Sonny McCullough

A casualty of Francis Blee’s loss in February’s Special Election Convention for State Senate: longtime Atlantic County Prosecutor Jeffrey Blitz.

Sources say that the appointment of a new Prosecutor is imminent, and that Blitz will not get the reappointment he wanted.  Blitz is a close ally of former State Senator Bill Gormely, which put him on a different side of the new Senator, Republican James “Sonny” McCullough.  McCullough, a Gormley foe, beat Blee by a 61%-39% margin.

Republican Frank Blee will step down as the Assembly Minority Whip -- the number three post in the GOP leadership -- and Jon Bramnick of Union County appears to be the favorite to succeed him.  Blee, who won just 39% of the vote in his bid for State Senate at a Special Election Convention in February, has decided not to seek re-election to an eighth term in the lower house.  Some Republican legislators had privately urged Blee's ouster after the Atlantic County Republican said he would back Democratic Assemblyman James Whelan for State Senate against GOP incumbent James "Sonny" McCullough.

Jayson Adams of Pleasantville, who last week lost his re-election bid as president of the Pleasantville School Board, today canceled his run for Atlantic County Freeholder, and provided one more sign that the political machinery of former Atlantic City Council President Craig Callaway is grinding to a halt.

It also means Charles Garrett, backed by Assemblyman Jim Whelan's Democratic Reform Team, will run unopposed in the Democratic Primary.

State Senator Nicholas Asselta has endorsed Sonny McCullough for State Senate in the second district against Frank Blee because he wants someone to join him as a conservative vote in the upper house. That didn't sit well with one Republican elected official, who asked that his name be withheld in the interest of party unity:

"Let me get this straight: Asselta endorses a candidate on the grounds that he, Asselta, needs another conservative voice in the Senate? Does Asselta possess even so much as one conservative molecule in his body? I mean, Blee's certainly no conservative, and virtually any real Republican would be an improvement. But Asselta is every bit as bad. Is there a tax increase he hasn't supported, a boneheaded Democratic proposal against which he has led the charge? I guess, if you're running for office, you take such support, even out of district, as you can muster. But I can't imagine a single conservative who would give an Asselta endorsement the slightest credence."

With contested Senate and Assembly races fifteen legislative districts so far, the spring campaign season of conventions and primaries is shaping up to be a far more lively campaign season than the fall.

In a grudge match that could settle lingering hostilities from the 1994 GOP congressional primary, two Republicans are battling for the chance to succeed retiring State Senator Bill Gormley. Assembly Minority Whip Frank Blee, who has Gormley's strong support, faces Sonny McCullough, the longtime Mayor of Egg Harbor Township. McCullough has the backing of Congressman Frank LoBiondo, who defeated Gormley in the '94 primary.

Some second district Republicans say that Atlantic County Republicans could cut a deal with McCullough to avoid a divisive Special Election Convention and/or primary: they could offer him Blee's Assembly seat (a bird-in-hand for McCullough, who could be in the Legislature as early as February), and let other Republicans, including Brigantine Mayor Philip Guenther and former Freeholder John Risley, battle it out among Atlantic Republicans for the second Assembly seat.

The winner of the GOP Senate battle will face Democratic Assemblyman James Whelan, the former Mayor of Atlantic City. Both parties have a deep farm system, and competition for the four major party Assembly nominations is fairly intense.

In Northwestern New Jersey, the venerable Robert Littell, a legislator since 1967, faces a primary challenge for his Senate seat from conservative Guy Gregg, a seven-term Assemblyman. The 70-year-old Littell, whose last tough races were stiff primary challenges more than a decade ago, has had some serious health issues in recent years. At stake is the family Senate seat: Littell's father held it in the 1940's and 1950's, and his daughter, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, wants to move to the upper house someday.

Gregg is set to formally announce over the next several weeks, although some Republicans wonder if he will actually pull the trigger. The Pallonian Republican had run for the United States Senate in 2002, but unexpectedly withdrew on filing day. And there is still some question about which Littell will actually file for the Senate this year.

There will be strong competition for Gregg's open Assembly seat.

