Kathleen Donovan

A pair of Republicans involved in the 2008 campaign in Bergen County seem to have different views on how the campaign was run, and how they should be run in the future. Alan Marcus, a public relations executive and former Bergen County GOP Executive Director who worked on Kathleen Donovan's successful re-election campaign for County Clerk, wrote an Op-Ed for The Record last week criticizing the failed Republican Freeholder candidates for running almost exclusively on the reform issue and talking about indicted Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero. Ferriero, Marcus says, "is known to a minute segment of the population." Marcus also beat up on U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, saying he didn't appeal to votes outside his conservative base.

On Sunday, Republican political consultant David Murray, who worked for the GOP Freeholder candidates, wrote a Letter to the Editor taking issue with Marcus' comments. He says that while Donovan's win was impressive, it was largely due to name identification and not any groundbreaking targeting or strategies.

In North Arlington (pop. 15,181), a blue collar town in Southern Bergen County that went for John Kerry in 2004 by just six votes, John McCain beat Barack Obama by 46 votes, 49.7%-48.9%.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Frank Lautenberg beat Dick Zimmer 55%-45%, with a margin of 542 votes. U.S. Rep. Steven Rothman had a 945 vote plurality (58%-42%) over Republican Vincent Micco.

Republican County Clerk Kathleen Donovan won 53%-47% (302 votes) over Democrat Diane Testa, but in the race for Freeholdder, North Arlington voters backed the Democratic incumbents, Bernadette McPherson (2,950) and David Ganz (2,785) over GOP challengers Christopher Calabrese (2,675) and Jeffrey Heller (2,567). In the race for a two-year unexpired term, Rev. Vernon Walton, the Democratic incumbent, carried North Arlington by 187 votes over Republican Paul Duggan (52%-48%).

In the race for Borough Council, Democrats held the 4-2 majority on the Borough Council. Councilman Steven Tanelli (3,513) was re-elected, along with fellow Democrat Mark Yampaglia (3,198).  They defeated Republicans James Herrmann (2,801) and James Bocchino (2,746).

Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan is expected to receive some consideration as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor next year if Christopher Christie is the gubernatorial candidate, according to GOP leaders with ties to the U.S. Attorney.  Donovan bucked the Democratic tide in to win re-election to a fifth term, defeating Democrat Diane Testa by a 51%-49 margin.  Donovan ran six percentage points ahead of John McCain and eight percentage points ahead of GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dick Zimmer. She outpolled U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett in each of his Bergen County municipalities.

With absentee ballots counted in eight of Bergen County's seventy municipalities, Barack Obama leads John McCain 54%-46% -- 1,118 to 956.  Four years ago, George W. Bush carried these same towns (Allendale, Alpine, Bergenfield, Bogota, Edgewater, South Hackensack, Woodridge and Wyckoff) by a 51%-49% margin over John Kerry.  

In the race for Congress in the 5th district, where absentee ballots in only Allendale, Alpine, Bergenfield, and Wyckoff have been counted, incumbent Scott Garrett leads Dennis Shulman by a 52%-48% margin -- 591 to 549.  In 2004, Garrett carried these four towns by a 55%-45% margin.

Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan leads challenger Diane Testa by a 63%-37% margin on absentee ballots in these eight towns, while Democratic U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg leads Republican Dick Zimmer by a 53%-47% margin on absentee ballots.  That puts Donovan, a Republican, 17 points ahead of McCain and 16 points ahead of Zimmer. 

A summary of daily newspaper endorsements in local races:

As Barack Obama hovers around the 60% mark in New Jersey, Democrats could be the beneficiary of some significant coattails. While Democrats are already favored in two key congressional races where Republican incumbents are retiring, an Obama landslide could offer coattails in several other competitive races: in Bergen County, where County Clerk Kathleen Donovan is seeking a fifth term, and where Democrats are defending three Freeholder seats following the indictment of County Chairman Joseph Ferriero; in Monmouth County, where Democrats need to win one Freeholder seat to win majority control; in Somerset County, where Democrats now have an edge in voter registration for the first time in state history; in races for County Clerk and Freeholder in Burlington County; in races for Atlantic County Sheriff and Freeholder; and in Freeholder contests in Cumberland and Salem counties.

