Matthew Milam

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) is having a tough year playing the candidate recruitment game this year. 

At the start of the campaign season, only four districts were viewed as potentially competitive for the Republicans: District 1, a GOP-leaning district where Democrats hold two Assembly seats and will not have the benefit of coattails from popular State Sen. Jefferson Van Drew (D-Upper); District 3, where four-term Assemblyman Douglas Fisher gave up his seat to become state Secretary of Agriculture; District 14, which has elected Democratic and Republican legislators in each of the last four elections; and District 36, where two Democratic Assemblymen were re-elected by a relatively narrow margin two years ago and where the EnCap/Xanadu issues have taken a toll on local candidates.

But the GOP has not done well recruiting or nominating their strongest candidates.  Their top choice in the 36th district, East Rutherford Councilman Joel Brizzi, changed his mind about running and dropped out between his announcement and filing day.  Some Republicans think there might be more to the story, suggesting that State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Sanzari) might have helped alter the field.

The top GOP recruits in the 14th, Hamilton Councilwoman Kelly Yaede and former Cranbury Councilman Wayne Wittman, ended their campaigns just days before the GOP nominating conventions.  Republicans wound up with a primary between second choice candidates, and DeCroce had to spend money to nominate two political unknowns.

In District 3, Republicans worked to recruit Arthur Marchand, a top-tier challenger who had served as Cumberland County Surrogate, Freeholder and Prosecutor.  But Marchand and his running mate, East Greenwich Mayor George Shivery, lost the GOP primary by a razor thin margin.

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Girding for what is expected to be the toughest legislative contest in the state, the 1st district Democrats are clear on what their early strategy will be: stand together and emphasize their independence, most of all from Gov. Jon Corzine.

State Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Dennis), a dentist with an independent streak and long electoral coattails, will campaign as if he is on the ballot this year with assembly candidates Nelson Albano (D-Vineland) and Matthew Milam (D-Vineland).  The three plan to emphasize their status as a relatively undifferentiated team, and will almost certainly highlight their differences with the Governor, whose upside down statewide approval ratings are likely even lower here in the state's southernmost tip.

The approach is nothing new.  In the 2007 election, the three loudly opposed Corzine's plan to monetize the state's toll roads.  Since turning the district all-Democrat after that race, the delegation has made an effort to work as a single entity, sharing all three of the district's legislative offices and making joint legislative efforts.  Van Drew noted that he doesn't even have a legislative business card with just his name on it.

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First district Republicans have set a deadline of 4:30 PM on Friday for Assembly candidates to file a letter of intent to seek the GOP nomination to take Frank Conrad's place on the ticket.  Conrad has dropped out of the race to challenge incumbents Nelson Albano (D-Vineland) and Matthew Milam (D-Vineland).  Republican County Committee members will vote on a replacement candidate by 4:30 PM on Wednesday, July 1.  So far, only Ocean City GOP Municipal Chairman John McCann has entered the race, and sources say he has commitments for a huge block of votes. 

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Upper Township Committeeman Frank Conrad has dropped his bid for State Assembly in the first district - where Nelson Albano (D-Vineland) and Matthew Milam (D-Vineland) are considered the most vulnerable incumbents in the Legislature.  Conrad is citing business and person reasons, but sources strongly suggest that a key reason for ending his Assembly bid is that he could not get along with his running mate, Mike Donohue, or his campaign manager, Peg Emberger.

Donahue has endorsed Ocean City GOP Municipal Chairman John McCann, a former Cape May County Board of Realtors president, to replace Conrad on the GOP ticket.  But McCann does not yet have a lock on a special GOP convention that must be held to pick a new candidate.  Norris Clark, who ran with Donohue in 2007, is reportedly considering a run.

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BURZICHELLI & MILAM ON CONVERTING PROPERTY TAX REBATE INTO DIRECT TAX CREDITS

(TRENTON) - Assemblymen John J. Burzichelli and Matthew W. Milam today issued a multimedia package on their legislation to convert the state's cumbersome property tax rebate checks into a streamlined direct credit system.

The measure (A-3308) would mitigate privacy concerns that have slowed efforts to convert rebates to more practical direct credits on property tax bills.

