Tony Bucco

Morris County Freeholder Doug Cabana announced today that he has selected two veteran operatives to help run his District 25 Assembly campaign, both of whom worked earlier this year on state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio’s (R-Morris) unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign.

George Dredden of Parsippany will serve as Cabana’s campaign manager, and Dan Gallic will serve as political consultant. 

Dredden is the former executive director of the National Black Republican Council of NJ, and former vice-president of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Republican Club. 

Morris County Freeholder Doug Cabana

BOONTON - District 25 Assembly candidate Doug Cabana says the holidays shouldn’t be about politics so much as spending time with family.

But when Cabana last month sat down to Thanksgiving dinner across a table of family fellowship, the Morris County freeholder couldn’t avoid looking into the eyes of his chief political rival in District 25: Tony Bucco, Jr., husband to his only sister, Amy.

“I spent Thanksgiving at their house,” Cabana said.

"Doug and his parents have come to our house every year for Thanksgiving," said Bucco. "The way I see it, family is family and politics is politics. So when this Thanksgiving rolled around, it was no different. We had family and football."

There will likely be a few more weeks of these encounters, of tearing into gifts and food.

Then the campaigns of Bucco and Cabana will tear into each other, as most political insiders see the two men as chief combatants in the fight to succeed retiring Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham).

MINNEAPOLIS - Morris County Freeholder Doug Cabana of Boonton said he intends to run for the Assembly in the 25th District now that Richard Merkt announced his decision not to pursue re-election next year in favor of a gubernatorial bid.

"I’ve been getting quite a few emails in the district from people saying it’s your turn to go," Cabana told PolitickerNJ.com. "I called Richard Merkt to verify that he was in fact not running, and he’s not going to run, so I am."

Cabana’s designs on the seat mean the GOP primary next year could be a showdown between the 11-year freeholder veteran and Tony Bucco, Jr., son of state Sen. Tony Bucco (R-Morris), and Cabana's brother-in-law.

Cabana has no qualms about going against the younger Bucco - who’s never held elected office.

But he said he doesn’t want to run against fellow Freeholder John Murphy, who has not decided whether he intends to run for the Assembly seat, according to Cabana.

MINNEAPOLIS - Republican Tony Bucco Jr. issued a release this afternoon announcing that he is running for the Assembly in the 25th District, where Assemblyman Rick Merkt plans to vacate his seat at the end of his term next year in order to run for governor.

Son of Sen. Tony Bucco (R-Morris), who serves as senator in the 25th, the candidate said, "I am running on my record of over 25 years of volunteer public service. I promise to always fight for the taxpayers, families and seniors of the 25th District and provide the best constituent services here at home.

"Our more immediate focus though, must be on coming together as a party and electing John McCain as President and re-electing Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, County Clerk Joan Bramhall, Morris County Freeholder Margaret Nordstrom this November and all our local elected officials," Bucco added.