One important battleground in the election of 2008 is in South Bergen, an assortment of blue collar, politically competitive municipalities with a long history of ticket splitting.  The towns south of Route 4 are critical for John McCain (Republicans have never won statewide in New Jersey without carrying Bergen County) and for the Republicans seeking to break the 7-0 Democratic majority on the Board of Freeholders.  South Bergen is also the political base of the lone Republican remaining in county government, County Clerk Kathleen Donovan. 

In a section of Bergen County where EnCap and the Meadowlands have dominated local politics in recent years, there are also key municipal races -- with control at stake -- in Rutherford, North Arlington, East Rutherford, Hasbrouck Heights, and Elmwood Park; and important contests in Bogota and South Hackensack.

Rutherford (pop. 18,110) has a Republican mayor and a Borough Council that has three Republicans and three Democrats.  Last year, John Hipp ousted incumbent Bernadette McPherson by a massive 69%-31% margin, and the GOP ousted two incumbent councilmembers.  In 2008, Democratic Councilmen Joseph Sommer and George Fencanin are not seeking re-election.  Democrats Jack Boyle and Kimberly Birdsall will try to stop the Republicans from taking control of the Council.  A split among local Republicans caused a contested primary; Hipp's candidates, Joseph DeSalvo and Frank Wilson, handily defeated two candidates backed by GOP Municpal Chairman John Daub in the primary.  McPherson is also on the ballot, as a candidate for re-election to the Bergen County Board of Freeholders. In 2007, Democratic State Sen. Paul Sarlo won 43% in Rutherford.  In 2004, John Kerry carried the borough by 509 votes (53%-47%).

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Almost immediately after Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan returns home, her reelection campaign will kick into high gear.
Donovan, a Republican delegate from the 9^th Congressional District, has four events lined up for Saturday related to her reelection campaign against Democratic challenger Diane Testa.

But you won’t hear Donovan use the same kind of rhetoric about Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero, who’s under investigation, as the freeholder candidates beneath her on the Republican ticket. Donovan won’t comment on Ferriero, but she said that’s not because she’s still hoping that her allies will find an opportunity to appoint her to a judgeship, she said.

“We run together but we have different issues. That’s the best way I can explain that,” said Donovan, who after 20 years in office remains the last Republican county-wide officeholder in the once solidly GOP county. “I don’t comment on any kind of investigation. I’m not involved in anything in my capacity as county clerk, so I don’t talk about that at all.”

The 1988 political landscape in Bergen County bears little resemblance to today's.

Former President George H.W. Bush carried the county against Michael Dukakis. Bill McDowell, a Republican, was the county executive, having been elected to the newly created office of two years earlier. Republicans controlled the freeholder board 7-0, and Republican Assemblywoman Kathleen Donovan had just been elected to her first five-year term as county clerk.

Times have changed, to say the least. Democrats have a popular incumbent county executive and hold all the freeholder seats. Only Donovan has managed to stay on top of the rising Democratic tide, and stands today as the only Republican county-wide officeholder in a place where the GOP has become the perennial minority party.

After 20 years in office, Donovan is the sole obstacle to County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero's quest for complete county-wide domination - even if she holds an unglamorous office, where the primary responsibilities are overseeing election ballots, issuing passports and recording deeds and mortgages.

State Sen. Bill Baroni will chair the New Jersey Delegation to the 2008 Republican National Convention in Minneapolis
Republicans tonight elected State Sen. Bill Baroni to serve as Chairman of the New Jersey Delegation to the Republican National Convention. Baroni is the Chairman of John McCain’s New Jersey campaign. Atlantic County GOP Chairman Keith Davis and Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose were named to the Platform Committee.