Republican National Convention

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.

Jeff Booker, left, and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth).: Politicker photo 

MINNEAPOLIS - They’re not overjoyed with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, but former Mitt Romney for president supporters last week gulped down Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz) veep pick and closed ranks behind their party’s nominee.

That’s not to say they don’t hang with one another in the halls of the Hilton, where the GOP delegation is staying.

This morning, state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), who served as Romney’s state campaign chair; former Camden County GOP Executive Director Jeff Booker, and former Paterson Mayor Pat Kramer, exited the breakfast hall as a threesome.

MINNEAPOLIS - Offshore drilling.

It’s a dominant issue in the presidential campaign, and one that directly impacts state Sen. Sean Kean (R-Monmouth), whose district encompasses part of the Jersey Shore.

Kean wants federal protection from drilling for the New York/New Jersey area, and has a bill in the Statehouse urging such a measure.

His presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is meanwhile generating respect in the oil industry and from base conservatives with his exhortation to "drill here, drill now."

Despite what he sees as Sen, Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) lack of a Shermanesque stand against drilling, N.J. Sierra Club Executive Director Jeff Tittel said the McCain model is much closer to that of President George W. Bush, and wrongheaded, in his view.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- With U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews set to make a decision about his political future this week, Camden County Republican Chairman Rick DeMichele said that 1st District Republican candidate Dale Glading is “prepared and ready to respond.”

“Dale has been running a great campaign, because he’s been running it without an opponent. It’s helped the voters see that he’s focused on them and not a phantom opponent,” said DeMichele. 

Andrews left his ballot spot for reelection to the House to his wife Camille when he decided to mount a primary challenge against incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg.  Although just a placeholder candidate, Camille Andrews easily won that primary.  but Speculation persisted, however, that Rob Andrews to return to the seat, if he lost his primary against Lautenberg. 

MINNEAPOLIS - The potential players in next year’s 36th District Assembly contest are staying low at the moment.

According to sources, Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) is likely to run for his Assembly spot again rather than pursue the mayor’s seat that the convicted Sammy Rivera left vacant.

But at the moment, he remains coy about his plans.

"The filing deadline is Sept. 12th," he said of the Passaic mayor’s contest. "I’m not prepared to make a statement."

His district mate, Assemblyman Fred Scalera (D-Nutley), definitely intends to run for re-election in a district containing portions of three counties, that is nearly 54 percent concentrated in Bergen.

The big question on the GOP side is whether Rutherford Mayor Joe Hipp decides to challenge Schaer and Scalera.

MINNEAPOLIS - The Monmouth and Ocean County Central Labor Council (CLC) has endorsed Democratic freeholder candidates Amy Mallet and Glenn Mason, who are running against incumbent GOP Freeholder Lillian Burry and her running mate, Red Bank Councilman John Curley.

Mallett and Mason hope to be able to ride post Feb. 5th voter registration, which favors Democrats in the traditionally Republican Monmouth County. Registered Democratic voters now outnumber Republicans in Monmouth by 10,000.

Pat Kramer, former mayor of Paterson, right, with state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth).: Politicker photo 

MINNEAPOLIS - Among those at the Republican National Convention stand two venerable members of the Grand Old Party who once slugged it out in a gubernatorial primary.

The title "former governor" in front of the name Thomas Kean provides the most obvious evidence for his 1981 statewide victory over Lawrence "Pat" Kramer, former mayor of Paterson.

But the man who unwittingly helped Kean beat Kramer isn’t a Republican, and was actually in attendance last week at the Democratic National Convention.

He’s former Gov. Brendan Byrne, whose hand-picked successor - then-attorney general, John Degnan - didn’t have the backing of the Democratic Party chairs.

Despite all the buzz surrounding state Sen. Bill Baroni as a possible U.S. Attorney pick if John McCain wins the presidency, Baroni won’t touch the topic.

“I’ve spent nine years working for John McCain, and the only new job that I care that somebody gets out of November’s election is John McCain becoming president. There’s no other consideration, no other thought, no other discussion about any other job – period,” he said.

Baroni, an attorney, teaches a course at Seton Hall Law, and headed up the effort against Sen. Robert Toricelli’s ballot switch with Frank Lautenberg in 2002. 

“I have spent hours in the snows of New Hampshire and Michigan, and the traffic of southern California, and now nine months later we’re two months away from electing John McCain,” he said.  “I’m not going to begin to discuss hypotheticals.  This is all about John McCain. It has been for nine years, and it will be for 9 more weeks.”

Like the Democrats last week, the New Jersey delegation at the Republican delegation is sitting in the back of the house – way off to the podium’s right, but close enough to get a profile view of the speakers. 

New Jersey McCain State Coordinator Rick Mroz, however, said the issue comes up at every convention, and it doesn’t bother him. 

“I love our seats,” he said. “It’s actually still a pretty intimate setting with the delegation on that floor, so I don’t have a problem with it.”

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- New Jersey doesn’t have any speakers set for the Republican National Convention, but it does have a speechwriter.

Tomorrow night, former New York mayor/presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani will deliver a speech on the convention center’s floor that was written by South Orange native Ken Kurson, a consultant at the New Jersey political firm Jamestown Associates.

Kurson co-wrote Giuliani’s biography, which spent 25 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and served as Chief Operating Officer of his presidential campaign and Deputy Director of Communications at Giuliani Partners.