“We must make personal sacrifice to do what is best for the party as a whole.  I want to support the candidates that will be strongest on the ballot this November.”

JOHN FELICE WINS A DECISIVE VICTORY AT NERO, TAKING 67% OF THE VOTE

FELICE FOR FREEHOLDER IS EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE SIGNIFICANT SUPPORT IN DISTRICT 39

Former River Edge Councilman John Felice announced his candidacy for Bergen County freeholder in a letter he sent to Republican committee members and elected officials yesterday.

“I’ve been considering running for several months, and I believe that this will be the best way to make a maximum contribution toward our historic opportunity to retake Bergen County,” wrote Felice, 51, who is also the former River Edge planning board chair.

Meanwhile, another prospective freeholder candidate has emerged: Raymond Herr, a former Fairview councilman and Bogota council candidate last year.  Herr submtited his letter of intent on Wendesday. 

Members of the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) will vote to endorse three candidates for three Democratic-held seats at their contention next month.  Bergen County Young Republican Chairman Ken Tyburczy, frequent Cliffside Park council candidate John Mitchell have also submmited letters of intent, while several others are mulling runs but have not yet officially announced their candidacies. 

Democratic incumbents James Carroll and Elizabeth Calabrese are up for reelection, but incumbent Democrat Tomas Padilla is retiring, leaving that seat open.  The current Democratic frontrunner to replace him on the ballot is former Freeholder Julie O’Brien, who just lost her reelection bid in November and has not announced that she will run again.

Vincent Markowski, the director of public safety at Ramapo College, plans to run for the Republican nomination for sheriff in Bergen County.

Markowski, who lives in Carlstadt, made his interest in the post known with a letter of intent to Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin, who announced Markowski’s candidacy at last night’s county committee meeting.  Markowski served 13 years with the Passaic Police Department and 16 years with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, according to Yudin.

There are already two other Republican candidates who plan to compete for the coveted “county line” at the Bergen County Republican Organization’s convention next month: former ATF agent Dominick Polifrone and Emerson Police Chief Michael Saudino. 

The Democratic incumbent, Leo McGuire, is planning to seek re-election to a third term.  McGuire ousted GOP Sheriff Joel Trella in 2004.

So far, Yudin has received three letters of intent from freeholder candidates: John Felice, a former River Edge councilman; Ken Tyburczy, chairman of the Bergen County Young Republicans; and John Mitchell, an independent consultant who has run unsuccessfully for council several times in heavily Democratic Cliffside Park.

If members of the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) are looking for a replacement county executive candidate for Jack Zisa, Assemblyman David Russo (R-Ridgewood) says don't look to him.

"A couple people asked me and I told them I wasn't interested," said Russo, who said that taking on the position would mean giving up his law practice. "There are a lot of things. You've got to give up your business and everything else. It's a full-time thing, and I don't know if I can really do that."

Russo's name is one of several that popped up in response to rumors that Zisa, the former mayor of Hackensack, would not run for the county's top post. 

Zisa, who has not commented on whether he will run, could not be reached for comment.  But most party insiders are under the impression that he either will drop his bid shortly or already has. 

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin, for his part, said he is under that impression, too, but stressed that he had "no official word" on Zisa's status and added that "Jack never officially told me he was running."

Whether Bergen County Republicans scour the party for a Zisa replacement will give some idea of how well Yudin and his allies have patched things up with County Clerk Kathleen Donovan, who has indicated that she was likely to run in a letter to county committee members earlier this month. 

Donovan and her allies have long had a tense relationship with the Yudin faction.   

Yudin, however, said the party was "not scouring anything."

Former gubernatorial candidate Robert Schroeder easily won the endorsement of the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) in his bid to succeed John Rooney as an Assemblyman from the 39th district.  Schroeder beat former River Edge Councilman John Felice, 194-32.  In a district where Democrats have not won a legislative race since 1977, Schroeder becomes an overwhelming favorite to go to the Legislature.

Look for Schroeder, a 49-year-old millionaire businessman who self-funded his 2005 campaign for Governor, to emerge as a leader within the Assembly Republican caucus next year.  The Washington Township Committeeman will have the ability to help raise money for other GOP Assembly candidates this year.

A key vote is scheduled for Saturday in Bergen County, where Republicans in the 39th district will pick a new Assemblyman to replace John Rooney.  Rooney, who has served in the Legislature since 1983, announced this week that he will not seek re-election.  Democrats have not won this district since 1977.

Four Republicans are seeking the endorsement of the Northeast Republican Organization (NERO): Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Montvale), Washington Township Committeeman Robert Schroeder, former River Edge Councilman John Felice, and Harrington Park Councilman Thomas Bettancourt.  The Bergen County Republican Organization will award the organization line to the winner of the NERO convention.

Robert Schroeder, who spent $2.1 million - most of it his own money - in pursuit of the 2005 Republican nomination for Governor, is now the leading candidate for an open State Assembly seat in the Bergen County-based 39th district.  The Washington Township Committeeman won the endorsement today of the incumbent, John Rooney, who is stepping down after 26 years in the Assembly. 

As a gubernatorial candidate, Schroeder won the organization line in Ocean County, and scored a victory at the Northeastern Republican Organization convention in Bergen County.  But he won just 6% of the vote in the GOP primary, finishing fifth in a field of seven candidates.  He did beat former Assembly Majority Leader Paul DiGaetano and former Bergen County Freeholder Todd Caliguire.

Schroeder now faces former River Edge Councilman John Felice (the son of former Assemblyman Nicholas Felice) and Harrington Park Councilman Thomas Bettancourt for the support of the Bergen County Republican Organization.  Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Montvale) is seeking re-election to an eleventh term, and while she is favored to win the Northeastern Republican Organization (NERO) convention on Saturday, it is possible that two other candidates might do so. The NERO vote will determine the line.

Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale), the longest serving member of the state assembly, will not seek another term and has endorsed Washington Township Councilman Bob Schroeder to take his place.

Rooney, who has served in the lower house since 1983 and has been mulling retirement for over a year, made his decision official in a letter to fellow Bergen County Republicans dated March 2. 

“I would like to thank you for all your past support in 14 election and re-election campaigns during my 26 years as your Assemblyman in District 39.  It was truly appreciated,” he wrote.  “This letter is to inform that I am withdrawing my name as a candidate for this office in the upcoming NERO convention.”

Rooney went on to write that Schroeder, a former Republican gubernatorial primary candidate who owns a military contracting business, has the support to fend off Democrats if they make another major play for the district, as they did in 2007.