Hornik, D’Amico and Mallet will team up to target the “safe” Republican district
Hazlet-April 1 Monmouth County Democrats spent the holiday weekend scrambling to collect petition signatures for a new slate of candidates for State Senate and General Assembly in the 13th Legislative District, according to a Democrat who does not want to be known for speaking to a Republican blogger. Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik will be the Senate candidate. Former freeholders John D’Amico and Amy Mallet will be the Assembly candidates.
Petitions are due in Trenton today.
Barbara Buono, the presumed Democratic nominee for governor, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver each called the new candidates to promise amble funds to wage the general election race, even if the incumbents prevail in the GOP primary.
Chairman Vin Gopal believes the 13th district will be in play should the expected Bayshore Tea Party Group backed slate led by former congressional candidate Leigh-Ann Bellew for Senate win the Republican primary against incumbent Senator Joe Kyrillos and Assembly members Amy Handlin and Declan O’Scanlon. The BTPG will announce the rest of their slate, as well as the freeholder and sheriff candidate, this afternoon after their petitions are filed.cheap jumpers for sale
“The Tea Party has beat the Monmouth Republican line every time they’ve tried,” said the source, “Anna Little beat the GOP organization twice and David Corsi did it in 2010. We’re betting they will do it again. In a race where the Republican candidates are running an anti-abortion, pro-gun campaign, we believe the district will vote for proven vote getters like Mayor Hornik, Judge D’Amico and Freeholder Mallet.”
The candidates nominated at the Monmouth Democratic Convention in February, Rutgers Professor Sean Dunne for Senate, and Assembly candidates Matthew Morehead, a dog groomer and Allison Friedman, a public defender, have agreed to resign their candidacies and not file their petitions.
“Having a strong legislative team will help Barbara Buono. There is no way Governor Christie carries Monmouth County by the margins he did in 2009 if he has Tea Party running mates in the 13th. We’ll be forcing Christie to spend time and money in Monmouth he would not have had to with Kyrillos, Handlin and O’Scanlon on his ticket.”
Last month Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal went on NJTV to make the case that Governor Chris Christie is leading the in the polls so strongly because of how he has handled the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and because the presumed Democratic nominee for governor, State Senator Barbara Buono is largely unknown.Canada
In the month since Gopal’s interview, Buono’s name recognition has ticked up only 4 points. Only 20% of the electorate know enough about her to form an opinion. Of that 20%, only half have a favorable opinion of her, according to the Quinnipiac Poll. Despite extensive free media granted Buono by New Jersey’s threelargestnewspapers, Christie has high favorable ratings even among registered Democrats.
The hopes of Middlesex and Monmouth County mayors, freeholders and legislators hoping to move to Washington in early 2015 as the newly elected representive of the 6th Congressional district were set back a bit this morning by a new FDU Public Mind Poll that shows Newark Mayor Cory Booker dominating the Democratic field to replace Senator Frank Lautenberg.
Congressman Frank Pallone has been considered Booker’s main competition for the 2014 Democratic U.S. Senate nomination among the media and political establishment. However, 12th District Congressman Rush Holt has almost twice the support among self identified Democrats than Pallone does, according the FDU survey.
FDU surveyed its respondents cable news viewing habits, polling the trustworthiness of CNN, FoxNews and MSNBC. Given Holt’s surprising showing, they should have surveyed how many of their respondents are Jeopardy fans. Holt is famous for being a five time Jeopardy winner and beating IBM’s supercomputer, “Watson,” on the TV trivia game show.
Booker leads the Democratic U.S. Senate field with 50% support. Pallone got only 4% and Holt 7%. 32% of the respondents are unsure and are probably Wheel of Fortune fans.
Frank Pallone aged 30 years
Unless Booker becomes incapacitated running into fire, shoveling snow, or leaping a tall building in a single bound, Pallone is likely to remain in the House of Representatives until he’s Launtenberg’s age.
Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal, Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik, former Edison Mayor Jun Choi and Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman best hopes for becoming a congressman is if Gerald Rivera manages to beat Booker next year in the general election and then Pallone beating Rivera in 2020. But that is not much of a hope, as FDU says Booker will beat Geraldo 52%-21%.
“Rick” Ambrosia, center, with Vin Gopal, left and Ray Santiago, right, during a 2011 campaign event. Gopal and Santiago were candidates for legislature in LD 11 at the time. facebook photo.
Colts Neck Democrat Patrick “Rick” Ambrosia, Jr has been fined $250 by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission for failure to file primary election reports for his 2011 campaign to become a member of the Township’s governing body.
Ambrosia, who is best known as a frequent antagonist on center-right blogs, lost his 2011 bid in the predominantly Republican Colts Neck Township.
Shut out of the Monmouth County Democratic nominating convention, gubernatorial candidate Willie Araujo disputed Chairman Vin Gopal’s assertion that his nominating process is transparent. Araujo said Gopal should resign immediately.
