Mark Meyerowitz

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Mark Meyerowitz had a brief glimmer of hope last year.

He was the only Republican legislative candidate in District 27, running for Assembly against a ticket headed up by Senate President Dick Codey – the most popular elected official in the state. But then Codey’s running mate, Mims Hackett, was arrested on corruption charges. And for the brief period that Hackett remained on the ticket, it looked possible that Meyerowitz could actually win.

That didn’t last, of course. Hackett resigned, and the party settled on Mila Jasey to replace him. She beat Meyerowitz by more than a 2-1 margin.

Mark Meyerowitz now faces Mila Jasey in the 27th district Assembly raceFor about two days, 27th district Republican Assembly candidate Mark Meyerowitz thought that he might just be able to pull it off – that he could become the first Republican legislator elected out of West Orange since 1969.

The odds were stacked against Meyerowitz, a 52-year-old financial advisor with barely any political experience, from the beginning. He was running against two entrenched Democratic Assembly opponents – Mims Hackett, Jr. and John McKeon -- in a district represented in the Senate by Richard J. Codey, the most popular politician in the state.

Assemblyman Mims Hackett says he will resign his seat in the New Jersey State Assembly and will withdraw his bid for re-election to a fourth term.  His announcement comes two days after his arrest in bribery charges, and one day after state Democratic leaders asked him to step down.

He will remain as the Mayor of Orange.

Members of the Essex County Democratic Committee from the 27th district will meet to hold two contests: a special election convention to fill the remaining four months of Hackett's current Assembly term, and to nominate a new candidate to run in the November general election.  While they could pick separate candidates in each race, Democrats are expected to give their candidate the advantage of incumbency.

Mark Meyerowitz says Democrats won't let Mims Hackett stay in the race“All of the sudden, the world has discovered me,” says Mark Meyerowitz, the 52-year-old West Orange Republican who is suddenly on the political radar screen following the arrest this morning of Assemblyman Mims Hackett, his opponent in the race for State Assembly.

Hackett, who is also the Mayor of Orange, was charged with taking a accepting a $5,000 bribe to deliver a town insurance contract. He was allegedly promised an addition $25,000 after the contract was approved.

If Hackett remains in the race – two influential Democratic officials said tonight that they think he needs to go – then Meyerowitz, a financial planner with little political experience, could become a first-tier challenger in the November mid-term election. In the Essex-based 27th district, where popular Senate President Richard Codey heads the ticket, suburban white independents represent the majority of voters.

Among Essex County Democrats, including Senate President Richard Codey, there has been active discussion today of replacing Mims Hackett in the 27th district Assembly race.  That's Codey's district, and he clearly doesn't want to deal with even a remote possibility that an unknown Republican from his hometown might actually win this fairly solid Democratic seat.

The race is complicated by the federal probe in the 38th district, where Codey's candidate, State Senator Joseph Coniglio, is the target of yet another federal corruption probe.  If Codey pushes for Hackett's withdrawal, it could be hard for him to justify his continued support of Coniglio -- even though the Bergen Senator has not been charged with any crime. (Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero has a poll showing that Coniglio has a problem, but so far, the two-term Senator is resisting moves to replace him on the ballot.)

Could newcomer Mark Meyerowitz be headed to the State Assemby?Assembyman Kevin O'Toole, the Essex County Republican Chairman, says that Mims Hackett's arrest "certainly changes the dynamics of the election."

And a spokesman for Democratic Senate candidate James Whelan said the arrests of five current and former Pleasantville school board members will only help their campaign.

Hackett's GOP opponent is Mark Meyerowitz, a 52-year-old financial advisor from West Orange and son of a Holocaust survivor, whose only political experience was volunteering for Ross Perot in 1992.

"While it was once viewed as an uphill battle it becomes a new ground," said O'Toole. "While you hate to see this played as a dynamic in the election, it’s unmistakable that the public will take it into consideration in the voting booth.”

The arrests of two Democratic Assemblymen could impact the mid-term elections just two months away. Mims Hackett represents the 27th district, where there are enough suburban Essex voters to potentially create an opportunity for Republicans, despite the popularity of Senate President Richard Codey at the top of the ticket -- if Hackett remains a candidate for a fourth term.

The Republican candidate is Mark Meyerowitz, a 52-year-old financial advisor from West Orange and son of a Holocaust survivor, whose only political experience was volunteering for Ross Perot in 1992. The GOP did not nominate a second Assembly candidate, and incumbent John McKeon, the Mayor of West Orange, is considered a shoo-in for re-election anyway.

Mark Meyerowitz, a lifelong resident of New Jersey, officially announced today his candidacy for Assemblyman in New Jersey's 27th district. Meyerowitz grew up in Fair Lawn and has been a resident of West Orange for the past 20 years. Meyerowitz is married, has two college age children, and is an Investment Advisor.