Posted on 06/03/2003 12:37:53 AM PDT by LdSentinal
JUNE 2 - The depth of resentment among conservatives toward the Republican Party establishment and the strength of several Democratic county organizations are among the issues that will be addressed when voters go to the polls in Tuesday's legislative primaries.
With contested races in fewer than half of the state's forty legislative districts and no statewide or federal races at the top of the ballot, turnout is expected to be small statewide.
And because most legislative contests haven't received much media attention, the pool of voters in Democratic and Republican races will mostly be limited to each party's truest believers, according to Ingrid Reed, the director of the Eagleton New Jersey Project at Rutgers University.
"A lot of people don't know it's primary day, and so they don't go to the polls," she said. "So it's the faithful that go -- that's what they do as party members."
But while there aren't any races that have captured the entire state's interest, there are some issues that have stirred the passions of activists across the state.
Grass-roots conservatives hope the primary will prove their success in 2001 -- when the party's long-dormant right wing galvanized behind Bret D. Schundler to upset Robert D. Franks in the gubernatorial primary- was no fluke, and that they are a force to be reckoned with as the party seeks a 2005 standard-bearer to challenge Gov. James E. McGreevey.
A number of conservatives are mounting challenges to Republican legislators they deem too moderate. Running under the banner "Republicans for Conservative Leadership," former Mahwah Republican Club President Joseph Tomanelli is taking on State Sen. Henry P. McNamara (R-Wyckoff) in the 40th District, businessman Jay D. Schainholz is opposing Assemblywoman Rose M. Heck (R-Hasbrouck Heights) for the GOP Senate nod in the 38th District, and Carole Moore is challenging State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) in the 7th District. There are several Assembly candidates running under the banner in the 40th, 38th and 21st Districts.
While many of the conservative challengers have said their campaigns were, in part, inspired by the lack of support the GOP establishment offered Schundler as the nominee two years ago, Schundler himself has shied away from taking sides in any of the primaries.
The aggressiveness of the various conservative challengers has varied. Some have struggled to raise money and compete on an equal footing with their opponents. Others, like Schainholz, have been able to launch expensive campaigns complete with radio advertising.
David Rebovich, the director of Rider University's Institute for New Jersey Politics, said conservatives need to come out of the primary with more than just moral victories.
"I think they have to win one or two," he said. "The conservatives want to be able to claim that not only do they have voters, but they have some office-holders who believe in the cause."
The conservative candidates receiving the most attention are attorney Jay Webber, who is running against State Sen. Robert J. Martin (R-Morris Plains) in the Morris/Passaic 26th District, and Richard J. Pezzullo, who is seeking to topple Senate Co-President John O. Bennett III (Little Silver) in the 12th District.
Many observers believe Webber and Pezzullo are the two GOP Senate challengers most likely to succeed.
Webber, a 31-year-old former congressional aide, has waged a very aggressive and well-financed campaign against Martin, firing off dozens of press releases that referred to the senator as "liberal Bob Martin" and branding him as "too liberal for too long" -- a familiar slogan used by GOP candidates across the country in previous elections.
Martin, who has established a reputation in Trenton as a thoughtful and conscientious lawmaker and was named "Most Independent" legislator by New Jersey Monthly magazine, has devoted much of his campaign to charges that Webber is hypocritical. In spite of his avowed conservatism, Webber, Martin has pointed out, works at a law firm whose political action committee donated money to Democrats. Additionally, the Martin campaign has noted, Webber worked as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Peter G. Verniero and also served as the campaign manager for former Congressman William Martini, who is pro-choice. Webber is pro-life.
But Rebovich said the strategy has distracted the Martin campaign from touting the senator's greatest strength: his independence.
"I think the real surprise here is that Martin has not been able to give a more articulate defense of his more moderate approach during the years," he said.
A Webber win won't necessarily mean a triumph for the conservative movement, according to Reed. While the race was initially an ideological battle, she said the questions Webber's campaign raised about Martin's use of campaign funds to pay for his graduate school tuition --along with several other non-philosophical accusations hurled between the campaigns -- had de-emphasized the ideological tone of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Pezzullo, who has run for statewide office previously as the Conservative Party's candidate, has benefited from questions raised by the Asbury Park Press about Bennett's billing practices as the lawyer for Marlboro Township.
Even if Bennett survives the primary, there's still a question of whether he'll stay in the race through the general election. Some have suggested he might be persuaded to step aside so the party can replace him with a candidate who lacks his baggage.
"That's not going to be decided tomorrow," Rebovich noted.
On the Democratic side, the party has faced questions about why two incumbent female legislators were denied official party backing this spring- imperiling their futures in the Legislature.
