Peter Shapiro

In a photograph taken in the mid-1970's, left to right: Sen. Harrison Williams, U.S. Reps. Peter Rodino and Jim Howard, Gov. Brendan Byrne, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and Democratic State Chairman Jim Dugan

Ted Kennedy easily won the only campaign when his name appeared on the ballot in New Jersey: his 1980 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination against incumbent Jimmy Carter.  Kennedy won a hotly contested New Jersey primary (held at a time when no candidate had clinched enough delegates to become the nominee) by a 58%-39% margin and a plurality of 102,722 votes.

Kennedy carried 19 of 21 counties, losing only Cape May (by 7 votes) and Salem (by 198 votes).  He narrowly won Hudson (48%-46%), but won solid victories in Bergen (63%-32%), Camden (60%-32%), Essex (62%-33%), and Middlesex (52%-41%).

A Draft Kennedy campaign in New Jersey was launched in September, 1979 by former State Sen. James Dugan (D-Bayonne), who had served as Democratic State Chairman from 1973 to 1977.  Five Democratic State Senators - Frank "Pat" Dodd (D-West Orange), Eugene Bedell (D-Keansburg), Angelo Errichetti (D-Camden), John Gregorio (D-Linden), and Raymond Zane (D-Woodbury) signed on, along with Assemblymen Richard Van Wagner (D-Middletown) and James Bornheimer (D-East Brunswick).

Once Kennedy entered the race, U.S. Rep. James Howard (D-Spring Lake) and Essex County Executive Peter Shapiro became the chairs of his New Jersey campaign.  Fran Rein, a Democratic operative who worked for Shapiro, was the Kennedy state director.  When the New Jersey primary became critical to Kennedy's national campaigns strategy, a young operative named John Sasso, came in to run the day to day operations.  Sasso later ran Michael Dukakis' campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and was a senior advisor when John Kerry ran for president.

Carter's New Jersey campaign was led by Gov. Brendan Byrne, and activist Daniel Gaby, now the Executive Director of E3 (Excellent Education for Everyone), ran the state campaign.

Since convention delegates are apportioned, Kennedy had 68 delegates from New Jersey and Carter had 45. 

Peter Shapiro was 23-years-old when he unseated Assemblyman Rocco Neri in 1975. He is the youngest person to win a State Assembly seat in New Jersey.

If 21-year-old Brian Hackett wins his bid for State Assembly in the politically competitive fourteen district this year, he will become the youngest legislator in state history.  The four youngest legislators each ousted incumbents who were not viewed to be in serious electoral trouble.

In 1975, Peter Shapiro, a 23-year-old Harvard graduate who had worked as an aide to the state Transportation Commissioner, ran against the Essex County Democratic Organization and defeated Assemblyman Rocco Neri (D-Irvington).  In 1991, 24-year-old Republican John Hartmann, a second year law student at Seton Hall, beat veteran Assemblyman Gerald Naples (D-Trenton). 

Edward Hynes was 25 when he ousted a Republican Assemblyman in 1971.  Stephen Adubato, Jr., the son of a powerful Newark political leader and a former aide to Shapiro, was 26 when he unseated GOP Assemblyman John Kelly (R-Nutley) in 1983.

Left to right: Robert F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy III

A campaign appearance by Robert F. Kennedy III on behalf of Hoboken mayoral candidate Peter Cammarano comes 34 years after his father, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., visited New Jersey to stump for a young State Assembly candidate. 

In 1975, 23-year-old Peter Shapiro ran for State Assembly in the old 28th district, which included South Orange, Irvington and Newark's West Ward.  Shapiro took on the powerful Essex County Democratic machine that year and won a rare off the line 181-vote primary victory over incumbent Rocco Neri.  He received an enormous amount of coverage when his famous Harvard classmate rang doorbells on his behalf.

The Essex County District 5 Freeholder seat is the place to make a political comeback. Ralph Caputo, elected to the State Assembly as a Republican in 1967 (and out of office since 1971), and ran for Freeholder as a Democrat in 2002 on County Executive candidate Joseph DiVincenzo’s ticket. He won a contested primary, and ousted incumbent Joseph Scarpelli (who mounted his own comeback this month when he won a Nutley Commissioner race) in the general election. Caputo returned to the State Assembly in 2007 – forty years after his first election.

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo intends to seek re-election to a third term in 2010, and he should be viewed as a strong favorite to win.  Since Essex County Democratic politics is especially volatile these days, and DiVincenzo isn’t about to take his race for granted.  He’s concerned that he would face a challenge from a candidate backed by Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who is also up for re-election that year.  

It has been thirty years since Mary Scanlon won a State Assembly that once belonged to her late husband.  Patrick Scanlon was serving his frst term in the Legislature when he died in office in June 1977.  A protege of the late Democratic State Chairman Philip Keegan, Scanlon won the Newark-Irvington-South Orange Assembly seat Keegan gave up in 1975; in  that same primary, Scanlon's running mate, incumbent Rocco Neri, lost re-electon to 23-year-old Peter Shapiro, who would go on to serve as Essex County Executive and become the Democratic nomine for Governor ten years later.

The late John Renna would have viewed the lack of filing day activity by the Hudson County Republicans as a lost opportunity.  As the on-and-off Essex County Republican Chairman between 1977 and 1996, Renna had a few wins by watching the Democratic primary from the sidelines and then figuring out his ticket over the summer.  That's what happened in 1986, when Essex County Executive Peter Shapiro's popularity plummeted -- especially among Democrats.  Sensing an opportunity, Renna pulled aging former Assemblyman Carl Orechio off the ticket and replaced him with Nicholas Amato, who had won three terms as Surrogate as a Democrat before Shapiro dumped him from the party line a few months earlier.  For Surrogate, Renna ran another party switcher: Earl Harris, the Newark City Council President.  The result was a GOP landslide.

Robert Meyner was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1953 when 38-year-old John R. Kerfoot became involved in Camden County politics. He became the Audubon Park Democratic Municipal Chairman in 1965 -- a position he continues to hold. He is a former Councilman, State Senate Sergeant-At-Arms, and had perfect attendance at County Committee meetings for over fifty years.

When a vacancy occurred on the Camden County Freeholder Board in 2000, Democrats decided to pay tribute to the Kerfoot's long service by appointing him Freeholder. He completed the five weeks remaining in the term of Patricia Egan Jones, who was elected Surrogate.

Under Kerfoot's leadership, Audubon Park has been reliably Democratic. In his first general election as a member of the Camden Democratic machine, he helped delivered his town to Meyner, then former one-term State Senator from Warren with little chance to defeat Republican Paul Troast. Audubon Park went 595-94 for Meyner, who scored an upset victory to win the governorship.

And in 1985, Kerfoot was one of just three Democratic Municipal Chairman in the state to deliver his town for Peter Shapiro in his race against Governor Thomas Kean.

For the true political junkies, Kerfoot began his career as a lieutenant under the legendary Camden County Democratic boss, George Brunner, who served as Mayor of Camden and as the Democratic State Chairman. Kerfoot celebrated his 91st birthday on July 28.