PERTH AMBOY - Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-34) said she would not sit idly by and let Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz be persecuted "and hung in effigy" at the hands of veteran political operatve James Devine.

Devine sent an email to the mayor calling her dumb.

"You don't have to hold your crotch to prove you are capable of leadership," said Oliver, triggering claps among the crowd of women backing Diaz, who's facing six challengers in the November election.

Devine's client, Billy Delgado, is one of the candidates trying to beat Diaz.

"You can resort to name calling," said Oliver. "Don't worry. Cream always rises to the top. She will make history to prove that adage you say about women. 'We can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, because we are women.'"

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