Chris Calabrese

The Bergen County Republicans are seizing on the joint federal and state investigation of a huge development project gone awry in the Meadowlands.

The troubled EnCap project would have included 2,500 residences and two golf courses before it was shut down by the Meadowlands Commission last month. The Bergen Record reported that, post bankruptcy, the project is facing a corruption investigation by U.S. Attorney Chris Christie and State Attorney General Anne Milgram.

The Bergen County Committee bucked its screening committee’s recommendations tonight, voting to give Jeffrey Heller and Chris Calabrese the county line, along with Paul Duggan.

Bergen County Republicans feel that the scene is set for a competitive freeholder race.

Three incumbent Democrats are up for reelection to the all-Democrat board. There’s Bernadette McPherson, who just lost her mayoral seat in Rutherford by a landslide; David Ganz, who lost his mayoral seat in Fair Lawn to Republican Ed Trawinski in 2005 (although he was reelected to the freeholder board that same year); and the brand new Vernon Walton, a former Englewood councilman who lost that seat to Democratic Assemblyman Gordon Johnson in 2006.

“McPherson and Ganz, I think, are the soft underbelly of the Democratic freeholder board,” said Republican state Sen. Gerald Cardinale.

Add to the chastened incumbents a few local circumstances, like the growing EnCap controversy, the indictment of former Democratic state Sen. Joe Coniglio and having the popular Republican Kathleen Donovan on the ballot for reelection as county clerk, and some Republicans feel that they have the makings for a good race and a chance to win a Freeholder seat for the first time since Lisa Randall won one in 2003.

“The (Democrats) each have baggage,” said Republican strategist Thom Ammirato. “You’ve got great issues floating around them.”

A Republican activist suspects that Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney may have violated his own campaign promise from 2002.

Joe Caruso, founder of the Republican group Red Faction, said that McNerney pledged to ban politicking on county property during his original campaign for the county executive seat.

“Either there is a no politicking policy in place or there isn’t,” said Caruso.

"Mr. McNerney either has to stand up to his political boss – Joe Ferriero – and say no to such obvious abuses of taxpayer owned property and exercise the no politicking policy he instituted -- or admit that he lied to voters in 2002 when he said he would institute such a policy. He can’t have it both ways,” said Calabrese.