In Essex County, veteran State Senator Ronald Rice is expected to seek re-election to an eighth term without the support of the Essex County Democratic organization. Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who defeated Rice last year, is backing Freeholder Bilal Beasley, an Irvington Councilman. In the other Newark district, State Senator Sharpe James, the former Mayor, has not revealed his re-election plans. If he does run, he will most certainly face a primary challenge -- probably against Newark City Councilman Luis Quintana.

In the Assembly, there is considerable speculation that Democrats will dump incumbents Oadline Truitt (28th) and Wilfredo Caraballo (29th) from their line. Truitt will likely go away without a struggle, but Caraballo has been exploring an independent re-election bid. Rice is recruiting running mates, assuring an Assembly primary in that district as well.

Two Democratic Senators from Hudson County may be facing the toughest races of their lengthy political careers. In the 31st district, State Senator Joseph Doria, the Mayor of Bayonne, is being challenged by Sandra Bolden Cunningham, whose late husband served as Mayor of Jersey City and State Senator. Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman, is about to get tossed off his own line; he has not yet announced if he will fight to keep his seat against Assemblyman Brian Stack, the Mayor of Union City. There will be contested Assembly primaries in these districts also.

In the 37th district, Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero has endorsed Loretta Weinberg's bid for re-election to a second term, seemingly pulling the plug on former Assemblyman Ken Zisa, who had been seeking a rematch after losing the seat to Weinberg in 2005 by just one vote. But Weinberg is fighting to get her running mates -- Gordon Johnson and Valerie Vainieri Huttle -- re-elected, and she could wind up with a primary if she opts to run with Johnson and Hutttle off the organization line.

The threat of a GOP primary challenge has been looming against 39th district Assembly incumbents John Rooney and Charlotte Vandervalk for almost a year, and while no candidates have stepped forward so far, most Bergen Republicans expect a slate to emerge. Two Democrats are jockeying for the chance to run against longtime GOP State Senator Gerald Cardinale: Joseph Ariyan, a 41-year-old lawyer from Saddle River and the Bergen County Public Advocate for Land Use; and Dennis Testa, the Vice President of the Bergen County Education Association.

Retirements have sparked some excellent Assembly races for open seats: there a multiple candidate fields in the 9th, 11th, 12th, 16th, 24th and 26th districts.

LOCAL OFFICIALS IN ATLANTIC BLAST ROBERTS' HOUSING PLAN; CALL ON WHELAN TO DISAVOW IT

The resignation of Bill Gormley from the State Senate on February 15 is not a surprise; he had let Atlantic County Republicans in on his plan earlier this month. People who know Gormley say that he is not exactly a lame duck kind of guy, and the early exit starts the clock on his two-year ban from working for Atlantic City casinos.

Republicans will hold a Special Election Convention between 7 and 35 days of his resignation to elect a new Senator, who will serve the remaining eleven months of Gormley's term. Assembly Minority Whip Frank Blee is the leading contender for the seat, and party insiders say that a convention is a better venue for Blee than a primary; he is facing Egg Harbor Mayor Sonny McCullough, who has the support of Congressman Frank LoBiondo. McCullough has not decided whether he will challenge Blee at the convention.

If Blee goes to the Senate early, Republicans would hold a second Special Election Convention to fill his vacant Assembly seat. The leading candidate to replace him is Brigantine Mayor Philip Guenther. One Republican leader says that the GOP should consider replacing Blee with McCullough in order to prevent a contested Senate race. Republicans will still need to recruit a second Assembly candidate to run in November.

Democrats are expected to run Assemblyman James Whelan for Senate; they will also need two Assembly candidates.

Blee's resignation will also trigger a contest for his post as the Assembly Minority Whip. Eric Munoz, the Deputy Conference Leader, is next in line, but could some Trenton insiders say that his promotion is hardly automatic. Kevin O'Toole and Alison McHose are among the possible candidates.

Egg Harbor Township Mayor Sonny McCullough has told some Atlantic County Republicans that he is giving serious consideration to challenging State Senator Bill Gormley or County Executive Dennis Levinson in the June 2007 Republican primary.