Eleonore Nissley

The New Jersey Republican State Committee is expected to ratify gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie's recommendation of Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris Plains) as the new GOP State Chairman.  Webber will replace Tom Wilson, who won the post in 2004 in a contest with Richard Kamin, a former Assemblyman, Morris County GOP Chairman and state Motor Vehicles Director.  Lynda Pagliughi, a State Committeewoman from Cape May County, is expected to be re-elected to another term as Vice Chairwoman.

Don Povia was told last week that he will not be retained as Executive Director.  His replacement is expected to be Daniel Centinello, who won rave reviews from GOP insiders as Field Director for Christie's 55%-42% primary victory. The 27-year-old Centinello was the Northeast Regional Political Director for Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, and later served as State Director of the GOP coordinated campaign in California.  In 2006, he was the Deputy Field Director for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's re-election campaign. 

Eleonore Nissley won a decisive victory in her comeback bid for Republican State Committeewoman in Bergen County, defeating former Franklin Lakes Councilwoman Pearl Spector by nearly 5,000 votes, 60%-40%.  This marks a return to the seat Nissley held from 1965 until her narrow defeat in 2005.

HACKENSACK -- As former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie made his entrance to the Bergen County Republicans’ headquarters for the party's convention tonight, Eleanor Nissley got up from her seat at the front door and greeted him with a few pats on the cheek.

It was a gesture that few but the “grande dame” of the Bergen County Republican Organization – as columnist Charles Stile put it -- could pull off.  Nissley, a party stalwart, was the county’s Republican State Committeewoman for four decades before being knocked off by a 20-something Collette Campbell four years ago.  Tonight, Nissley reclaimed that post.  

Nissley got 502 votes (63%) to Mary Conway's 242 (31%) and Pearl Spector's 48 (6%).  Conway was backed by BCRO Chairman Bob Yudin. 

Long-time GOP activist Ben Focarino took over the Republican State Committeeman state without any opposition.

Nissley said she ran again because Christie was running.

“I’ve known him for along time. I figured this year we’re going to get us a governor, and I want to be part of the team,” she said. 

The Bergen County Republican Organization will hold a convention tonight to pick two Freeholder candidates and settle a hotly contested race for State Committeewoman.  Four candidates are seeking a shot to challenge Democratic incumbents Julie O'Brien and Vernon Walton: Mahwah Councilman Robert Hermansen, Paramus GOP activist John Driscoll, '08 Freeholder candidates Christopher Calabrese, and perennial candidate Sabaudin "Sab' Skenderi.  The front runners are Hermansen and Driscoll, who have been endorsed by the BCRO Policy Committee and won the Northeast Republican Organization (NERO) convention two weeks ago. 

The real race to watch is for State Committeewoman, where Eleonore Nissley, the grand dame of the Bergen County GOP, is seeking a return to the seat she held from 1965 to 2005.  Nissley narrowly lost her bid for an eleventh term to 25-year-old Collette Campbell, who managed Steve Lonegan's campaign for Governor.  Campbell resigned her seat earlier this year. A former GOP State Vice Chairwoman, Nissley faces competition from Mary Conway, who has the backing of GOP County Chairman Robert Yudin, and former Franklin Lakes Councilwoman Pearl Spector.

Bergen Republicans will also endorse a candidate for Governor.  Former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie is the favorite to win.  He has dominated the endorsement game in Lonegan's home county and won 91% of the vote at the NERO convention.  Lonegan has stopped campaigning for organizational endorsements and made an unsuccessful effort to get Yudin to remove his name from the ballot.  Even though Lonegan is not actively seeking votes, it will be telling to see how well he does on his home turf.

One of the biggest upsets of the 2005 Republican primary was the narrow defeat of Bergen County Republican State Committeewoman Eleonore Nissley, the GOP State Vice Chairwoman and the State Committeewoman since 1965, to 25-year-old Collette Campbell, who managed Steve Lonegan's campaign for Governor.  Campbell has resigned her post, and Bergen County GOP Chairman Robert Yudin named Mary Conway of Franklin Lakes to replace her. 

"She and her husband have been active in Republican politics for a long time," Yudin told PolitickerNJ.com.  "Her husband was a delegate to the Republican convention."