John DiMaio

Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt

Locked in a three-way fight to claim a vacant Assembly seat in the 23rd District, Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt today announced the support for his campaign of former Hunterdon County Sheriff Bill Doyle.

Warren County Freeholder John DiMaio

HACKETTSTOWN – Pro-life and pro-gun, Warren County Freeholder John DiMaio calls himself the most conservative candidate in the race for the vacant District 23 Assembly seat even though he started his political career in the opposing party. 

The president of A. DiMaio & Son, Inc., a general contracting company he co-founded in 1977, he came up the hard way, working in a family business that taught him early the value of a dollar and that honed his instincts for survival and self-sufficiency.

At 53 now, the Republican’s been around a little longer than his Hunterdon County competitors, Freeholder Matt Holt and Freeholder Erik Peterson, and he’s punched more time at the local level, having served 11 years on the Hackettstown council and then an additional nine years as mayor before winning a seat on the Warren County Freeholder Board.

He spent 14 of those years in Hackettstown as a Democrat, and not surprisingly in this increasingly competitive GOP terrain heading toward Saturday’s special convention, that’s the first fact about DiMaio’s background his opponents’ surrogates highlight in casual conversation.

Hunterdon County Freeholder Erik Peterson

FRANKLIN – If politics inevitably involves relationships, Hunterdon County Freeholder Erik Peterson has a good one in U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton).

Not only did Lance serve as best man at Peterson’s wedding, but he’s the godfather of Peterson’s son. Those connections are not insignificant in the budding career of the 42-year old Franklin Township politician, especially considering Lance’s solidification as the darling venerable statesman of Hunterdon County last year when he thrashed Linda Stender in their 7th District Congressional contest.

From his perch in the U.S. Congress now, Lance isn’t exactly seizing handfuls of glossy campaign literature and making triumphal rounds in a Republican special election and indeed sources say he's hardly been visible, but, Peterson assures, “He’s helping me.”

He won’t elaborate. But any kind of “help” from Lance presumably can’t hurt in Hunterdon. 

Hunterdon County Freeholder Matt Holt

CLINTON – By design, Matt Holt’s grandfather, the late U.S. Sen. Clifford P. Case, kept politics separate from his family, so Holt learned what he knows about the trade on his own, at the local level. 

After trying at first and failing, he won a seat on the Clinton Town Council with the death of Councilman Rich Simpson. 

Six years into his service, Holt decided he wanted to be mayor. 

He told longtime incumbent Mayor Allie McGahren of his plans. McGahren told Holt she wanted to be mayor for two more years. If he could hold off until then, she would retire and cede the field to the young up-and-comer. She followed through on the agreement, and Holt was elected mayor.

Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Washington Twp.)

Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Washington Twp) prided himself on never schmoozing with the power elite in Warren County, but now that he’s been abruptly shut out of organizational channels in the aftermath of his loss last month in a special convention bid for state Senate, he’s going into full-gear, good-government outsider mode. 

“Part of what distinguishes me from Marcia Karrow is my position on debt and wanting voter approval,” said Doherty. “In this case, people need to come out of their ivory towers and see where the taxpayers are before they borrow money to build a library on the Delaware River. ...I have been working on this issue for over a year now.  What is precipitating my action now is the Freeholders’ announcement last week to move forward with their $26 million (library) building. ”

A prime Assembly sponsor of the Lance Amendment requiring voter approval for all state borrowing, Doherty plans to attend the Warren County Freeholders’ meeting on Wednesday evening armed with a similar resolution he wants the freeholders to adopt on the county level.

Warren County Republicans seem to be uniting behind State Sen. Marcia Karrow, leaving Assemblyman Michael Doherty on his own.

Assemblyman Michael Doherty, who says he would "rather die" than skip a State Senate primary against incumbent Marcia Karrow, but now it looks like keeping his Assembly seat is no longer an option.  Since losing the special election convention for Leonard Lance's Senate seat last month, Doherty has seen some of his top supporters abandon him.  Warren County Freeholder John DiMaio, who has been a top Doherty supporter and longtime friend, will run for Assembly with Karrow on the Hunterdon organization line in the June primary.  Another Doherty backer, Warren County GOP Chairman Douglas Steinhardt, is expected to flip his support and endorse Karrow - possibly as early as today.

DiMaio is one of three candidates competing in a special election convention this month for Karrow's Assembly seat, along with Hunterdon County Freeholders Matthew Holt and Erik Peterson.  With the support of Steinhardt and Hunterdon County GOP Chairman Henry Kuhl, and with the backing of Warren Republican mayors who had supported Karrow over Doherty, DiMaio is the clear front runner.

FLEMINGTON – Fighting criticism that he’s operating behind the scenes to weaken the chances of two home county candidates in order to protect state Sen. Marcia Karrow (R-Raritan Twp.), Hunterdon County GOP Chairman Henry Kuhl says he simply wants to keep the balance struck between those two counties that contribute to the 23rd Legislative District.

To that end he told Hunterdon County freeholders Matt Holt and Erik Peterson Friday that regardless of who wins the special convention on Feb 21st, he agreed with Warren County GOP chairman Doug Steinhardt to give a third Assembly candidate, Warren County Freeholder John DiMaio, the organization line in the June Republican Primary.

“The premise is to preserve bi-county representation, if possible,” affirmed Steinhardt.

But the move by the two GOP chairmen has generated some blowback as less than two weeks before the convention, DiMaio, Holt and Peterson vie for the Assembly seat Karrow officially vacated today to claim the Senate seat in the 23rd  District with both Kuhl and Steinhart by her side in the Senate chamber.

Warren County Freeholder John DiMaio today won the official backing of fellow Freeholder Rick Gardner, as DiMaio pursues an Assembly seat in the 23rd Legislative District.

“It is with great pride that I support & endorse my fellow Freeholder John DiMaio in his run for the Assembly in the 23rd Legislative District,” said Gardner, a Franklin Township farmer. “The conservative roots and values of the citizens in the 23rd District are time-honored traditional values that have made this region one of the best places to live in New Jersey." 

Hunterdon County Freeholder Erik Peterson today announced the endorsement of 20 elected officials from nine Hunterdon County towns for his 23rd District assembly bid.  

Among the endorsers was Hampton Borough Mayor Robert Walton, who despite Peterson’s moderate reputation called him “accessible, honest and conservative.”  

Clinton Township Mayor Kevin Cimei, who cited Peterson’s freeholder board purchase of the Windy Acres property as proof of his commitment to open space and farmland preservation.