Bill Layton

Assemblywoman- elect Dawn Addiego is standing with Glenn Paulsen in the Burlington GOP warAfter feasting on the Democratic Party in the 8th district general election a week ago, Republicans promptly turned on each other in a continuing family fracas that today brought out a normally under-the-radar Republican operative who lit into Assemblywoman-elect Dawn Marie Addiego.

Irritated by Acting Party Chairwoman Dawn Lacy's post Election Day firing of two campaign strategists, Addiego on Tuesday issued a staunch-the-bleeding letter to Evesham Republicans in which she praised the "leadership" of Campaign Chairman Bill Layton and Campaign Manager Chris Russell - and ripped Lacy.

State Sen. Diane Allen is a possible successor to retiring Rep. Jim SaxtonAlready locked in a mano-a-mano with potential U.S. Congressional candidate State Sen. Diane Allen, GOP boss Glenn Paulsen is now trying to fend off another prong of an uprising launched against him and his allies by Allen-ally Dawn Lacy, the party's acting county chairwoman.

A spat between the acting party chair and former chair boiled over after the election, when Lacy dismissed Paulsen confidants Bill Layton and Chris Russell, then secured party documents that she saw as the rightful purview of the acting chair and not Paulsen's surrogates.

"We need to professionalize this organization," says Lacy, who took the party's books out of the headquarters housed in a building owned in part by Paulsen.

Burlington County Republicans held off an aggressive and well-financed challenge from South Jersey Democrats this week, winning races for State Senate and Assembly in the 8th district -- a GOP pickup after Francis Bodine switched parties -- and contests for Freeholder and Sheriff.  Glenn Paulsen, who returned as the key party leader after a brief hiatus and helped depose Burlington County GOP Chairman Michael Warner, seems to be strong -- despite a public feud with State Senator Diane Allen.

The most creative press release of the week, so far, comes from the Burlington County Democrats -- with a David Letterman-style Top 10 list:

Democratic State Senate candidate Seema Singh had some trouble achieving at last one of her strategic objectives last weekend while campaigning at the Irish Music Festival last weekend at the Hibernian Lodge in Hamilton Township: she appeared a bit frustrated by her inability to buy some bottled water.  Singh asked a volunteer manning the Guiness booth: "Is that all you sell at this fair, beer?"

One of the best candidate recruitments for Assembly Republicans was in the seventh district, where former Philadelphia Flyers All-Star Brian Propp is challenging incumbents Herbert Conaway and Jack Conners. The Burlington-Camden district leans strongly to the Democratic side, but another celebrity candidate, former TV news anchorwoman Diane Allen, has won four elections there as a Republican by relatively comfortable margins. Republicans believed that Allen's coattails -- a spring GOP poll had her re-elect at a solid 55% -- could help Propp win.

But Propp may be the victim of limited GOP resources. One year after Democrats won the Burlington County Surrogate race, the Republicans are on the defensive: their main goal is hold their two Freeholder seats and re-elect Sheriff Jean Stanfield. And a party switch has made the normally Republican eighth district a little more competitive -- Assemblyman Francis Bodine, a Republican elected official for the last thirty years, switched parties earlier this year (after the GOP dumped him) and is now running for an open State Senate seat against County Clerk Phil Haines. That has also put the two open Assembly seats in play.

Burlington County GOP Chairman Michael Warner will resign his post at 6PM tomorrow, sources say.  Lobbyist Bill Layton is expected to become the next County Chairman.