mathias rodriguez

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.”

Councilman Charles Kenny

Veteran Woodbridge Councilman Charles Kenny says he's in the race to fill the Democratic Party's vacancy in the 19th Legislative District created by last week's bow-out by South Amboy Mayor John T. O'Leary.

"I would like to go to Trenton to help oversee the distribution of federal stimulus money, to make sure it gets to the people," Kenny, a 12-year First Ward councilman and 25-year veteran of the Woodbridge Fire Department, told PolitickerNJ.com.

Kenny, 45, said his brother submitted the candidate's resume to the Middlesex County Democratic Organization on his behalf on Monday.

"I think my experience as a councilman, as an elected official, is a definite bonus," said Kenny. "I am used to being on the front lines."

Kenny is the fourth candidate expressing an interest with the county committee to run with Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) on the Democratic ticket in the 19th, a 2-1 Democratic Party stronghold, weakened by the back-to-back ripcord candidacies of Assemblyman Joe Vas (D-Perth Amboy) (who's facing state and federal corruption charges) and O'Leary.

The game shifts hour by hour in the 19th Legislative District where two definite candidates in the race - retired Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez of Perth Amboy and health care professional Jean Pierce of Woodbridge - will today officially be joined by Edison Municipal Judge Craig J. Coughlin of Woodbridge.

Exactly one week in front of a special convention by the Middlesex County Democratic Committee, Coughlin intends to file with the backing of South Amboy Mayor John T. O'Leary, who ended his own bid last week to secure the seat of Assemblyman Joe Vas (D-Perth Amboy).

Two other potential candidates vying to be the ticket mate of Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Sayreville) - Woodbridge Councilman Charles Kenny and Perth Amboy businesswoman Arlene Acosta - have made no public declaration about their intentions.

They have until the end of the day to file.

South Amboy

Four candidates have emerged as likely contenders for an empty seat in the 19th Legislative District a week in front of a special Democratic Party convention to choose a successor to South Amboy Mayor Jack O'Leary.

O'Leary aborted his candidacy a week ago after failing to get in front of rolling headlines about his insurance business. He was the second candidate fielded by the Democrats this year, coming on the heels of Assemblyman Joe Vas (D-Perth Amboy), who nixed his reelection bid to focus on a slew of federal and state corruption charges leveled against him.

Now, seven days before the special convention on Sept. 2nd, it's a contest among former Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez, Vas partisan Arlene Acosta of Perth Amboy, healthcare advocate Jean Pierce of Woodbridge, and Woodbridge Councilman Charles Kenny.

Middlesex County Democrats will hold a special convention on September 2 to replace Jack O'Leary as their candidate for State Assembly in the 19th district.   O'Leary dropped out on Monday after a series of ethical woes made Democrats nervous, especially since he was looking to replace an incumbent under federal and state indictments.  The leading candidate continues to be former Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez of Perth Amboy.  Woodbridge Councilman Charles Kenny is also reportedly mulling an Assembly bid.  O'Leary, who is not happy with his fellow Democrats over the circumstances that led to his withdrawal, has not endorsed a candidate in the race.

South Amboy Mayor Jack O'Leary on the March evening earlier this year when he accepted the Democratic Party nomination to run in LD 19.

SOUTH AMBOY - Mayor John "Jack" T. O'Leary ended his troubled 19th Legislative District race this afternoon, citing corruption allegations he doggedly denies but that nonetheless have pinned him down and prevented him from waging an all-out campaign to represent this blue collar Middlesex County district anchored by Woodbridge and filled out by riverside and maritime towns like his own South Amboy.

"I just need time," said the 6 ft. 5 O'Leary, 54, sitting in the City Hall conference room here on South Broadway a few blocks away from the Raritan Bay and the waterfront he began rebuilding over two decades ago.

"I can take you on a walk right now and you'll see people giving me the thumbs-up sign and honking their horns at me and encouraging me to run - 100 people have reached out to me telling me to run -but I need time," he added. "Time is on my side when it comes to vetting this thing out."

The bulk of the Democrat's problem as a candidate derived from a state Attorney General's investigation of O'Leary's insurance work in addition to an anonymously authored and disseminated 82-page document which targets the veteran mayor's insurance business - the public insurance work he does and has done in the district and in Middlesex County - and an alleged no-show job at the Housing Authority held by his brother.

If Democrats think Christopher Christie was wrong when he discussed his interest in running for Governor with Karl Rove, how will they react when Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez enters the race for State Assembly in the nineteenth district?   Rodriguez notified the Administrative Office of the Courts yesterday of his intention to retire today; he is expected to seek  the Democratic Assembly nod after South Amboy Mayor Jack O'Leary drops out of the race - something that could happen within the next five days.  Middlesex County Democratic Chairman Joseph Spicuzzo told the Home News Tribune last month that he had discussed the Assembly post with the Judge.

"I have already spoken with Judge Rodriguez and he is definitely interested in the position, but only after Jack O'Leary decides what he is going to do," the HNT reported Spicuzzo as saying.

This puts Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in a potential bind: can he back Rodriguez for the Assembly while making an issue of career discussions between old friends?  For Corzine, the timing of this is unfortunate, and could push him into a position of slapping Spicuzzo and Rodriguez.

While the Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits a judge from engaging in any political activity, it might be up to the appropriate ethics panel to decide if private conservations about a prospective candidacy constitutes political activity.

Superior Court Judge Mathias Rodriguez notified state judiciary officials that he will retire from the bench effective tomorrow, a move that increases speculation that he will replace embattled South Amboy Mayor Jack O'Leary as the Democratic candidate for State Assembly in the nineteenth district.   Rodriguez, a Perth Amboy resident, has spent twenty years on the Superior Court.