Dana Redd

Assemblyman William Payne has played the race card, suggesting that Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan's call for Sharpe James' resignation from the State Senate was an insult to African Americans may be a little unfair.  Cryan, who has a strong record of supporting minority candidates for public office, also asked that indicted State Senator Wayne Bryant step down, and that he be replaced by the Democratic nominee, Dana Redd. Bryant and Redd are African-American. 

And in the 29th district, Cryan wants James to be replaced by the winner of the Democratic primary, Teresa Ruiz, who would become the first Latina in the Senate, and just the second Hispanic in state history.  Payne's problem is that he is running against Ruiz as an Independent and would prefer that she not gain the advantages of incumbency.

Several of today's non-partisan municipal races may potentially effect the results of key races for the Legislature -- next month and in November.

In the eighth district, candidates backed by South Jersey Democrats swept local contests in Evesham, a swing town in increasingly competitive Burlington County.  With a massive -- and high tech -- grass roots campaign, former Philadelphia Eagles Assistant Coach Randy Brown upset the longtime incumbent, Republican Gus Tamburro.  Assemblyman Francis Bodine, who switched to the Democratic Party after Republicans dumped him from their ticket, backed the Brown slate, which won control of the Council as well.  Bodine is running for the State Senate against County Clerk Phil Haines.

Democratic State Senate candidate Dana Redd has won the endorsement of a Republican Mayor in her district.  “I’ve been following Dana Redd’s career for a long time, so when she announced her bid for Senate I was impressed that she sought my advice, face-to-face, on local issues in Audubon and her agenda for reform in Trenton," said Audubon Mayor Anthony Pugliese, the Mayor since 2001 and a former Republican State Committeeman from Camden County.

Dana Redd says she will give up her county job and not seek re-election as a Camden City Councilwoman if voters elect her to the State Senate in November. Redd is seeking for the fifth district seat of State Sen. Wayne Bryant, who announced his retirement shortly before his indictment on corruption charges last month. She is the considerable favorite to win the seat in the heavily Democratic district.

Redd's term as a Councilwoman ends on July 1, 2009, which means the opponent to dual officeholding will serve in both jobs for about eighteen months, if she wins. She says she will remain in her unpaid post as Vice Chairwoman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

There is a good chance that a pair of Senators with substantial baggage will be replaced by two women a generation younger. Camden County Democrats have picked Dana Redd, a 38-year-old Camden City Councilwoman to replace Wayne Bryant, while Teresa Ruiz, 32, the Essex County Democratic Vice Chairwoman, is a leading candidate for the seat currently held by Sharpe James.

Redd would become the third African American women in the Senate (joining Shirley Turner and Nia Gill), while Ruiz would become the first Latina in the Senate, and the second Latino to serve in the upper house. Camden and Essex counties have skillfully avoided the kind of diversity battles that seem to have plagued Bergen and Hudson counties.

Redd and Ruiz may provide fresh faces in a Senate that will see a huge turnover this year, but they would also have to deal with the perception that they are products of powerful political machines. Redd is a strong ally of the Camden County Democratic organization, and Ruiz is a close ally of Newark political leader Stephen Adubato, Sr.

Redd began her political career as the Chief of Staff to Camden County Freeholder Riletta Cream, whose husband, Arnold Cream, served as Camden County Sheriff after a legendary career as a professional boxer under the name Jersey Joe Walcott. In 1976, as a third grader, she presented flowers to Mother Theresa during a visit to Sacred Heart Church in Camden.

Dana Redd, a Camden City Councilwoman viewed as a rising star in South Jersey politics, is expected to become the new Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic State Committee. Assemblyman Joseph Cryan had been Vice Chairman under Bonnie Watson Coleman and moves up to the chairmanship after a vote of the state party on Saturday. Redd served as Chief of Staff to Camden County Freeholder Riletta Cream and now works for the Board of Freeholders. Kiran Desai, a Middlesex County Democrat who ran for State Senate against Joseph Kyrillos in 2001, will become Treasurer.