Beth Timberman is unlikely to get promoted to the State Assembly because Democrats need her to run for re-election to the Salem County Board of Freeholders.

Beth Timberman is unlikely to get tapped for an open State Assembly seat because Democrats don't want to risk losing control of the Salem County Board of Freeholders in November, party insiders say.  Timberman and Jeffrey Hogan are expected to seek re-election this year.   Democrats have a 5-2 majority after Republican Dale Cross won the open seat of retiring Democratic Freeholder Charles Sullivan.  Republicans can win control if they could win two Freeholder seats in one of New Jersey's few politically competitive counties.

Timberman, whose late husband, Woodstown Councilman Nick Wulderk, was a highly regarded Democratic strategist before his untimely passing in 2004, is finishing her second term on the Freeholder Board.  She was the top vote getter in her 2006 re-election campaign, finishing about 3,000 votes ahead of Republican Freeholder Benjamin Simmermon, who lost his re-election bid to Hogan. 

Timberman had been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Assemblyman Douglas Fisher (D-Bridgeton), who is expected to be named state Agriculture Secretary.

Salem is the only county in the state without a legislator.