John O'Leary

Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, left, and state Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Woodbridge) tonight at the Forge.

WOODBRIDGE - When the doors of the Forge flung open, the two groups went in separate directions: the mostly Puerto Rican contingent from Perth Amboy headed drearily back to the bay town, while Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, South Amboy Mayor John O'Leary, Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman and their man for the 19th District, Craig Coughlin, headed straight for the Shannon Rose Pub and a raucous celebration.

State Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Woodbridge) showed up - Coughlin's wife is his campaign treasurer. There's a bond there.

So did Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville), but the sitting 19th District lawmaker from the lower house wasn't a core circle player in this celebration of Coughlin's resounding win over retired Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez and health care professional Jean Pierce tonight at a special party convention at this manor on the northbound side of Route 9.

"Craig was a great candidate with experience in all five towns and all three branches of government," said McCormac, whose county committee allies from his hometown were well-organized in getting out and providing the foundation for Coughlin's 170 winning votes, compared to 75 for Rodriguez and 25 for Pierce.

State Party Chairman Joe Cryan blew in for the hoopla, which had actually started earlier in the evening, back at the Forge, when people looked around and saw Woodbridge out in force and couldn't contain their glee. Those were going to be Coughlin votes.

Today is Election Day in Middlesex County.  Democratic County Committee members from Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, Carteret, Sayreville and South Amboy will meet tonight to choose a new State Assembly candidate in the 19th district.  Embattled South Amboy Mayor John O'Leary dropped out last month.  Democrats will choose between former Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez of Perth Amboy, former Edison Municipal Court Judge Craig Coughlin of Woodbridge, and Jean Pierce, a health care professional from Woodbridge.

The seat is currently held by Joseph Vas, who decided not to seek re-election after his indictments on federal and state corruption charges.  Vas was defeated for re-election as Mayor of Perth Amboy in 2008, a post he had held for 18 years.

Rodriguez, who resigned from the bench in August to run, has the backing of the new Mayor of Perth Amboy, Wilda Diaz.  Sources say that Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) is also backing Rodriguez, while O'Leary is quietly pushing Coughlin.

Middlesex County Democratic Organization Chairman/Sheriff Joe Spicuzzo

It's going to be a vote by secret ballot tomorrow at the Middlesex County Democratic Committee's special election for a 19th District Assembly candidate, where 340 county committee people are eligible to vote, according to Chairman Joe Spicuzzo.

"There will be four-minute presentations by each of the three candidates," said Spicuzzo.

No questions.

Health care professional Jean Pierce of Woodbridge yesterday drew first to speak, and will occupy the number one spot on the secret ballot. Retired Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez will speak next followed by retired Municipal Judge Craig Coughlin of Woodbridge, who will respectively occupy the two and three spots on the ballot.

WOODBRIDGE - Born in South Amboy to a factory worker father who worked at the Perth Amboy Chevron company, a resident of Woodbridge with family in all of the towns over here, Craig Coughlin considers himself a diehard blue collar creation of the 19th District. 

"I think I know the district as well as anyone can," said Coughlin, 51, who's heading into a special convention showdown next Wednesday with retired Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez of Perth Amboy to earn the right as a Democratic candidate in the 19th.

"I don't think Judge Rodriguez knows the district as well as I do," said Coughlin, who's lived in the district's biggest town, Woodbridge, since 1993. "I have friends and family in every community. I know the district. I know what matters. People want a good educational system, protection for seniors and people-centered legislation. I have experience in the judiciary and on the political side."

He lives here in the 19th, and works here.

Who will run with Wisniewski?

SAYREVILLE - The special Middlesex Democratic County Committee convention candidacy of former Edison Municipal Judge Craig Coughlin of Woodbridge in the 19th Legislative District received a boost this afternoon as veteran Woodbridge Councilman Charles Kenny aborted his run and threw his support to Coughlin in a maneuver apparently designed to do more than simply upset the candidacy of retired Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez of Perth Amboy.

"Today I am withdrawing my name for consideration as a candidate for the 19th Legislative District Assembly seat," Kenny said. "In withdrawing my name from consideration, I offer my support and endorsement to former Edison Municipal Court Judge Craig Coughlin in his bid to represent the citizens of the 19th District."

Certainly the move makes it more difficult for Rodriguez - who's running with the backing of neophyte Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz and who at one point appeared to be the favorite - to win, despite what his allies today insisted is a stepped-up speed dial effort six days before the convention.

In what has become Coughlin versus Rodriguez, the municipal judge against the superior court judge, (Woodbridge healthcare professional Jean Pierce is also running but most Middlesex County insiders don't expect her to be a factor), Coughlin now has the decided edge, according to sources, as the three Democratic Party candidates trying to run alongside incumbent Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) made their individual pitches to county committee members tonight at party headquarters.

Sources say Woodbridge Councilman Charles Kenny plans today to drop his bid to represent the Democratic Party as a candidate for the vacant 19 Legislative District seat.

Kenny and fellow Woodbridge resident Craig Coughlin, a recently retired Edison Muncipal Judge, met this morning at the office of Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac - a meeting sources say resulted in Kenny backing down from his intentions of running.

Kenny earlier this week told PolitickerNJ.com that he anticipated prevailing on Coughlin to back him so that Woodbridge could go united into next Wednesday's special convention held by the Middlesex County Democratic Organization.  

