March 10, 2007 - 4:49pm
News

In the Senate, a huge number of retirements

TEN SENATORS RETIRING IN 2007TEN SENATORS RETIRING IN 2007

So far, ten of the forty Senators who started the year will not return to Trenton in January, 2008.

Seven are Republicans: Martha Bark, Leonard Connors, Bill Gormley (who left last month), Walter Kavanaugh, Robert Littell, Robert Martin and Joseph Palaia.  Three are Democrats: Wayne Bryant, Joseph Doria and Bernard Kenny.

There could still be additional retirements, with Democrat Sharpe James and Republican Peter Inverso heading the list of incumbents on a retirement watch. 

While Inverso is a safe bet for a sixth term if he runs -- he's expected to face state Rate Counsel Seema Singh --  James, the former Mayor of Newark, will almost certainly face a hotly contested primary.

Tho ee other Democratic Senators are in competitive primaries: Loretta Weinberg (against Englewood Mayor Michael Wildes); and Ronald Rice (against Essex County Freeholder Bilal Beasley).

Wally Edge can be reached via email at politicsnj@aol.com.