Araujo said he called Gopal multiple times about his candidacy and never heard back from the chairman. Gopal said that the Monmouth Democrats had a post on facebook on February 3 asking potential candidates for governor to submit their paperwork by February 9. Only State Senator Barbara Buono responded to the facebook post. Buono appeared at the convention is Asbury Park this morning and was nominated by acclamation.
In addition to Gopal, Araujo said he left messages for the Democratic County Chairs in Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Essex, and Gloucester counties. He said that Somerset County Chair Peg Schaffer spoke with him for over an hour.
“Chairwoman Peg Schaffer agreed to speak with me, we spoke for almost an hour and agreed that it’s up to the voters to decide their next Governor,” said Araujo,”Chairman Gopal, you should talk to Chairwoman Schaffer and take some lessons from her. You cannot endorse someone simply based on friendship. I think the Democrats in Monmouth County deserve better. You cannot be one sided… You should resign immediately.”
Monmouth Dems will unanimously endorse Buono tomorrow
Responding to Democratic gubernatorial candidates Carl Bergmanson and Willie Araujo’s statements to MMM that they were not invited to the Monmouth Democratic Nominating Convention, Chairman Vin Gopal issued the following statement:
“We have one of the most open conventions in all of New Jersey. To date, I have only heard from one candidate seeking support for the Democratic Nomination for Governor – Senator Barbara Buono. We have sent several e-mails out to our database asking candidates who are interested in running for Governor, Legislature or County Offices to file a letter of intent. In addition, we had a public post on our Facebook Page on February 3rd asking potential candidates for Governor to get their paperwork in by February 9th, our deadline for candidates for candidates seeking our support. Any candidate who says they have reached out to us and we did not get back to them is just not true. We only heard from Senator Buono and that is who we will be unanimously endorsing tomorrow.”
Buono’s Challengers Not Invited to Monmouth Democratic Convention
It’s unimaginable that the Democratic Party would nominate Carl Bergmanson or Willie Araujo over Barbara Buono for Governor. However, Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal is apparently worried.
Fresh on the heels of Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long’s defection from the Buono Brigade with her endorsement of Chris Christie, Gopal sent out a plea for volunteers to collect signatures for the presumptive nominee:
Photo by Serena DiMaso. Taken with Tom Arone’s phone
Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal is only 27 years old, but he’s over the hill politically according to Governor Chris Chrisite.
Speaking in Sea Bright while accepting Mayor Dina Long’s endorsement for reelection, Christie responded to the statement Gopal issued criticising Long and threatening her political future by saying,
“Vin represents the party of yesterday,” Christie chimed. “To put out a statement like that is a product of yesterday. Maybe Chairman Gopal will see the wisdom” (of Christie’s brand of bipartisanship),” according to PoltickerNJ.
Following yesterday’s news of Long endorsing Chrisite, Gopal issued the following statement on facebook:
Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long, a Democrat, will endorse Governor Chris Christie for reelection tomorrow morning at Woody’s, according to a source who doesn’t want to be known for talking to a Republican blogger.
Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long. photo credit:RedBankGreen.com
The Christie campaign has announced a campaign event at Woody’s Ocean Grille for 11:15 am.
Long did not return a call for comment. Nor did Christie strategist Mike DuHaime.
Long’s support of the Republican governor is a set back for Monmouth Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal, one of Democratic gubernatorial presumptive nominee Senator Barbara Buono’s strongest supporters.
Should Long find herself in trouble with Gopal, Monmouth Republican Chairman John Bennett would welcome her to the GOP.
“I would welcome any caring mayor or council member, including Mayor Long, into the party,” said Bennett in a phone interview, “So long as they are working for the people and not out of a personal agenda, I will welcome them.”
Their nominating convention is on Saturday, but the Monmouth County Democrats are still searching for candidates to run for the legislature and sheriff. Today’s “soft deadline” for candidates to come forward could be extended beyond the convention. Chairman Vin Gopal’s quest to be the first county party to officially annoint Senator Barbara Buono with the gubernatorial nomination will end up being a self-inflicted wound if he doesn’t have a full slate to announce on Saturday afternoon.
With the official deadline for candidates to file their petitions not until April 1 and with Buono the only serious candidate for governor (there are two other announced candidates, former Glen Ridge Governor Carl Bergmanson and union carpenter Willie Araujo of Edison), Gopal’s decision to hold his convention a month earlier than normal looks silly.
Hazlet-April 1 Monmouth County Democrats spent the holiday weekend scrambling to collect petition signatures for a new slate of candidates for State Senate and General Assembly in the 13th Legislative District, according to a Democrat who does not want to be known for speaking to a Republican blogger. Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik will be the Senate candidate. Former freeholders John D’Amico and Amy Mallet will be the Assembly candidates.
“Having a strong legislative team will help Barbara Buono. There is no way Governor Christie carries Monmouth County by the margins he did in 2009 if he has Tea Party running mates in the 13th. We’ll be forcing Christie to spend time and money in Monmouth he would not have had to with Kyrillos, Handlin and O’Scanlon on his ticket.”