Freshman 34th District Senator Nia H. Gill (D-Montclair) and four-term 19th District Assemblywoman Arline Friscia (D-Woodbridge) have both been forced to seek their party's nominations off the line, and both have made the fact that they were replaced by men an issue. Essex and Passaic County Democratic leaders opted to back former Assemblyman LeRoy J. Jones, Jr. over Gill, while Middlesex County Democrats voted at their March convention to replace Friscia with Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas.
Reed said she thinks Gill might have a better shot at survival than Friscia because Gill's district is more accustomed to competitive Democratic primaries than Friscia's. Plus, Reed said, Gill has been more visible in her district than Friscia has been in hers.
But considering how few women are in the 120-member Legislature to begin with, Reed said it's fair to ask why a premium wasn't placed on retaining Gill and Friscia.
"It's so rare that parties don't support the incumbent, there's probably a good reason to ask why," Reed said
Another Democrat seeking to beat a powerful county organization is Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham, who is running for an open Senate seat in the 31st District.
Cunningham has been feuding with the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) since last year, and has found himself at odds with every Democratic mayor in the county and all but one of his own city council members.
His opponent is L. Harvey Smith, who serves as Jersey City's Council President and whose campaign has been run by the HCDO.
The race was seen as a gamble on Cunningham's part when he entered in February, with the HCDO pledging to expend significant resources to beat him and -- in their view -- hasten his demise as mayor.
But recent comments from HCDO leaders have focused on suggesting Cunningham needs to win by a big margin Tuesday to avoid embarrassment --suggesting, to some, that they view him as the front runner.
A third candidate, former assistant Hudson County prosecutor Vincent Militello, is also running.
A strong Cunningham showing might have a major impact on the district's Assembly race. Longtime Assemblyman Joseph V. Doria (D-Bayonne) and freshman Assemblywoman Elba Perez-Cinciarelli (D-Jersey City) are the HCDO's candidates, while Bayonne Councilman -- and Doria rival -- Anthony Chiappone is running with former Hudson County Freeholder Louis Manzo on Cunningham's ticket.
Another race attracting attention on the Democratic side is in the 12th District, where Marlboro Council President Ellen Karcher is running with the Monmouth County Democratic Party's support against Oceanport Mayor Gordon N. Gemma. The winner will square off with either Bennett or Pezzullo in November.
The race has been portrayed as a proxy battle for control of the state Senate, with Democratic Senate Co-President Richard Codey (D-West Orange) backing Karcher and South Jersey power-broker George Norcross siding with Gemma. Norcross has long aimed to oust Codey as the Senate's Democratic leader.
The "surrogate war" might frustrate voters and cause them to stay home, Rebovich said, adding that the contentious tone of the race might hurt the winner in the fall. The 12th District has been represented by the same all-Republican legislative team for 14 years.
Running for the Assembly on Karcher's ticket are Michael Panter, an investment banker from Shrewsbury, and former Little Silver Board of Education member Robert Morgan. Fair Haven businesswoman Amy A. Mallet is running with Gemma.
Statewide political observers will also be keeping an eye on the 23rd District, in Warren and Hunterdon Counties, where former Assembly Speaker Garabed "Chuck" Haytaian is bidding for a return to the lower house. He is challenging incumbents Michael J. Doherty (R-Oxford) and Connie Myers (R-Holland).
Haytaian has blasted Doherty and Myers as ineffective, and challenged the driving and auto insurance record of Doherty. He has also chided Myers for refusing to participate in almost all proposed debates and campaign forums.
Haytaian is promising to take a leading role in the Republican caucus if he returns to Trenton. Rebovich said current GOP Assembly members probably have mixed feelings about a potential return by their former leader.
"I'm sure they'd like to unleash him on the Democrats every once in a while," he said. "But Chuck is tough to control, and that might be a problem for some Republicans."
One other competitive Republican Assembly contest is in the Morris County-based 25th District.
There, Freeholder Douglas R. Cabana is challenging incumbents Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township) and Richard A. Merkt (R-Mendham).
Cabana has denied that he is targeting either of the incumbents, but his campaign has focused most of its attacks on Carroll, questioning, among other things, the number of times Carroll has chosen to abstain in roll call votes.
Carroll, named by New Jersey Monthly magazine as the state's most conservative legislator, has defended himself, positioning himself as far to the right as possible, and attacking Cabana for voting to raise taxes as a local official and supporting a proposed constitutional convention to address the state's high property taxes.
Despite some spirited challenges, incumbents remain the odds-on favorites in most of the contested legislative primaries.
New Jersey's longest serving legislator, State Sen. Robert E. Littell (R-Franklin), faces a challenge from Paul G. Viall, Jr., a former Sparta Councilman. His daughter, newly-elected Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose (R-Newton) and Assemblyman Guy R. Gregg (R-Washington Township) are defending their seats against Sussex County Republican Chairman David M. Mortimer and businessman George Matreyek, a regional vice president of the National Rifle Association. McHose just narrowly defeated Mortimer in a January special election convention.
