Inverso

Senator Peter A. Inverso (R-Mercer/Middlesex) issued the following statement in the wake of the resignations of the Deputy Speaker of the General Assembly and the Chairman of the Assembly State Government Committee.  The resignations of the Assemblymen were called for by leading Democrats, while Senators under indictment for corruption-related crimes are permitted to continue in office.

Truch eager to ensure that Baroni's leadership carries on the Inverso legacy

Vows to Keep Knocking on Doors as he Campaigns to Carry on the Legacy of Senator Inverso  

It’s an old dichotomy in New Jersey.

Republicans lay their election year battle plans in country clubs, while Democrats build their campaign bunkers out of union halls. But in Hamilton Township, home to the highest number of public employees in the state, politicians of both parties go through the unions.

You want to run for office in that gritty blue collar town that sprawls between highways east of Trenton, you do business with the workers.

That’s what Republican Assemblyman Bill Baroni’s done ever since he knocked off his Democratic opponent in 2003 to earn a seat in the Legislature. After the election he went to the Central Labor Council -- which had supported the other guy -- and told them he wanted to work with them, asked them what he could do to help. It wasn’t an unnatural gesture for the longtime Hamiltonian.

At exactly noon tomorrow, at the home of a retired Army Colonel, Glen D. Gilmore will announce if he will run for the State Senate or seek re-election to a third term as Mayor of Hamilton Township.

Since GOP State Sen. Peter A. Inverso made his surprise retirement announcement yesterday, Democratic Party insiders, to a man, say that party won't have a firm legislatve slate ironed out until at least the weekend.

Mercer County Democratic Party Chair Richard McClellan says the party remains committed to state Rate Counsel Seema Singh, who won a party nominating convention on Saturday. But there's also some party buzz beyond the county about getting a strong, Hamilton-based candidate to go up against the Republican Senate candidate, Assemblyman Bill Baroni. Gilmore has expressed an interest in running for the State Senate in the past.

Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein says she continues to consider a Senate bid.

Over a sixteen year legislative career, State Sen. Peter A. Inverso has won five times in a tough and independent-minded district, leaving potential Democratic candidates with the unpleasant sensation that if they faced him, it would probably mean months of door-to-door drudgery followed by a loss.

Now Democrats are trying to agree on a strategy to defeat popular Assemblyman Bill Baroni, who received the support of the Mercer GOP organization tonight by acclamation.

At Saturday’s Mercer County Democratic convention, Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein and state Rate Counsel Seema Singh talked about the upcoming campaign. Operating under the assumption that Inverso would run, Greenstein decided run for re-election to the Assembly, while Singh, who has worked for three Governors but has never run for public office, would take the shot against Inverso, and chalk the inevitable defeat up to experience.

If Inverso decided not to run, however, Greenstein and Singh today acknowledged an agreement to possibly switch places on the ticket, agreeing to back each other.

 Today the chairs of six of the seven Republican municipal committees in the 14th Legislative District announced their support for Bill Baroni for State Senate with a joint statement:

Senator Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union, Essex, Morris, Somerset) announced today his support for Bill Baroni for State Senate, saying: “I’ve worked with Bill Baroni for seven years and am proud to have known him for over a decade.

HAMILTON - Citing strong support for Bill Baroni’s bid for State Senate, the following statement of support was issued today by Mercer County Republican Chairwoman Cathy Tramontana: