Rick Perr

Retiring U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R-Mount Holly) never had a hard time defeating Democrats in the third congressional district. In fact, no Democrat has held the seat in 124 years. But Saxton isn’t on the ballot this year, leading Democrats to believe that voting trends over the 24 years of Saxton’s tenure no longer apply.

“You have to start with this premise: Jim Saxton won this district by 20 points in every election over the last several years. The district itself went Bush over Kerry 52-48% – that’s district-wide,” said Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr.

The Bush/Kerry numbers, Perr said, are more representative of the district’s true voting trends than the large margins that Saxton, who had become a known quantity and beloved incumbent, used to win by.

“That is the DNA of the district,” he said. “That’s where they vote when they deal with national issues aside from for some personality. So you erase a 20 point Saxton win.”

With 48 days to go before the race between Democratic state Sen. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) and Republican Medford Mayor Christopher Myers is decided, the great unknown is Perr’s county.

It’s getting acrimonious in what Democrats hope will be Battleground Burlington.

The minority party in that county today stung their rivals with a video on their website detailing what party chairman Rick Perr says is a misuse of taxpayer dollars to further a bloated and beleaguered Republican Party.

"There is one fact that is undeniable," said Perr. "Taxes and spending in Burlington County have risen dramatically in the past five years. It is unacceptable that while Burlington County residents continue to pay more in taxes, these insiders are living off of the public trough."

In less than a year, 19 or 20 of what Perr calls "Paulsen’s 20 Republican Investment Team" (a nod to former Burlington County Republican Chairman Glen Paulsen) have each guaranteed $30,000 in campaign loans to the Burlington County GOP, according to the Democrats.

Again and Again, Rep. Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) has said that he will not run for re-election to his House seat after challenging Sen. Frank Lautenberg in last month's primary.

But no matter how many times he says it, speculation - and in some cases hopefulness -- persists that Rob's name will be on the ballot instead of his wife, Camille, who is currently the Democratic placeholder.

Asked whether his promise not to run again was unequivocal, Andrews, who's held the seat since 1990, said, "Yes... as I've said since April."

In an effort to put an end to the speculation, PolitickerNJ.com asked Andrews if he would write and sign a letter to the Clerk of the House stating that, effective January 3, he would resign his seat no matter what. Such a letter would be reversible, but it could further dispel rumors of Andrews's impending return.

Andrews declined.

"It's not necessary or appropriate," he said.

Assemblyman Rick Merkt forced two Democratic County Chairmen to apologize for filing an ethics complaint against himTwo Democrats today publicly withdrew an ethics complaint they filed against Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Morris) last year.

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr and former Somerset County Democratic Chairman Elia Pelios last year filed a complaint with the Joint Committee on Ethical Standards alleging that Merkt had violated the state’s conflicts of interest law and the legislative code of ethics related to his vote on the 2002 budget.

The ethics complaint, which was also filed against six other Repulbican legislators, was dismissed a month later after the committee found that it went beyond the statute of limitations. But Merkt took particular offense to it, filing a lawsuit against the the two Democrats charging libel and defamation of character.

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr criticized Freeholder Director Aubrey Fenton for not forcing Burlington County Bridge Commission Chairman John Comegno to resign in the wake of his guilty plea to drunk driving.  

Comegno pleaded guilty last week to driving under the influence of alcohol.  A judge suspended his license for three months, ordered him to pay nearly $953 in fines and $969 in restitution for an accident he caused in January.

Comegno told the Burlington County Times last week that Fenton, a Republican, told him that he will keep him on as chairman. 

South Jersey Democrats threw a punch at Chris Myers today, just as the third district Republican congressional candidate was getting ready to hold a press conference hitting back at Jack Kelly, his Republican rival for the nomination.

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr today slammed Myers as a “pawn” of Republican bosses for accepting money from the “Corrupt Burlington County GOP Machine.”

At issue are two donations that show up in Myers’s Federal Election Commission filings: $2,300 from former Burlington County Republican Chairman Glenn Paulsen, and $2,300 former Burlington County Bridge Commission Chairman J. Garfield DeMarco.

Reporters Roundtable with Michael Aron (Friday at 6:30PM and Sunday at 10AM): Dusty McNichol (Star-Ledger), Mark I’onno (Star-Ledger), Matt Friedman (PolitickerNJ.com) and John Reitmeyer (The Record) discuss the U.S. Senate race, the Farmers Rally in Trenton, proposed state parks closings, and congestion pricing in New York City.

On the Record with Michael Aron (Sunday at 9AM and 11AM and Monday at 6:30AM): Julie Roginsky, Gregg Edwards, Rick Perr and Steve Lonegan talk about the U.S. Senate race

Assembly Democratic Executive Director Bill Castner is short listed for Rob Andrews' House seatSixteen Democrats are under consideration for the first district congressional seat that Rob Andrews is vacating to run for the U.S. Senate, including Camille Andrews, the Congressman’s wife, according to a list sent out today by South Jersey Democratic leader George Norcross.

On the official Norcross short list:

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr called on Burlington County Bridge Commission Chairman John Comegno II to step down today in the wake of his drunk driving arrest Monday night.

“The allegations against Mr. Comegno are extremely troublesome,” said Perr. “Public officials must hold themselves to a higher standard. Mr. Comegno is also a lawyer, and his alleged refusal to submit to a breathalyzer and flight from the accident scene are concerning.”