Caroline Casagrande

There are now more Democrats than Republicans in Monmouth County, and the GOP is in danger of losing control of the Freeholder Board for the first time since 1986, but state Democrats remain lukewarm over the prospects of playing for State Assembly seats in Districts 11, 12 and 13 in 2009.  Nearly six months before filing day, Democrats are uncertain about investing money to oust any of the six Republican incumbents in districts where they have invested heavily in recent years.

Indeed, twelfth district Democrats won a Senate seat and two Assembly seats in 2003 after ethics charges were hurled at longtime incumbent John Bennett, then the Co-President of the State Senate.  But the GOP won back one of the Assembly seats two years later, and seats in the Senate and Assembly in 2007.  They have been unable to crack the Republican hold on Districts 11, where an aggressive campaign in 2005 fell short, and in District 13, where they came within a few hundred votes of ousting an incumbent five years ago.

Now, it appears Democrats are prepared to wait patiently for 2011, with the hope that they can prevail during the legislative redistricting process and secure a better district.  One idea that seems to be receiving universal consideration by Democratic legislative leaders is to place Jennifer Beck, a freshman Republican State Senator from Red Bank, in a district with either Sean Kean or Joseph Kyrillos, who represent the 11th and 12th districts in the Senate, respectively.   Democrats want to add part of Middlesex County, perhaps strongly Democratic Monroe and Plainsboro, to the 12th and remove some Republican towns. 

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and State Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Rumson) met privately this summer to discuss the 2009 campaign for Governor and specifically the possibility of Beck running on Christie's ticket for Lieutenant Governor, according to two key Monmouth County Republicans who say they heard this from Beck.  Christie did not offer the number two spot on his ticket to the freshman State Senator from Monmouth County, the sources say, but did indicate he was likely to enter the race for Governor next year.  

Beck, who ousted a Democratic Assemblyman in 2005 and a Democratic State Senator in 2007, has appeared on most short lists as a possible candidate for Lt. Governor next year.  He Senate seat is not up until 2011.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Assemblywoman Carolina Casagrande is outraged at what she sees as sexist media coverage of Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. 

“I just think that a lot of the things surrounding the Governor’s personal family life have been highlighted by the mainstream media, and amplified in their importance in a way that you would not see if this was a male candidate,” said Casagrande, a new mother herself. 

While some pundits see the “us versus them,” small town mayor versus elitist media tact that Palin took in her speech last night as nothing more than a campaign tactic, Casagrande sees it as the vestiges of an old way of thinking.

Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth), campaigning last year with Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon.: Politicker file photo 

MINNEAPOLIS - Identifying in her hockey mom, small town mayor’s story the features of a universal American life, and exhilarated by her willingness to put her head down and charge after their rivals, members of New Jersey’s GOP delegation praised the acceptance speech delivered tonight by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, their vice presidential nominee.

"I know my constituents will be able to identify with her, a working mother whose family depends on two incomes," said state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Union).

Since he first declared his hope two or three weeks ago that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would choose Palin as his running mate as a way of reaching base conservative voters, women, and blue collar America, Kean has consistently emphasized as a strength Palin’s distance from the ambitious political culture of Washington, D.C.

"This was someone who was picked because of her competence as governor, as opposed to her going out and seeking the office," the senator added.

In response to the Attorney General’s recent investigation of retail gas stations, and the multitude of violations uncovered by this crackdown, 12th District Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande has introduced legislation that would require the publication of these violations in the newspaper and on the Internet. 

Congratulations to Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and her husband, Steve Chance, on the birth of their son. Harrison Frederick Chance was born at 2:18 AM this morning (9 lbs., 6 oz., 21 inches long).

Democrats are anxious to reclaim the 12th legislative district, where Jennifer Beck ousted Ellen Karcher in the 2007 Senate race, and where a pair of Republicans occupies the two Assembly seats. The plan isn’t as much about 2009 (the conventional wisdom is that freshmen incumbents Declan O’Scanlon and Caroline Casagrande will be tough to beat next year) as it is about 2011. Legislative districts will be redrawn after the 2010 census.

The vast majority of Rudy Giuliani’s New Jersey supporters are expected to endorse John McCain today, and pundits on both sides appear certain that McCain is the heavy favorite to win New Jersey’s winner-take-all primary on Tuesday. McCain will be in New Jersey on Monday, holding a rally at the Colonial Fire House in Hamilton; Rudy Giuliani is expected to accompany him.

In 1980, a 10-year-old Jonathan Hornik stood in the recently renovated barn that had just become Marlboro’s town hall to watch his late father, Saul, get sworn in as the town’s new mayor.

Today, just over two years since his father died of lung cancer, Hornik stood in the same room, filled to the rafters with spectators to see the 37-year-old sworn in as mayor.

“Marlboro was a young community well on its way to what I call modern day Marlboro,” reminsced Hornik in his inaugural speech. “….It was a feeling of optimism in 1980, and our town leaders were eager to meet the challenges of their time. Today I feel the same sense of optimism and assure you that this next generation is ready, willing and able to move Marlboro forward to its bright future.”

Hornik is one of the Monmouth County Democrats’ rising stars, having handily defeated incumbent Mayor Robert Kleinberg in a particularly nasty battle while the full slate of his 12th district Democratic legislative counterparts –led by state Sen. Ellen Karcher, a former Marlboro councilwoman – went down in defeat.

Assemblywoman-elect Caroline Casagrande becomes the youngest woman to ever win election to the New Jersey Legislature.  At age 30, she is three years younger than Republican Barbara Curran was when she won in 1973, and three years younger than Kathleen Donovan was when she ousted Democratic incumbents in 1985.