Kenny's departure leaves Coughlin - resident of the town holding the most county committee votes - retired Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez of Perth Amboy, and health care professional Jean Pierce, who's also of Woodbridge but lacks Coughlin and Rodriguez's political ties.

Retired Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez

PERTH AMBOY - With two candidates already run aground owing to allegations of corruption and Republicans running under the law enforcement banner of Chris Christie, retired Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez said he'd be the best Democrat to complement a ticket for the Assembly in the 19th Legislative District because his integrity is "unassailable."

"One issue in this race is going to be integrity," said Rodriguez, 67, who left the bench in the middle of August, three days before an embattled South Amboy Mayor John T. O'Leary shelved his bid to succeed Assemblyman Joe Vas (D-Perth Amboy), who left behind accomplishments amid a projected $80 million plus "Vas Mahal"  in the middle of the waterfront city, a combination YMCA/police/fire/court catch-all, as he faces two handfuls of state and federal corruption charges.

"Judges don't get paid very much money," added Rodriguez, a 20-year veteran of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Rutgers Law School graduate and father of four, including a daughter who died. "We work because we want to serve, and this would be an opportunity to serve. Look at my record. Ask any attorney who knows me. We have enough laws on the books. We need well qualified moral candidates."

At least one half of the Republican ticket is already trying to chip at Rodriguez's pristine image with questions about the judge's launch pad into the special convention, which takes place next Wednesday. Rodriguez is one of four declared candidates. 

Trying to weaken Rodriguez a week before the Democratic Party contest, GOP candidate Peter Kothari of Woodbridge fired off a press release this afternoon calling on the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct to investigate if Rodriguez violated the Code of Judicial conduct when he spoke to Middlesex County Democratic Chairman (and County Sheriff) Joe Spicuzzo about politics while still serving as a judge. 

“In an admission that is shocking in light of the Democrats' mud-slinging against Chris Christie (the GOP gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. Attorney), Mr. Spicuzzo has stated that he had political discussions with ex-Judge Rodriguez when he was still sitting on the bench. ...The thought of Rodriguez wearing his robe while planning a political campaign with Spicuzzo wearing his badge and uniform attacks the very fabric and notion of an impartial court system.”

GOP candidate for lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno - with Assemblyman Sam Thompson (R-Old Bridge) - waves atop Chris Christie's float in Edison today.

EDISON - It was a parade march that kept coming, and for a brief time Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno walked at the head of it with some other dignitaries, before she circled back to the "Chris Christie" float, jumped aboard, and waved atop that perch as she rolled eastward on Oak Tree Road through the same crowd.

"You're double-dipping!" someone cried across the roil of Indian flag waving up and down the street and the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor laughed in return and rolled onward. 

Right behind her in this march honoring India's 63rd year of independence from Great Britain rolled the float of Peter Kothari, overhung with signs proclaiming him a "fearless leader who can deliver change that we can believe in" - and one half of the Republican ticket in the 19th District, a mosh of Middlesex towns anchored by Kothari's hometown of Woodbridge.

Kothari's doubled back himself a million times on this road that leads him again and again to 1990, when the real estate agent moved into his new office on Oak Tree in 1990 and somebody promptly smashed out the windows. 

When he went to the police department to complain, he says they shrugged in his face and said: "Call the insurance company."

Kothari did that - but he also reached back to his student organizing days in India to become more political. 

Assemblyman Sam Thompson (R-Old Bridge) introduces Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno, right, to Gloria DeMatteo of East Brunswick.

EAST BRUNSWICK - Sheriff Kim Guadagno, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, works the crowd the same way she did two years ago when she ran for Monmouth County Sheriff and squeaked out a win over popular Belmar Police Chief Jack Hill.
 
She touches a lot of hands. The shakes are firm, friendly. Keep in mind, this isn't Monmouth County.
 
Twelve days after she joined the Christie campaign in the number two slot, she's here tonight to gnaw at the edges of this sprawling target of opportunity called Middlesex County.
 
"Much better looking than Hillary Clinton," affirms William Hoover, a candidate for Monroe Town Council, moments after shaking hands with Guadagno.
 
"No comparison," he adds. 
 
Sensing diminished opposition spirits this year with Gov. Jon Corzine breaking a sweat if failing to break out of a slump, and Assemblyman Joe Vas staring at corruption charges in the 19th Legislative District and his replacement, South Amboy Mayor John O'Leary, also apparently flailing, a lot of GOP party allies pour into the breach between booths, where rubber frogs fly through the air with the drop of a mallet and the giant ferris wheel, a standard at the Middlesex County fair, spins high above Cranbury Road.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville), Middlesex County Chairman Joe Spicuzzo, and South Amboy Mayor Jack O'Leary

Assemlyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) today called his running mate in the 19th Legislative District, South Amboy Mayor Jack O'Leary, and asked him to give serious thought to getting out of the Assembly race.

"I have asked Mayor O'Leary to carefully consider the viabilty of his candidacy in light of the current state of affairs in New Jersey," said Wisniewski, moments after calling O'Leary.

The mayor sounded unphased by his running mate's call.

"I'm still where I'm at," O'Leary told PolitickerNJ.com. "I'm still running." 

A replacement for indicted Perth Amboy Mayor/Assemblyman Joe Vas, O'Leary immediately ran into questions about his and his brother's insurance work for surrounding municipalities and his brother's establishment of the South Amboy Democratic Club to allegedly solicit contributions from people doing business in South Amboy.

O'Leary has consistently said he has done nothing wrong.