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The number of Hispanics that will serve in the State Assembly, currently nine, could drop by one-third next year with the death of Eric Munoz (R-Summit) and the retirements of Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Camden) and Joseph Vas (D-Perth Amboy).  A fourth Hispanic legislator, Matthew Milam (D-Vineland) is considered the most vulnerable incumbent in the November 2009 general election.  Munoz and Vas are not expected to be replaced by Hispanics.

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ASSEMBLY DEMOCRATS ON CHILD PROTECTION BILL PACKAGE

Measures Would Educate Parents, Reduce Poverty & Enhance Education

(TRENTON) - Assembly Democrats today issued a multimedia package on the Assembly passage of a three-bill package to enhance the quality of life of New Jersey's children.

The measures would require the state to give information about Shaken Baby Syndrome to new parents (A-725), create a council on child welfare and social services tasked with developing a statewide plan to reduce child poverty (A-1411) and create a task force to study and implement best practices for diagnosing, treating and educating students with reading disabilities.

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With limited opportunities to pick up State Assembly seats in November, Republicans are expected to pour extensive resources into the state's southernmost tip - a traditionally Republican area currently represented by three Democrats.

"You look at the map, and District 1 is definitely their number one priority," said Monmouth University pollster and political science professor Patrick Murray.  "It's going to be tough. Cape May is a huge Republican County.  It's going to be a year where we're not going to have a high turnout.  You're going to get the voters who vote every year, and they're going to be Republicans down there."

The first district is made up of Cape May County, a large part of Cumberland County and a small part of southern Atlantic County.

Republicans see the district's total Democratic control as a fluke brought about by state Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Dennis), the most conservative Democrat in the Senate whose coattails in 2007 are credited with helping his two assembly running mates, Nelson Albano (D-Vineland) and Matt Milam (D-Vineland) across the finish line.

This time, Van Drew isn't on the ballot.  Instead, Albano, who's in his second term, and Milam, a freshman - both from Cumberland County -- are below an unpopular Democratic governor and are likely to face at least one Republican candidate who comes from Cape May County - a Republican stronghold that dominates the district.

Dennis Township Attorney Michael Donohue, who came up about 2,000 votes short of Milam in 2007, plans to run again, and will likely have the support of Republican leaders.

Upper Township Committeeman Frank Conrad, who owns three small businesses in the district, has submitted a letter of intent to run, but he's been pretty quiet about it Read More >

CONNERS/MILAM/CRUZ-PEREZ BILL TO ENSURE DECEASED NEW JERSEY VETERANS ARE TREATED WITH RESPECT NOW LAW

(TRENTON) – Legislation Assemblymen Jack Conners and Matthew Milam and Assemblywoman Nilsa Cruz-Perez sponsored to ensure the cremains of New Jersey veterans are treated with respect is now law.

The law gives veterans’ organizations the right to receive the cremains of a veteran that have not been claimed by a relative or friend.

It was signed Wednesday by Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

“It is particularly important that we do all we can to ensure that fallen service men and women are honorably received,” said Conners (D-Burlington), chairman of the Assembly Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

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The best shot for the Republicans to pick up a State Assembly seat is in the first district, where incumbents Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam will need to defend their seats without the benefit of State Sen. Jeff Van Drew at the top of the ticket.  They won in 2007 as the popular Van Drew was ousting GOP incumbent Nicholas Asselta by twelve points.  Albano, swept into office as Van Drew's running mate in 2005, won comfortably; Milam beat Republican Michael Donohue by 2,020 votes.  This is the first time in history that Cape May County is represented by all Democratic legislators.

Milam won't be helped by his admission that he parked in a handicapped spot last October.  The freshman Assemblyman initially sought a trial, alleging that the spot was not clearly marked.  This is not the most egregious offense for a New Jersey legislator in recent years, but it could make a decent mailer and cable TV ad.  Donohue is reportedly interested in running again.

District 1 may be among the most politically competitive in the state, although it has clearly trended Democratic over the last three years.  George W. Bush carried the district over John Kerry by 4,792 votes, and Barack Obama beat John McCain by 5,095.  Jon Corzine beat Doug Forrester by 2,984 in the 2005 gubernatorial race, and Tom Kean, Jr. defeated Robert Menendez for U.S. Senate in 2006 by 3,439.  All three of those races were about 53%-47%.

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