Democrats look to Byrnes to be party linch pin in freeholder fight with GOP's Curley

RED BANK - Middletown Committeeman Sean Byrnes defeated former Neptune Mayor Mike Beson here today at Local Carpenters Union 2250 for the backing of the Democratic Party to run for Freeholder this year.

The county committee vote tally was 147 votes for Byrnes and 41 votes for Beson.  “We have a candidate for freeholder who wins in Middletown, and who has a great background – check his resume,” Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery said of Byrnes, a Georgetown University-educated attorney, father of five, retired Coast Guard Commander and Red Bank native.

Byrnes will run against Republican John Curley of Middletown to try to succeed Freeholder Director Barbara McMorrow. Curley last month won his party's backing in a 36-27 matchup against former Atlantic Highlands Borough Councilwoman Kim Spatola.  

“My background is strong,” admitted Byrnes, 46. “I did a lot of strategic planning in the Coast Guard, which I introduced on the Middletown Township Committee. I would like to introduce (and see passed) more efficiencies at the county level. What happened here is the Republicans controlled county government for so long, they got lackadaisical and inefficient.”    

At least one county committee member could be heard crowing with glee over the bigger implications of this loss by Beson, a former state director for U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) who was publicly backed in this race by the congressman. 

In response, Scudiery said the perceived Pallone-Scudiery showdown ended today. 

"We are unified," insisted the chairman, a point echoed by Beson, who praised Brynes as an excellent choice and plans to meet with him this coming week.  

It’s no exaggeration – and this was underscored by Gov. Jon Corzine’s furrowed-brow backroom rendezvous with party leaders here more than an hour prior to the convention – to say that Byrnes officially arrives to the countywide scene today with the task of trying to keep upright what Democrats built over several years of glory fueled by a combination of Bush backlash and GOP county scandal. 

 It will not be easy with Corzine at the top of the ticket in this county that Republicans believe will resume its natural shape as a GOP stronghold in a gubernatorial general election year in which Democratic Party powerhouse towns like Long Branch and Asbury Park will have already held their local election dukeouts on May 12th. 

There are some positive signs for Democrats, including the defection from the Republican Party of Marlboro Council President Jeffrey Cantor, an Iraq War veteran and unsuccessful GOP candidate for Freeholder in 2007, who stood this morning with Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik. Hornik seconded the nomination of Byrnes.   

But there’s another potentially significant complication for the Democrats.  

When McMorrow announced her decision not to pursue reelection this year so she could focus on combating a serious illness, the GOP figured they had an immediate jumpstart on restoring order. McMorrow with her anti-machine brand had positioned herself as a personable and bipartisan elected official who, once the Democrats gained control of the Board in January, appeared to have little interest in wielding her party's hammer and punishing the opposition by firing longtime Republican-appointed county employees.  

If she wasn’t exactly a ruling party boon for Democrats who fumed that she was genteel in the extreme, she maintained her countywide popularity and consequently, “She’s almost unbeatable,” one Republican source told PolitickerNJ.com late last year. 

Still, former Red Bank Councilman/car dealership owner John Curley of Middletown – who ran last year and lost to Freeholder Amy Mallet, who clinched the Democrats' majority – thought he began to see signs of weakness, particularly as the new Freeholder Board struggled to reach consensus, as McMorrow battled with Democrats Freeholder Amy Mallet and Freeholder John D’Amico, who beat Cantor.  

Curley a hard-boiled campaigner with a reputation as a never-back-down critic when he served as a minority party councilman in Red Bank, was confident he could defeat McMorrow, who yielded to Democratic Party wishes when she voted to install failed Democratic Party Freeholder candidate Glenn Mason to a high-paid county emergency management job. 

Then came the McMorrow decision two weeks ago not to run again and Curley, coming off a loss last year in which he ground down a good amount of shoe leather getting his name out there to lose by 343 votes, is in a good position politically, particularly considering Corzine’s top of the ticket ballot presence for the Democrats. 

But the Democrats believe they can maintain control of the Board of Chosen Freeholders.

In an emotional for-the-moment farewell as she received a heart-shaped pin and bouquet of roses from Scudiery, McMorrow pledged today that she would be back.

In the meantime, the Democrats nominated Byrnes for the seat McMorrow now occupies, betting on his local roots and professional profile. A Red Bank Regional High School grad, the general practice attorney retired as a U.S. Coast Guard commander after serving in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Prior to that, he served as an operations officer on board a cutter. 

They feel very good about him. 

They like his ability to get elected in Middletown – the county’s biggest municipality with 45,126 registered voters and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos’ (R-Middletown) hometown where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 1,000 votes and where McCain beat Obama last year by almost 6,000 votes. 

“Curley couldn’t even win Red Bank when he ran last year,” said Scudiery. "When you compare these two – Curley and Byrnes – there’s no comparison.” 

The chairman shrugged off the fight between Byrnes and Beson. 

Pallone rank and filers on the committee who backed Beson today fret that for all his potential starpower – his no-notes delivery from the podium in a voice devoid of either high pitches or hackneyed phrasing fairly riveted most in the crowd – Byrne’s a newcomer, a political neophyte, in fact. 

He just took office in January, 2008. 

Then there’s the governor himself, whose low thirties poll numbers coupled with a down gear economy have contributed mightily to the curtailed enthusiasm of any number of would-be candidates, and made it harder than usual for the party to sell its Legislative District slates this year as more than ballot padding. 

Byrnes’ ally on the Middletown Committee, fellow Democratic Committeeman Pat Short, wasn’t planning to run for reelection until he learned Byrnes was local Party Chairman Joe Caliendo’s recommendation for the Freeholder seat. Now the “West Point warrior” is running again, in part giving local cover to Byrnes for the latter’s Freeholder bid. 

In a five-minute address, Corzine plugged New Jersey’s “single most aggressive insurance program for children in the country, and his protection of schools and seniors.  

“This idea that we’re attacking the middle class is complete and utter BS,” said Corzine, building up to the men who would succeed McMorrow. Beson told the Freeholder Director in the front row that he would gladly reconsider running if the Freeholder Director announced her intentions to run again.  

Byrnes went there too. 

“I wouldn’t even try to replace Barbara McMorrow,” today’s eventual winner told the crowd. “Ten days ago I had no inkling I would be standing here today. In a sense, I’m regretful I’m here (because of McMorrow’s departure) but we cannot afford to lose the momentum we have. I only hope our motto next year is ‘Barbara is Back.’”

But for now, it’s all on Byrnes.