Rooney prepares to seek 15th term in assembly

It has taken him over a year to make a decision on whether or not he wants to stay in the legislature, but Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale), the senior member of the lower house, said today that he filed a letter of intent to the Bergen County Republican Organization announcing his plans to run for reelection.

Rooney, who at 69 is the youngest member of the District 39 delegation, has served in the assembly since 1983, and has been grappling the reelection question since overcoming a well-funded challenge to his seat by Democrats in 2007.  Complicating matters was a bad knee and hip replacement surgery, and later some fundraising disagreements with the new party chairman, Bob Yudin.

"I did file a letter of intent to run, so surprise, surprise, I decided that I do feel better.  My hip is great," said Rooney.  "The knee is fine, but I still need some work on it. I've started to lose weight, which is very important.  I need that more than anything else. Currently, as long as I feel well, I've got my name in."

But Rooney's letter of intent should not be read as an absolute commitment to running again, even if his health holds up.  While Rooney said he's more likely to run than not, he's meeting this week with Washington Township Councilman Bob Schroeder, a wealthy businessman and former gubernatorial candidate who has made no secret of his aspirations for an assembly seat.

Schroeder has also filed a letter of intent, but will not run if Rooney does.

"It's not a done deal on running or not as far as I'm concerned. Right now to make sure I still have the option," said Rooney.  "I've started looking at some of the things that I've started, and I'm not finished."

Meanwhile, Yudin has already put the pressure on Rooney to step aside and make way for a fresh face.

"I have urged John Rooney not to run for reelection and I want him to withdraw. I think it's time for a change. He's been in there 25 years, he's done commendable service, but it's time to let some of the younger people in," said Yudin.

Yudin said that, in addition to Rooney and Schroeder, Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk and former River Edge Councilman John Felice, the son of former Assemblyman Nicholas Felice, have also filed letters of intent.  More could come by the February 1st deadline to file letters of intent with the party.

"There's always the possibility that all kinds of people will enter," said Yudin.

Although Yudin has made his preference known, he said he will award the party line to the victors of a convention to be held by joint convention between county committee members from District 39 and the Northeast Republican Organization (NERO).

While Rooney enjoys a cordial relationship with Schroeder that is not likely to result in locked horns, the same cannot be said for his feelings towards Felice, who told Yudin that he intends to run regardless of Rooney's decision.

"I'm looking at the cast of characters, and I'm not impressed," said Rooney, who said Felice's decision not to stand for reelection to the River Edge Borough Council contributed to Republican losses there.

"I don't like people who are Johnny-come-latelies, people who have not paid any dues - in fact, have walked away. I'm speaking particularly of John Felice," he said.  "He could have helped the ticket in his hometown of River Edge, but he decided not to. And last year was a terrible year. And what happened there was the only Republican who won was the mayor. But he didn't help in that particular situation at all, and that's what it's all about - working at the local level."

Felice said that he opted not to run for reelection to the council in order to focus his efforts the assembly run.  If he does not win the county committee/NERO convention, Felice plans to back the winners.

"I don't think it would be fair to the people of River Edge to get elected last November and announce my candidacy for the assembly," he said.

Felice defended his record of party involvement, saying that he actively worked for the District 39 slate's reelection campaign in 2007, and was former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dick Zimmer's Bergen County coordinator.

He stressed that he was not targeting Rooney or anyone else. :The reason why I’m running is to bring a new sense of leadership and vitality and ideas down to Trenton. Trenton’s broke, and it has to be fixed," he said.

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