Former Neptune Mayor Randy Bishop, right, wiith ex-Gov. Brendan Byrne, is considering a bid for State Assembly in the 11th district.

Democratic sources say that Neptune Township Committeeman Randy Bishop, who was one of two openly gay Mayors in the state when he served in 2008, is mulling a bid for State Assembly in the 11th district this year.   The two Republican incumbents, Mary Pat Angelini and David Rible, are expected to seek re-election to their second terms this year.  

As former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie tries to make up his mind about whether or not to run for governor, state Sen. Sean Kean (R-Monmouth) and Assembly members Dave Rible (R-Wall) and Mary Pat Angelini (R-Ocean) are trying to nudge him into the race against incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine.

“Having served in the Legislature for six years, I have seen firsthand the urgent need for reform in New Jersey government,” said Kean in a release. “Chris Christie has demonstrated that he will not hesitate to take on the system that has made New Jersey increasingly unaffordable.”  Kean and his running mates pledged their support for Christie. 

“New Jersey is clearly headed in the wrong direction and that is why tens of thousands of people move out every year,” said Rible. “We need someone like Chris Christie in Trenton to lead the fight to make New Jersey more affordable and less corrupt.”

Democrats view Belmar Councilman Matt Doherty as their best chance to pick up a seat in the Monmouth-based eleventh district, where the GOP has not lost since 1989. Doherty ran an aggressive and well-financed campaign for the State Assembly in 2005 against two Republican incumbents, but lost.

In district 11, a last minute shot by the Democrats to make the Assembly contest competitive with a six-figure check translated in part into an attack ad targeting Republican David Rible of Wall Township.

Rible is running for the Assembly with Mary Pat Angelini of Ocean against Democrats John Napolitani of Interlaken and John Pirnat of Belmar.

RIBLE & ANGELINI SAY THEIR OPPONENTS ARE MORE INTERESTED IN DISTORTING THEIR RECORD THAN DEBATING THE FACTS

DEMOCRATS LAUNCH $300,000 SMEAR CAMPAIGN WITH MONEY FROM CORRUPT POLITICAL MACHINES AND PARTY BOSSES

Republican Assembly candidates Dave Rible and Mary Pat Angelini today accused their opponents of hypocrisy by falsely accusing them of ducking debates while they are spending $300,000 on a late smear campaign that is distorting their public records and long-standing positions on key issues.

“We have debated our challengers several times, including a forum at the Asbury Park Press and another hosted by the AARP and a candidates’ forum in Ocean Grove,” Rible noted. “These events received widespread publicity and provided opportunities for both sides to make their stands known before a far-reaching audience. Every campaign receives more invitations to debate than their schedules can accommodate, and this was the case with the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Forum. Regretfully, a scheduling conflict made acceptance of this invitation impossible.

Democrats will spend about $300,000 over the next ten days on television commercials supporting Assembly candidates John Napolitani and John Pimat in the eleventh district, according to state Democratic sources.  John Villapiano, the Democratic Senate candidate, will not be included in the ads funded primarily by the Assembly Democratic leadership PAC. 

On Sunday, after attending a service at St. Stephen AME Zion Church in Asbury Park, the men went to the brick wall of a convenience store in Asbury, and acknowledged the name of Justin Johnson.

Johnson, 19, a resident of Atlantic Avenue, died of a gunshot wound last Thursday in Old Village, and now his name is scrawled on a piece of cardboard taped with a balloon to that wall with others who were the victims of gang shootings.

A woman stopped by to look at the messages for the dead left on the wall. Her brother was also killed and his picture is there, and the men listened to her story in this campaign season, in this town devastated by gang violence.

Democrats John Villapiano, John Napolitani and John Pirnat - the three Johns, as they call themselves - are not the favorites in this seaside legislative race. The senate candidate Villipiano is up against a popular legislator in Assemblyman Sean Kean, and lacks significant financial support from the state committee.

For more 11th district campaign videos, visit Max Pizarro's Video Blog

You can almost hear the groans from legislators at the idea of taking a day off from their summer vacations to return to Trenton. But that’s exactly what Assemblyman Sean Kean wants to do.