Roy Wesley

Two Republican mayors joined former President Bill Clinton at a fundraiser for Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer's new non-profit organization, Trenton First - an event that turned out to be a virtual love fest for Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign.  John Bencivengo of Hamilton and David Fried of Robbinsville, both supporters of Republican Christopher Christie, attended the $150-per-person fundraiser in support of Palmer.  Fried came within four votes of ousting Mercer County GOP Chairman Roy Wesley in 2008, and has been a frequent critic of Wesley's leadership this year.

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Mercer County Republicans are expected to nominate Shirley Guerieri, a former state Department of Transportation official who lost Freeholder bids in 2000 and 2007, as their candidate for Freeholder at a special meeting tonight. Guerieri will replace Joseph D'Angelo, who dropped out of the race yesterday following conflicts with his running mates and with GOP County Chairman Roy Wesley.

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Mercer County GOP Chairman Roy Wesley has asked one Republican Freeholder candidate, Joseph D'Angelo, to get out of the race.  Sources close to Wesley say that the Freeholder campaign has been hampered by infighting between the candidates.  Mercer Republicans are meeting on Thursday, and if D'Angelo hasn't dropped out before that, Wesley could go as far as to seek a formal vote of no confidence in their candidate. 

Update: D'Angelo sent a letter to county election officials today withdrawing from the race.  The GOP is expected to pick a replacement candidate at a meeting tomorrow night.

This is the latest in a series of political trouble for Wesley, who won re-election in 2008 by just four votes against Robbinsville Mayor David Fried.  Last year Wesley was unable to fill his slate of Freeholder candidates. Earlier this year, Wesley was wounded when his candidates for State Assembly in the politically competitive 14th district dropped out days before the Mercer convention; that forced Wesley to engage in a heated primary battle with Middlesex Republicans.

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In two Mercer County races where gubernatorial candidates took sides, there was a split.  West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, who had the backing of Gov. Jon Corzine, decimated rival Charles Morgan, a Republican Councilman.  Hsueh won 70% of the vote.  In Robbinsville, Mayor David Fried was re-elected with 64% of the vote over Corzine's choice, Councilwoman Sonja Walter.  Morgan and Fried had the backing of Republican Christopher Christie.

Hsueh's landslide was helped with his new alliance with the local Democratic Party.  Sources say that Hsueh, an independent, has agreed not to endorse Republican candidates outside of local politics in exchange for Democratic support of his re-election campaign.

Hsueh has annoyed Democrats in recent years with his support of Republican Bill Baroni in races for the Senate and Assembly.  He has reportedly agreed to support Democratic incumbents Linda Greenstein and Wayne DeAngelo in their Assembly bid this year, and not to endorse Baroni in 2011.  Four years ago, Baroni backed Hsueh's re-election bid, while Greenstein helped then-Councilwoman Allison Miller.

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When Middlesex County Republicans tapped 21-year-old Brian Hackett as their candidate for Assembly in District 14, the GOP in neighboring Mercer County - which accounts for the slightly larger half of the district - decided to field a primary challenger against him rather than go with the traditional arrangement of each county fielding one candidate.

The Mercer Republicans argued that Hackett, a college junior who has never owned a home or held a full-time job, would not be taken seriously by the electorate.  But Hackett said that his young age is one of his key strengths.

"There are people who say I can't relate to the voters, and that's not true," said Hackett, who's running against restaurant owner Rob Calabro and attorney Bill Harvey -- two Mercer County 30-somethings - for the Republican nomination.

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Mercer County Democratic Chairman Richard McClellan seems to like having Roy Wesley as the GOP County Chairman.  In an e-mail to PolitickerNJ.com, McClellan commented on the decision to replace Sidna Mitchell on the GOP organization line with attorney William Harvey: "Roy Wesley's recruitment of Passaic political carpetbagger Bill Harvey (registered on 10-18-2008) for the 14th (and also last year's tapping of Cindy Randazzo after one year in town) is part of the Mercer Republicans' new ‘Welcome Wagon' strategy.  Every new Republican who moves into the county gets a petition for office, a blindfold and a cigarette."

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Rather than support college student Brian Hackett, Mercer County Republicans have chosen Hamilton attorney Bill Harvey to run for State Assembly in the 14th district.

