Joined by local religious and community leaders, Atlantic County Democratic Chairman Ronald Ruff says State Sen. Sonny McCullough should apologize for making a joke about a chinese couple and an African American baby.  McCullough told the joke to PoliticsNJ.com reporter Max Pizarro during an interview in Atlantic County last week.

Assemblyman Jim Whelan, the former Mayor of Atlantic City, is challenging incumbent Sonny McCullough for a State Senate seat the GOP has held since 1982

Put a bunch of Irish politicians in the same party and what you’ve got is an old Hudson County primary, but put them in opposing parties, add gambling, boxing and war-time middle class angst to the mix, and you’ll find them down in present day Atlantic County, throwing punches long before you ever have to tell them to come out swinging.

In this case it’s Senator James "Sonny" McCullough, the longtime mayor of Egg Harbor Township and a Republican, in a district 2 standoff with Assemblyman James Whelan, the former long serving mayor of Atlantic City and a Democrat.

Sonny McCullough won a special election convention for Bill Gormley's State Senate seat last February

"We build a brand new school every five years," says the 65-year old McCullough. "I tell my fellow mayors, ‘Every three years I build a neighborhood bigger than your whole town.’"

Whelan, 59, the ex-mayor of a city where the county’s most notorious industry is concentrated, has to demonstrate that he can step beyond the boundaries of Atlantic City and deliver pragmatic solutions to this tax burdened and still Republican-leaning region - even as he fights the tag of being a field hand for Camden County mega-boss George Norcross.

Whelan, Kuehner, & Spellman vow to fight against the sale or lease of roadways to private or foreign entities

Say Democrats stopped Bush sale of New Jersey's ports to foreign corporations, Democrats will best protect roadways against privatization

Just Resign, Sonny!  Democrats Blast McCullough's Hypocrisy on Dual Office Holding

(Linwood, NJ) – Second district Democrats blasted State Senator and Egg Harbor Township Mayor James "Sonny" McCullough (R-LD 2) for promoting an immediate ban on dual office holding while refusing to hold himself to that very same standard. Senator McCullough, who became a dual office-holder on February 20th, voted for a bill today that he claims didn't go far enough. McCullough continues to hold two offices himself, despite proposing a bill that calls for an immediate ban on the practice of dual office holding. 

Republicans say the Democrats have fashioned a weak-kneed bill that does away with dual office holding but for those elected officials currently in office.

To that the Democrats have an answer: Republican State Sen. (and Egg Harbor Township Mayor) James “Sonny” McCullough, who is in a battle in the 2nd district to hold onto a seat he filled earlier this year for retired Sen. Bill Gormley.

VAN DREW/WHELAN/ALBANO BILL TO REDUCE STATE DEBT ADVANCES

Measure Would Give Treasury Ability to Collect Debts Owed to State from Lottery Winners

(TRENTON) - The state would be empowered to collect any money owed to the state by winners of state lottery prizes $600 or more under legislation sponsored by Assemblymen Jeff Van Drew, Jim Whelan, and Nelson Albano, and released today by the Assembly Budget Committee.

ASSEMBLY BUDGET COMMITTEE ADVANCES MEASURE BANNING LEGISLATIVE ACCEPTANCE OF LOBBYIST GIFTS

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assemblymen Jim Whelan, Nelson T. Albano, John F. McKeon, and Jeff Van Drew sponsored to prohibit legislators and legislative staff from accepting gifts from lobbyists and governmental affairs agents was released today by the Assembly Budget Committee.

Son of a union printer and a teacher by trade, Democratic Assemblyman Jim Whelan Wednesday argued he should have AFL-CIO support based in part on his work as mayor of Atlantic City. A member of the General Assembly since last year, he didn’t receive the organization’s endorsement when he made his foray into the legislature.

"It bothered me, but I understand," said the state representative. "Now that Sen. Gormley has retired and Assemblyman Blee is not running, I offer myself as someone who has a progressive, pro labor record."

ASSEMBLY PASSES WHELAN LEGISLATION TO END 'MESSENGER BALLOT' FRAUD

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assemblyman Jim Whelan sponsored to end "messenger ballot" fraud was unanimously passed by the General Assembly today. 

ROBERTS MEASURE OVERHAULING JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON ETHICAL STANDARDS PASSES

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., crafted to overhaul the state's Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards by removing legislators from the panel was passed today by the Assembly.