Head-to-head in an NAACP-sponsored forum for the first time, the contenders in the 10th Congressional District tried to outshine one another this evening at Trinity AME Church.

"We need to continue the 23-year legacy going forward," said Newark City Council President Donald Payne Jr., son of the late U.S. Rep. Donald Payne.

An early backer of President Barack Obama, West Ward Councilman Ronald C. Rice tried to dominate the pro-Obama, progressive terrain in the race.

Win or lose, state Sen. Nia Gill’s (D-34) decision to run for Congress this year could produce a shakeup in the 34^th.

Gill wins, she goes to Congress.

She loses, she has to trudge back to Montclair as a line officer and county employee who ran against the party establishment.

Sources say the party can’t properly call itself a party unless there are repercussions for behavior like that, and the easiest way for the Democratic Committee to make a statement is to deny Gill the line in 2013.

The SEIU New Jersey State Council, representing 40,000 service workers in the private and public sectors around the state, today announced its endorsement of Ronald C. Rice in the 10^thCongressional District.

“In his roles as a public official and community leader, Ron Rice has clearly demonstrated that he understands the issues of working men and women and is willing to tackle them,” said Rahaman Muhammad, Council President and President of Newark-based SEIU Local 617.  “Ron will bring his vision, leadership and progressive ideas to Congress and ensure the voices of our working families are heard all the way to Washington, D.C.”