Albert McWilliams

There's some buzz that Edison Mayor Jun Choi might try to run for as a Republican now that the GOP has lost their candidate, but the idea is a non-starter.

Reached by PolitickerNJ.com, Choi, who lost the Democratic primary earlier this month, pointed out that that the state's "sore loser" law bars him from running in the general after losing the primary.

Choi is correct.  Even though the law does not apply to legislators, freeholders, and even municipal council members, mayors are barred from running again.  But a Democrat allied with Choi could switch parties and become the GOP candidate against Democrat Toni Ricigliano.

The law was challenged in 2005, when the late Albert McWilliams, then mayor of Plainfield, lost the Democratic primary to Sharon Robinson-Briggs.  McWilliams tried to run as a Republican, but County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi wouldn't let him on the ballot.  After a court challenge, Union County Superior Court Judge Walter Barisonek ruled the law unconstitutional, but his decision was overturned on appeal.

Former Plainfield Mayor Albert McWilliams passed away early this morning after a battle with renal cancer.

McWilliams was elected Mayor in 1997 and re-elected in 2001. In 2005, he lost his bid for a third term, losing to Sharon Robinson-Briggs by about 300 votes in the Democratic primary after losing the support of the Union County Democratic organization. He later switched to the Republican Party and ran as a write-in candidate. Funeral arrangements are pending.

"Al McWilliams was a man who cared much more about the people of Plainfield than about politics," said Union County GOP Chairman Phil Morin.  "He was a man with vision and hope for the City of Plainfield, and he worked tirelessly to make that vision a reality.  Plainfield's renaissance is due in large part to his efforts."

Winner: LORETTA WEINBERG
The Teaneck Democrat is elected to the State Senate after a legal challenge to the original count that had her losing by one vote in a fight that pitted Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine against Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero. Weinberg's choice to succeed her in the Assembly, Valerie Huttle, won by a comfortable margin.

Winner: BILL BARONI
The Republican Assemblyman showed some testicular fortitude when he showed up at a press conference called by the Democratic challenger to attack him and then accepted an invitation from a reporter to turn the event into a debate on propety taxes.

Winner: LOUIS GREENWALD
The Democratic Assemblyman and his running mate, Pamela Lampitt, wiill share some of the monies they received as the only candidates to qualify for the Clean Elections public financing test project with their Republican opponents who were unable to raise enough money to qualify.

Winner: TOM KEAN, JR.
The GOP State Senator led two top potential Democratic rivals for U.S. Senate next year in a Wall Street Journal/Zogby poll -- the first time a New Jersey Republican has led in a U.S. Senate head-to-head matchup a year before the election since Clifford Case in 1971.

Loser: MICHAEL WILDES
The incredibly ambitious Mayor of Englewood suffers a career setback this week when he loses a convention for the Democratic nomination for State Assembly by a wide margin.

Loser: WILLIAM DOYLE
The Hunterson County Sheriff settles a harassment suit filed by four officers for a reported $650,000. The details were sealed so that the taxpayers who ultimately paid the settlement won't be able to know why.

Loser: FRANK SCHILLARI
The Hudson County Undersheriff was, according to the Jersey Journal, "captured on FBI recordings asking reputed mobsters to smooth out a problem for the sheriff."

Loser: ALBERT MCWILLIAMS
The Mayor of Plainfield, who lost his bid for re-election in the June Democratic primary, won' be able to run as a Republican in November after all. He switched parties last month, but the state Supreme Court ruled that the so-called "sore loser law" applies to McWilliams.

Mayor Albert McWilliams Resigns from Executive Board of the New Democrats for Plainfield

Plainfield Mayor Albert T. McWilliams submitted his resignation from the executive board of the New Democrats for Plainfield today. Mayor McWilliams served as Immediate Past President of the organization since July of this year. In accepting his resignation current president, Union County Freeholder Adrian Mapp thanked the mayor for his service and wished him well on his future endeavors.

Court Halts Printing of Plainfield Ballots
Finds "Legitimate Argument" That Law Prohibiting Mayor McWilliams From Running In the General Election Is Unconstitutional

Finding a “legitimate argument� that a law invoked by Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi to deny Plainfield Mayor Albert T. McWilliams the right to run in the general election this fall as a Republican is unconstitutional, Superior Court Judge Walter R. Barisonek today ordered the Clerk to refrain from printing the ballot for the City of Plainfield until after a hearing next Wednesday.