Ronni Nochimson

Essex County Democratic Chairman Philip Thigpen is getting ready to run for office: he says he expected to become his party's candidate for Register of Deeds and Mortgages.  The organization supported Newark Central Ward Democratic Chairman Dwight Brown for Register in the June primary after incumbent Carole Graves declined to seek re-election.  But Brown died unexpectedly over the summer, leaving Democrats without a candidate to face Republican Terriann Moore Abrams, a former South Orange Village Trustee.

The post has a $91,650 annual salary and is a five-year term.

Essex and Hudson are the last counties to have an elected Register of Deeds and Mortgages.  In the other nineteen counties, the County Clerk performs their duties.  Camden eliminated the position after Republican Susan Rose won the post in 1990.  Union got rid of the post in 1995 when the incumbent, Joanne Rajoppi, ran for County Clerk. 

Four years after Democrat Gerard DeStefano ousted longtime GOP Passaic County Register Frank Sylvester in 1996, the Republican-controlled Legislature eliminated his job.  They did it with the ultimate political cover: Passaic voters had passed a non-binding referendum urging the post be absorbed into the Office of the County Clerk (then held by Republican Ronnie Nochimson).

The Hudson County Register is Willie Flood, who is also a Jersey City Councilwoman.

Thigpen, a former Freeholder and fixture in local politics since the 1960's, would be under no obligation to give up his chairmanship.  Eight other County Chairs are elected officials.

But some Democrats say Thigpen might give up the party post.  Phil Alagia, the Chief of Staff to Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and the political director of Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign, is a potential candidate for Essex County Democratic Chairman.

Alagia says he supports Thigpen.

"There is no one in Essex County who can do a better job of moving the Essex County Democratic Party forward then Chairman Thigpen," Alagia told PolitickerNJ.com.  It is my understanding that he will stay as chairman and he has my support 100 percent. 

Ronni Nochimson will drop her bid for Passaic County Clerk, a position she held for ten years before losing re-election in 2009. Nochimson, who was a Republican until three years ago, had sought the endorsement of the Passaic County Democratic organization, but lost an executive committee vote to Woodland Park Council President Keith Kazmark on Saturday.  She committed to backing the winner of that vote, and a Nochimson supporter says she will honor that pledge.

Candidates endorsed by the Wayne Democratic Organization, left to right, Keith Kazmark for County Clerk; John Agostinelli, Tahesha Way, and Gus Peñaranda for Passaic County Freeholder

Woodland Park Councilman Keith Kazmark scored a key victory in his bid to become the Democratic nominee for Passaic County Clerk by winning a formal endorsement from the Wayne Democratic Organization.  The local Democrats voted to back Kazmark over his main rival, former County Clerk Ronni Nochimson, after hearing presentations from both candidates.

The incumbent, Karen Brown, is not seeking re-election. Brown ousted Nochimson in the 2004 general election and the former Clerk has since switched parties.

Wayne Democrats also voted to back Tahesha Way, a Wayne resident, for re-election to the Passaic County Board of Freeholders.  The group also endorsed Augusto Peñaranda, a Paterson Library Trustee, and former Little Falls Councilman John Agostinelli for two open Freeholder seats. Peñaranda and Agostinelli beat two other contenders, Hawthorne Mayor Domenick Stampone and Hawthorne businessman Dino Callegari.

Passaic County Clerk Karen Brown, left, announced today that she won't seek re-election to a second term. One possible replacement is West Paterson Council President Keith Kazmark.

Not surprising party brass and rank-and-filers who were preparing for a battle - just in case, Passaic County Clerk Karen Brown announced she will not run for reelection to a second term, informing Democratic Party supporters in a letter this morning.

“Serving as County Clerk has been a great privilege, and I thank all of my supporters for their confidence in my abilities.  Nonetheless, it is with mixed emotions that I announce my intention not to seek re-election as Passaic County Clerk,” wrote Brown, a Clifton lawyer who's originally from Paterson.

Passaic County Clerk Karen Brown could face West Paterson Councilman Keith Kazmark in a contest for the Democratic nomination.

Passaic County Democrats will have a lot on their plate over the next few months as they decide who to run for two Freeholder seats and if they'll back embattled County Clerk Karen Brown for re-election.  Democrats expect two Freeholders, Sonia Rosado and James Gallagher, not to run again - at least in the case of Gallagher, not as a Democrat. 

Brown won the post five years ago when she ousted two-term incumbent Ronni Nochimson by a 54%-46% margin.  Nochimson, who was the last Republican to hold countywide office in Passaic County, switched parties in 2006 and has said he wants to run for her old job as a Democrat.  Brown has a strong ally in U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, but will have a tough time convincing Democratic County Chairman John Currie and some of the Democratic Freeholders to support her.

Woodland Park Councilman Keith Kazmark, who is the Elmwood Park Municipal Clerk, is also reportedly interested in running for County Clerk.  Kazmark is a former Democratic political operative with strong ties to party leaders across the county.

On paper, one top Passaic County Democratic leader admits, the Republicans have recruited some very formidable candidates to run for Freeholder -- an office the GOP has not won in five years. One candidate is Ronni Nochimson, who spent ten years as the County Clerk before losing her seat in 2004; she is well-liked even by Democrats, who tried hard to get her to switch parties and run on their ticket -- now she works for Sheriff Jerry Speziale, a Democrat. Another candidate is Ronald Fava, who served as a State Assemblyman, Paterson Municipal Court Judge, Passaic County Prosecutor, and as the Acting Sheriff in 2001; he lost his bid for a full-term that year to Speziale by a very narrow margin.

The problem for he GOP is that general election voters may not see Nochimson and Fava together on the ballot -- they are running against each other in the primary. Nochimson is running on a line backed by Passaic County Republican Chairman Michael Mecca, while Fava is on a slate supported by another candidate for County Chairman, Wayne Mayor Scott Rumana.

The Democrat says Nochimson and Fava would be a Republican dream ticket, adding that if the GOP really wanted to win, they would recuit former State Senator and Freeholder Norman Robertson to run. But the Democrat, whose party has 7-0 control of the Freeholder Board, isn't losing too much sleep over the marquis GOP candidates: "Republicans are too busy hating each other to worry about winning an election," the Democrat said.

Democrats are running incumbents James Gallagher and Sonia Rosado, and Hawthorne Board of Education member Joanne Graziano. Graziano was picked by Passaic Democrats after they dumped Sami Merhi, a controversial Arab American businessman.