Phyllis Scapellato

In Gloucester County, two Republican Freeholder candidates aligned with gubernatorial candidate Steven Lonegan defeated slates run by two factions preparing for next week’s County Chairman battle.  Matthew Burns (3,257) and Ronald Brittin (3,023) led Larry Wallace (2,593) and Phyllis Scapellato (2,477), who are part of the anti-organization slate, and Stephen Austin (2,461) and Gloucester County GOP Chair Loran Oglesby (2,293).  Despite the local success of his ticket, Lonegan lost Gloucester County to Christopher Christie.

Gloucester County budget highest in history

Gloucester County Republican Chairwoman Loran Oglesby, who nominated herself to run for freeholder this year as a placeholder candidate, said that she may remain on the ballot if she wins the June primary - depending on the outcome of the party's leadership contest between her and opponent Bill Fey the week after the primary.

"We'll have to wait and see what happens on June 9, but Mr. Fey and his group made it extremely difficult to find another freeholder candidate," she said.  "The people we did speak with said they didn't want their names drubbed through web sites with personal attacks.

Oglesby, the two-term head of a beleaguered party that holds no county-wide offices or state legislative seats, faces a revolt led by Fey and former freeholder candidate Phyllis Scapellato.  Not only is Fey challenging Oglesby for the chairmanship on June 9, but his faction is running a full slate of candidates against the organization's partial slate.  Add to that gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan's team of candidates, and there are three slates competing for the chance to run a long-shot campaign against well-entrenched Democrats.

Oglesby is paired with Mullica Hill resident Stephen W. Austin for freeholder.  On Fey's team, running with the slogan "Gloucester County Republicans" are Scapellato and Larry Wallace, who both ran with the organization's backing last year.  Lonegan's slate has West Deptford resident Matthew Burns and Mantua resident Ron Brittin running for freeholder.

The state legislative races are another story.  In the 3rd District, there's a four-way primary race between Art Marchand, George Shivery, Lee Lucas and Robert Villare.  Marchand and Shivery are bracketed together and have the backing of Fey's faction.  Although many insiders consider Lucas and Villare the Oglesby-backed candidates, she never officially endorsed them.  In District 4, Fey-backed Domenick DiCicco is paired with the Camden GOP's Eugene E.T. Lawrence.  But Oglesby-backed Andrew Savicky, who is running alone, is taking them on in the primary.

A Republican who opposes the re-election of Gloucester County GOP Chair Loran Oglesby is alleging that gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan paid for her to attend the "Defending the American Dream Summit" in Washington, D.C. last October.  The conference was sponsored by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation; Lonegan is the AFP State Director in New Jersey.

Bill Fey, the Republican municipal leader in Franklin Township, announced today that he will challenge incumbent Loran Oglesby for Gloucester County GOP Chairman.

"These times call for strong leadership and a change in direction of our party," Fey said in a statement.  "Hopefully Loran will act in the best interest of the party and step aside gracefully."

Fey said that Barbara Capelli, the Wenonah GOP Municipal Chair and a former Councilwoman, will run on his ticket for Vice Chair, and that Monroe Republican Club President Randy Ford will run for Secretary.  The anti-Oglesby ticket will also include candidates Republican State Committee: Washington Township GOP Chairman Jeff Morris and '08 Freeholder candidate Phyllis Scapellato. 

Phyllis Scapellato the owner of the website itsnotloransparty.com and leader of a group dedicated to electing a new GOP chairman in Gloucester County took issue with remarks made by Steve Lonegan campaign strategist Rick Shaftan.

In Gloucester County, Franklin Township Republican Municipal Chairman Bill Fey said that he does not condone the public sniping from disgruntled Republicans at Party Chairwoman Loran Oglesby.

But he understands it.

“I do not condone the way they’re doing this now and the way that some people are trying to push it,” said Fey in a phone interview today.  “I understand the point they’re trying to make, but I think there’s a different way to approach it.”

The Gloucester County Republicans are in the midst of a public civil war that had been festering under the radar for months. It was only brought to the attention of the media at the beginning of this month, when former freeholder candidate Larry Wallace made critical comments about Oglesby to the Gloucester County Times, and his running mate, Phyllis Scapellato, started a Web site meant to help force Oglesby from her post. 

Phyllis Scapellato and Larry Wallace, the Republican candidates for Gloucester County Freeholder in 2008, want GOP County Chairman Loran Oglesby to resign.

Led by a former Republican freeholder candidate, critics of Gloucester County Republican Chairwoman Loran Oglesby have launched an offensive intended to force her from office.

"If she cares anything about this party she'll resign now -- step down gracefully while she still has good favor," said Phyllis Scapellato, a school administrator who unsuccessfully ran for freeholder last year, coming a little under 14,000 votes short of the least popular Democrat, Freeholder Warren Wallace. 

Oglesby is up for reelection in June, but her detractors would like to see her removed before then, so that she does not have a role in picking the next slate of county-wide candidates for the beleaguered minority party.

Scapellato, who thinks that her top vote-getting running mate, Larry Wallace, might have beaten Warren Wallace had it not been for Oglesby's management, has started a Web site, itsnotlorensparty.com that states its sole aim as to "begin the search for a new chairman of the Gloucester County Republican Executive Committee."

A summary of daily newspaper endorsements in local races:

GOP Freeholder candidates gain support of recently announced gubernatorial candidate