Littell was elected to the Assembly in 1967 and to the Senate in 1990
.In the state's most heavily Democratic district, State Sen. Sharpe James (D-Newark), the Mayor of Newark, faces a spirited challenge from a man who was once one of his top political lieutenants, Newark City Councilman Luis A. Quintana. Also in the race are two James aides who some observers say are in the race to divide the Latino vote: Deputy Mayor Jeanette Ramos and city employee Pablo A. Olivera, and Jaime L. Gonzalez.
In the 21st District, which includes parts of Union, Essex, Morris and Somerset counties, incumbents Eric Munoz (R-Summit) and Jon M. Bramnick (R-Westfield) face primary opposition from former Assemblyman James J. Barry, Jr. and two conservative activists -- Betty LaRosa, a former aide to Rep. Michael Ferguson, and Helen Ryan, who was the New Jersey Right to Life office manager.
Assemblymen David C. Russo (R-Ridgewood) and Kevin J. O'Toole (R-Cedar Grove) face Ridgewood Republican Club President John P. Ginty and former Wanaque GOP Chairwoman Lorraine LaNeve, the 2000 Conservative Party U.S. Senate candidate, in the 40th district.
In District 38 -- considered to be among the battleground races for the Assembly this fall -- former Fair Lawn Mayor Edward J. Trawinski and Bergen County Freeholder Louis A. Tedesco, Jr., the organization candidates, must first beat conservatives Patricia M. Armstrong and Carol J. Skiba.
Three Senators from central New Jersey-- Joseph F. Vitale (D-Woodbridge), Joseph Suliga (D-Linden) and Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) -- face token challenges in the Democratic primary. Several Assemblymen, including Joseph R. Malone (R-Bordentown), Ronald S. Dancer (R-Plumsted), Neil M. Cohen (D-Roselle), Joseph Cryan (D-Union), William D. Payne (D-Newark), Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Newark), Peter C. Eagler (D-Clifton), Paul DiGaetano (R-Nutley) and Frederick Scalera (D-Nutley) are heavily favored to in renomination against minor primary challengers.
There are Republican contests for the right to challenge a pair of Democratic incumbents in districts considered to be safe Democratic seats. In District 32, Frank MacCormack of Secaucus and John Pluchino of North Bergen, want to take on State Sen. Nicholas J. Sacco (D-North Bergen). Businessman Barry S. Honig is the choice of the Bergen County Republican Organization to oppose State Sen. Byron A. Baer (D-Englewood), but he must first withstand a challenge from conservative Thomas A. Phelan, a retired New York City police detective.
Assemblyman Rafael Fraguela (R-Union City), a freshman legislator from Hudson County who switched to the GOP in April after Democrats denied him the organization line for a second term, is mounting a write-in campaign for the Republican Senate nod in the 33rd district. Fraguela withdrew his petitions amidst allegations of invalid signatures.
Jay D. Schainholz vs. Assemblywoman Rose M. Heck (R-Hasbrouck Heights) for the GOP Senate nod in the 38th District
Carole Moore vs. State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) in the 7th District
Jay Webber vs. State Sen. Robert J. Martin (R-Morris Plains) in the 26th District
Richard J. Pezzullo vs. Senate Co-President John O. Bennett III (Little Silver) in the 12th District
former Assembly Speaker Garabed "Chuck" Haytaian is challenging incumbents Michael J. Doherty (R-Oxford) and Connie Myers (R-Holland).
Douglas R. Cabana vs. incumbents Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Township, a conservative) and Richard A. Merkt (R-Mendham).
State Sen. Robert E. Littell (R-Franklin), faces a challenge from Paul G. Viall, Jr., a former Sparta Councilman.
Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose (R-Newton) and Assemblyman Guy R. Gregg (R-Washington Township) vs. David M. Mortimer and George Matreyek, a regional vice president of the National Rifle Association.
21st District, Eric Munoz (R-Summit) and Jon M. Bramnick (R-Westfield) vs. James J. Barry, Jr. and two conservative activists -- Betty LaRosa and Helen Ryan, who was the New Jersey Right to Life office manager.
40th district - David C. Russo (R-Ridgewood) and Kevin J. O'Toole (R-Cedar Grove) face Ridgewood Republican Club President John P. Ginty and former Wanaque GOP Chairwoman Lorraine LaNeve, the 2000 Conservative Party U.S. Senate candidate.
District 38 -- Edward J. Trawinski and Louis A. Tedesco, Jr., the organization candidates, must first beat conservatives Patricia M. Armstrong and Carol J. Skiba.
Assemblyman Rafael Fraguela (R-Union City), District 33
Hard to know who to root for among all these folks, but there are a few that I highlighted that seem to be a conservative's preference.
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