The pick sets up a Mercer-Middlesex primary in a district where both parties traditionally split their Assembly tickets between the two counties.  Harvey will bracket with Hamilton restaurant owner Rob Calabro while Hackett will run as Middlesex County's sole candidate.

Harvey, 31, moved from Passaic County to Hamilton with his fiancé just over a year ago and runs a private law practice out of Lawrenceville.   He responded to recruitment efforts by the three-member vacancy committee of Sidna Mitchell, who filed petitions with the Division of Elections but decided not to run.

"I saw an opportunity to present myself and seized upon it," Harvey said.  "Given my background, I believe I could do a very good job for Mercer County, the 14th District and the State of New Jersey. I'm here to do my best for the state and constituents."

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Hamilton restaurant owner Rob Calabro is not a placeholder candidate for Assembly in District 14, both he and Mercer County Republican Chairman Roy Wesley said today.  

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to start [campaigning] as soon as possible.  We’re meeting every week as we speak,” Calabro said.

Calabro’s absence from the Mercer County Republican Convention last month drew skeptical responses from insiders who felt that no candidate who is serious about running in one of the state’s most competitive legislative districts would skip his own nomination.  He was tapped at the last minute to replace Hamilton Councilwoman Kelly Yaede, who was the Republicans’ top choice but, after signaling that she was likely to run, declined.  

Calabro said that he was with his wife, who is pregnant with the couples’ third child, on the night he was nominated.  

Mercer Republicans are seeking a running mate for Calabro in the June primary, since they will not accept the candidacy of 21-year-old college student Brian Hackett, who was chosen by Middlesex Republicans.

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Embattled 21-year-old Assembly candidate Brian Hackett, who was chosen by Middlesex County Republicans as their candidate in District 14 two weeks ago, said today that he won’t step down to make room for a more seasoned office-seeker.  

“Middlesex County was the largest convention held in the state,” said Hackett, a junior at The College of New Jersey who currently works as a research intern for the Assembly Republicans.  “I received unanimous approval from Middlesex delegates through the Democratic process, and I’m going to respect that and continue to stay in the race.”  

The Republican parties from Middlesex and Mercer Counties traditionally pick one candidate each to run in this Central Jersey swing district, which is dominated by the Mercer County town of Hamilton.  At their convention last month, Mercer Republicans picked Hamilton restaurant owner Rob Calabro, who some insiders speculate is a placeholder until they can come up with someone with a higher profile.  Three days later, Hackett, who lives with his parents in Monroe Township, was approved by a voice vote at the Middlesex County Republican Convention after he became the screening committee’s unanimous choice.  

But Mercer Republicans, fearing that working and middle-class Hamiltonians will not take Hackett seriously because he has not yet held down a full-time job or paid property taxes, are trying to recruit candidates from Middlesex County.  Middlesex Republican Chairman Joe Leo, for his part, is committed to backing Hackett unless he decides to withdraw on his own.  Read More >

Mercer County and state Republicans are hell-bent on not allowing 21-year-old Brian Hackett, who was chosen by the Middlesex Republican Party to run in District 14, to walk away with the party's nomination for the general election.

But Sidna Mitchell, the Middlesex County resident who Republicans recruited to bracket with Hamilton restaurant owner Rob Calabro against Hackett in the June primary, has decided not to run despite filing her petition signatures on Monday.

It's the latest development of the GOP's candidate recruitment mess in this central Jersey swing district, which just months ago was expected to host one of the two most competitive legislative races in the state.

"I am sorry that Sidna Mitchell has decided not to run for the Assembly in the 14th LD.  She would have been a great candidate and a great Assemblywoman.  However, the race remains winnable with the right Republican candidate, because of the failure of the Corzine Democrats to control spending and reduce property taxes," said Mercer County Republican Chairman Roy Wesley.  "We, as a party, have an obligation to continue to look for a candidate, like Sidna Mitchell, who can address those issues convincingly, because it is in the best interest of both the Republican Party and the voting public to do so.  We, in Mercer County, remain unconvinced that Brian Hackett is that person."

At their convention last month, Mercer County Republicans unanimously picked Calabro, who ran for freeholder in 2007, as their candidate after Hamilton Council President Kelly Yaede - who they had spent months courting to run and who sent signals that she would - abruptly changed her mind.  Although Republicans said Calabro was not merely a placeholder candidate, he did not attend the convention at which he was nominated, has not done any visible campaigning and has not talked to the press.  Phone messages left at his place of work were not returned today.

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