Richard Merkt

In a statement issued Wednesday morning, GOP gubernatorial candidate Assemblyman Richard A. Merkt (R-Mendham) called on Republican State Committee Chairman Tom Wilson to resign his post immediately “in the best interests of the party.”

“After years of failure, it is time for the New Jersey State GOP to change horses and look to new leadership if it wants to succeed in 2009,” said Merkt. “Wilson has overseen a series of dismal state campaigns, reducing the Republican party to essential irrelevance in New Jersey state politics.”

 Merkt called Wilson’s handling of the U.S. Senate Primary a “fiasco,” in which the establishment juggled one candidate after another before running with former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, and getting soundly beaten by U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park).  In particular, the party’s selection of political neophyte and food heir Andy Unanue, whose short-lived candidacy dissolved in jarring headlines about his party boy past, galled Merkt.

Franklin Township Mayor Brian D. Levine, who has won twice in a heavily Democratic town, is thinking about seeking the 2009 GOP gubernatorial nomination

Brian D. Levine doesn’t know if he broke any records in losses suffered when he ran for student council at Rutgers. But he retained his interest in politics after marrying and moving to Franklin Township and at the polls one June he noted that no one from his party had filed to run for Republican County Committeeman.

So he wrote himself in, and won. 

 “You could say I squeaked it out because I won by one vote, or I won by a landslide because I won by 100 percent,” says Levine. “That proves you can spin the numbers.”

In the 1997 race for city council, Levine faced a formidable 16-year incumbent. He prevailed in a close election, triggering what became for him a pattern of victories, and spawning two back-to-back wins in mayoral races, in 2004 and 2007.

Now Levine, 50, a certified public accountant who is married with two daughters, is considering a run for governor, and believes his record as a fiscally conservative Republican in a Democratic town gives him particularly well-suited skills to serve as New Jersey’s chief executive.

Franklin Township Mayor Brian D. Levine, who has won twice in a heavily Democratic town, is thinking about seeking the 2009 GOP gubernatorial nomination

Franklin Township Mayor Brian D. Levine today confirmed that he is mulling a run for governor.

“I have been contemplating such a thing,” he told PolitickerNJ.com. “Of course, you need money and organization, but I’ve had some successes here in Franklin and my background is in finance. I think that’s what we’re needing now.”

Currently serving his second term in this Somerset County town of 60,000 residents, Levine became mayor in a 2003 upset election. A Republican in a town where registered Democrats have the numbers, he put an exclamation point on his local victory when he won re-election in 2007.

GOP Freeholder candidates gain support of recently announced gubernatorial candidate

They may face each other in a gubernatorial primary election next year, but for now Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham) wants U.S. Attorney Chris Christie activated for a common purpose.

Tired of lobbying state channels and getting no results, Merkt today called on Christie to investigate a grant program that appears to have been "nothing more than a political pork slush fund for certain Democratic legislators," in Merkt’s words.

"We need to know what legislators, in addition to (former state Sen. Wayne Bryant D-Camden) had control of these funds, where they directed those funds, and whether they benefitted from the recipients," said Merkt, who’s probing a run for governor next year. "The U.S. Attorney now needs to look into the entire scope of this program to see whether there is wrongdoing that extends beyond Mr. Bryant’s actions."

Bribery and money laundering may be illegal for almost everyone else, but not for politicians. They call it "pay-to-play" and "wheeling." The party in power almost always benefits from these structural advantages, so politicians love to rail against corruption when they're powerless to do anything about it, but then sit on their hands and make excuses when they could actually change the system.

When Gov. Jim Florio proposed an ethics reform package in 1992 -- partly to fulfill the campaign promises he had made three years earlier -- Republican leaders who controlled both the Assembly and Senate criticized him, saying the plan was politically-motivated. Sound familiar?

During a decade of state-wide Republican control, pay-to-play and wheeling continued as Republicans easily out-raised Democrats. That is, until Jon Corzine ran for Senate (and later governor) and Democrats regained a majority in the legislature. Suddenly, fixing this broken and corrupt system became a top GOP priority and popular campaign refrain.

With the tables turned, Republicans introduced a series of reform measures in 2006 which Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman called a "warmed-over stew of existing legislative measures." Yes it was, but the stew had gotten pretty cold in the hands of Democrats.

Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham) and Mendham Committeewoman Jane Tiger.: Politicker file photoOn the occasion of Gov. Jon Corzine’s release today of wide-ranging ethics reform, GOP gubernatorial candidate Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham), criticized Corzine for dragging his heels.

"The Governor acknowledged from his first day in office that there was a need for a change in the culture of corruption enveloping Trenton," said Merkt, who launched an exploratory committee for a 2009 bid in late summer. "That being the case, it is hard to understand why it took him three years to propose ethics reforms that he could have demanded on his first day in office. In the meantime, dozens of public officials have been indicted and millions of taxpayer dollars have been squandered as these corrupt practices continued without any meaningful opposition by the administration.

Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham) hits his stride in his hometown.: Politicker photo 

MENDHAM - Despite the corruption headlines and the vaunted presence of the man most believe will be the GOP frontrunner in next year’s gubernatorial primary, Assemblyman Rick Merkt (R-Mendham) charged out on the campaign trail today in this high-end leafy burgh where both he and U.S. Attorney Chris Christie reside.

"My plan is to hit a couple of towns each day I go out and just talk to people," said Merkt, 59, attired in jogging gear and hitting a good stride on Cold Hill Lane on the eastern edge of Mendham.

The self-described New Jersey nationalist started in front of St. Joseph’s Church on Main Street. "You just missed him," Mendham Mayor Neil J. Henry, Jr., had said of Merkt. "But if you go now, you might be able to catch him, he’s headed for Brookside."

Half a mile away, the determined figure of the 11-year veteran assemblyman was spied as he headed into a shady straightaway.

"My purpose is threefold," the corporate attorney candidate told PoltiickerNJ.com. "I want to get to know people, I want people to get to know me, and I want to get in shape. If I can get in shape, it proves I can get the state in shape."

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.