Robert Schroeder

Robert Schroeder

**UPDATED 

HILLSDALE - Winning the support of the Northeastern Republican Organization (NERO) here this afternoon, Washington Township Councilman Robert Schroeder will join veteran Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk on the Republican Party’s 39th Assembly District ticket.

An 18-Year Washington Township councilman and volunteer firefighter for 30 years, Schroeder told the NERO crowd prior to voting, “I promise as your legislator I will streamline the (permitting process) process (in Trenton). I will remove the layers of bureaucracy. You have my promise.”

Vandervalk and Schroeder, -who both ran with the backing of the district’s top dog, state Sen. Gerald Cardinale, bested former River Edge Councilman John Felice for the right to run with their party’s support in the June Republican Primary.

A key vote is scheduled for Saturday in Bergen County, where Republicans in the 39th district will pick a new Assemblyman to replace John Rooney.  Rooney, who has served in the Legislature since 1983, announced this week that he will not seek re-election.  Democrats have not won this district since 1977.

Four Republicans are seeking the endorsement of the Northeast Republican Organization (NERO): Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Montvale), Washington Township Committeeman Robert Schroeder, former River Edge Councilman John Felice, and Harrington Park Councilman Thomas Bettancourt.  The Bergen County Republican Organization will award the organization line to the winner of the NERO convention.

Former gubernatorial candidate Bob Schroeder could be headed to the State Assembly.

Robert Schroeder, who spent $2.1 million - most of it his own money - in pursuit of the 2005 Republican nomination for Governor, is now the leading candidate for an open State Assembly seat in the Bergen County-based 39th district.  The Washington Township Committeeman won the endorsement today of the incumbent, John Rooney, who is stepping down after 26 years in the Assembly. 

As a gubernatorial candidate, Schroeder won the organization line in Ocean County, and scored a victory at the Northeastern Republican Organization convention in Bergen County.  But he won just 6% of the vote in the GOP primary, finishing fifth in a field of seven candidates.  He did beat former Assembly Majority Leader Paul DiGaetano and former Bergen County Freeholder Todd Caliguire.

Schroeder now faces former River Edge Councilman John Felice (the son of former Assemblyman Nicholas Felice) and Harrington Park Councilman Thomas Bettancourt for the support of the Bergen County Republican Organization.  Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Montvale) is seeking re-election to an eleventh term, and while she is favored to win the Northeastern Republican Organization (NERO) convention on Saturday, it is possible that two other candidates might do so. The NERO vote will determine the line.

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden), above, would become the senior member of the Assembly if John Rooney retires. Roberts won a 1987 special election to fill the seat of the late Francis Gorman.

There is considerable speculation among Bergen County Republicans that Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale) has decided not to seek re-election to a fifteen term, and sources say that he has already told some Republican leaders of his intention to retire. 

Four candidates have filed to compete for the two District 39 seats at next month's Bergen County Republican Convention: ten-term Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Montvale), Washington Township Committeeman Robert Schroeder, Harrington Park Councilman Tom Betancourt, and former River Edge Councilman John Felice, the son of former Assemblyman Nicholas Felice (R-Fair Lawn).  The conventional wisdom is that Schroeder, a millionaire businessman who sought the Republican nomination for Governor in 2005, is Rooney's preferred successor, and that Felice was prepared to challenge Rooney for the organization line.

Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale) is preparing to seek re-election to 15th term, even though some GOP leaders have urged him to retire.

It has taken him over a year to make a decision on whether or not he wants to stay in the legislature, but Assemblyman John Rooney (R-Northvale), the senior member of the lower house, said today that he filed a letter of intent to the Bergen County Republican Organization announcing his plans to run for reelection.

Rooney, who at 69 is the youngest member of the District 39 delegation, has served in the assembly since 1983, and has been grappling the reelection question since overcoming a well-funded challenge to his seat by Democrats in 2007.  Complicating matters was a bad knee and hip replacement surgery, and later some fundraising disagreements with the new party chairman, Bob Yudin.

"I did file a letter of intent to run, so surprise, surprise, I decided that I do feel better.  My hip is great," said Rooney.  "The knee is fine, but I still need some work on it. I've started to lose weight, which is very important.  I need that more than anything else. Currently, as long as I feel well, I've got my name in."

But Rooney's letter of intent should not be read as an absolute commitment to running again, even if his health holds up.  While Rooney said he's more likely to run than not, he's meeting this week with Washington Township Councilman Bob Schroeder, a wealthy businessman and former gubernatorial candidate who has made no secret of his aspirations for an assembly seat.

Schroeder has also filed a letter of intent, but will not run if Rooney does.

Assemblyman John Rooney says he may retireAfter serving in the Legislature since 1983, Republican Assemblyman John Rooney calls himself the Dean of the Assembly, having been there longer than any other current member.

But a combination of health issues and weariness of the way he says business is done in Trenton today has led Rooney to consider retirement, even after he won a solid victory in last month’s hotly contested election. Rooney, who at 68 is the youngest of the three 39th district legislators, will evaluate his political future after undergoing hip replacement surgery later this month. Depending on how his recovery goes, he may decide to retire early or not to seek another term in 2009.

Reflecting on his legislative record over the last 25 years, Rooney admitted that the current state of Trenton politics had him dispirited. And he had already been dealt a painful blow in 2006, after a well-funded Democrat tossed him out of the Northvale’s mayor’s office – a seat that he had held from 1979-1986, and again from 1991 until his defeat.

Bergen County Republicans seem to assume that Guy Talarico will not seek re-election as GOP County Chairman, although he has not yet made a formal announcement. Two candidates are already actively courting County Committee members for votes: Alan Marcus, a successful lobbyist and public relations executive who served as Executive Director of the Bergen GOP in 1968 and 1969; and William Thomson, the former Chairman of the New Jersey Christian Coalition and campaign manager of Robert Schroeder's 2005 gubernatorial bid. Thomson entered the race this week with an announcement letter to Republican leaders. Marcus' unexpected candidacy seems to have generated some enthusiasm, especially from Republicans anxious to benefit from Marcus' fundraising skills.

A few Republican County Chairmen are not sure they want to support Ocean GOP Chairman George Gilmore for another term in the largely ceremonial but potentially powerful post of Chair of the Chairs. Gilmore is still taking heat for his decision to award the organization line to Robert Schroeder in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Schroeder finished a weak third in Ocean County and won only 5.5% statewide.