election campaigns.

He said it would be "disingenuous" to stay on the ballot now, however, given his plans.

Fellow Democrats praised Roberts as a leader who was expert in politics and policy, combining the two to move his priorities.

"Joe is both a policy wonk and a political leader," Watson-Coleman said. Codey called Roberts "one of the most steadfast and dedicated public servants" he had seen, and Corzine praised him as a "tireless" advocate for tax relief and the vulnerable.

Roberts in recent years fought for increasing property-tax rebates and streamlining local government. He also sponsored bills to prevent the spread of HIV with needle-exchange programs and to expand affordable housing.

As a leader of the South Jersey machine with strong ties to suburbs and rural areas, Roberts was more cautious on taxes than many North Jersey Democrats whose power lay in big cities.

His staunch opposition to a 2006 sales-tax hike proposed by Corzine led to a government shutdown and an ugly intraparty feud in his first months as speaker.

Roberts ultimately agreed to the increase if half the money was plowed into property-tax rebates, though the rebates were scaled back after a year.

Roberts began his 34-year political career as a member of the Bellmawr school board and then of the Borough Council before becoming a Camden County freeholder. In September 1987, he took his seat in the Assembly after winning a special election. He described his decision yesterday as bittersweet, and said he choked up when he told his aides of his plans.

He said he would work into "the wee hours" of Jan. 11.

"When the new Legislature is sworn in on Jan. 12," he said, "I'll be sleeping in."