Part One: The Democrats who will decide Lonegan's fate

Two Democratic members of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, who may play a critical role in deciding the fate of Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan, are Trenton veterans who have spent six decades in New Jersey politics.  Both Albert Burstein and Jerry Fitzgerald English have enjoyed successful political careers, although each fell quite short of achieving their full public service ambitions.

Burstein (D-Tenafly), now 86-years-old, was widely viewed as one of the most intellectually superior and independent members of the New Jersey Legislature, where he served from 1972 to 1982, but he was also a late bloomer who fell short in several opportunities to move up.  Burstein started out in politics in 1959 as counsel to the Jersey City Charter Commission and became active in Tenafly politics in the 1960's.  He was elected to the State Assembly in 1971, when legislative redistricting created a new Englewood/Teaneck seat that leaned toward the Democrats.  Running with Byron Baer, Burstein beat Jim O'Dowd (who would later serve as Bergenfield Mayor and Bergen County Freeholder) by 2,335 votes.

When legislative districts were redrawn for the 1973 elections, the newly-created 37th became even more Democratic.  But neither Burstein nor Baer got the chance to challenge the incumbent Republican Senator, Joseph Woodcock.  That opportunity went to Bergen County Democratic Chairman Matthew Feldman, a former Teaneck Mayor who had served in the Senate from 1966 to 1968.  Feldman easily beat Woodcock and Burstein and Baer coasted to win second terms.

Democrats picked up 26 Assembly seats in 1973, and enjoyed a 66-14 majority. After just one term, Burstein was already fast-tracked for leadership in the Assembly.  He became a candidate for Majority Leader, but his campaign collapsed when aides to Governor-elect Brendan Byrne brokered a deal that made Feldman the Senate Majority Leader and Joseph LeFante (D-Bayonne) the Majority Leader of the Assembly.

LeFante became Speaker in 1976 when S. Howard Woodson resigned to become a Civil Service Commissioner.  But Burstein was passed over again for Majority Leader, with the post going to William Hamilton (D-New Brunswick). 

Following LeFante's 1976 election to Congress, Burstein challenged Hamilton for Speaker, but dropped out just before the voting began.  A deal had been made to give Christopher Jackman (D-West New York) the Majority Leader post, leaving Burstein as the Assistant Majority Leader.

Hamilton was elected to the State Senate in 1977, and Jackman succeeded him as Speaker.  Burstein ran for Majority Leader and won, defeating Ernest Schuck (D-Barrington).  (For extreme political junkies: after losing the race for Majority Leader, Schuck hired a more politically astute young aide named George Norcross.)

Burstein became a candidate for Congress in 1978 and many observers felt he had a good chance to oust the incumbent, Harold Hollenbeck, a freshman Republican who had beaten embattled Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Helstoski in 1976.  Two other potential Democratic candidates, State Sen. Anthony Scardino (D-Lyndhurst) and Baer, who had nearly beaten Helstoski in a bizarre 1974 primary, dropped out and backed Burstein.

But Burstein wound up losing the Democratic primary to Nicholas Mastorelli, the Executive Director of the North Hudson Council of Mayors.   While Burstein carried the Bergen portion of the ninth district, Mastorelli won huge margins in North Bergen, Union City and Secaucus.  Mastorelli won the primary by 2,390 votes, 51%-43%, but lost the general election to Hollenbeck.

After the 1979 election, when Republicans picked up ten Assembly seats, Burstein was defeated for re-election as Majority Leader by Alan Karcher (D-Sayreville).  Burstein, no longer in line to become Assembly Speaker, and with Feldman still occupying the Senate seat, declined to seek re-election to a sixth term in 1981.  Bennett Mazur took his seat; after Mazur's death in 1992, Democrats elected Loretta Weinberg to the Assembly.

Burstein has served on the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission since 2004. As an Assemblyman, Burstein was the sponsor of the Gubernatorial Public Financing Law of 1974.

It's likely that Burstein would not have beaten Hollenbeck in 1978; it was Jimmy Carter's mid-term election, and the incumbent won by eleven points, 49%-38% over Mastorelli (Helstoski ran as an Independent and took 13%).  But it is important to point out that if Burstein did win, there would have been no House seat for Robert Torricelli to run for four years later.