Leonard Inzerillo

Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor ScudieryATLANTIC HIGHLANDS - Just one day after the 2007 general election, Monmouth County GOP Chairman Adam Puharic posted the results on his party’s website and noted gleefully that the Republicans had sumo tossed the Democrats out of the circle in every non-municipal contest - with the exception of one: a freeholder match between Democrat John D'Amico and Republican Jeffrey Cantor.

At that point, D'Amico-Cantor was undecided, and Puharic mused about the possibility of humiliating the Democrats with a shutout. But post provisional and absentee ballots, D'Amico squeaked out a victory and became the second Democrat in as many years to win a seat on the Monmouth County Freeholder Board, in a traditionally Republican stronghold.

Freeholder Barbara McMorrow, left, stands with fellow Democrats, candidates Amy Mallet and Glen Mason. 

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS - Monmouth County Democrats today backed Fair Haven businesswoman Amy Mallet and retired Hazlet police detective Glen Mason to run for two seats on the freeholder board.

Anxious for a majority after they picked up two seats in the last two years -- Republicans now have a 3-2 edge -- the Democrats unveiled Mallet and Mason as "change" candidates.

"We're one seat away from a majority," said Mallet. "With you're help, we are going for a super-majority."

The Asbury Park Press has endorsed Joseph Kyrillos for re-election to the State Senate in the 13th district. READ

If Karcher v. Beck commands attention as the blockbuster race in Monmouth county, the sheriff’s race is the undercard everyone’s also monitoring.

It pits a former assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Guadagno, a Republican Monmouth Beach Commissioner, against Belmar Police Chief Jack Hill, a Democrat.

Yes, Monmouth County has traditionally been Republican.
But it’s been a fickle place in recent times, which went for Al Gore for President in 2000 the same year it gave Jon Corzine a thumbs down in his U.S. Senate bid, where the state’s second biggest paper, the Asbury Park Press, turned in disgruntlement from the two major parties in the last gubernatorial election and endorsed the Green Party candidate.

Len Inzrerillo came within 244 votes of unseating a GOP Assemblyman in 2003. Now he's running against State Sen. Joe Kyrillos

Leonard Inzerillo can’t seem to catch a break.

He ran a close Assembly race in 2003, coming within 244 votes of ousting Joseph Azzolina, despite getting virtually no financial support from the state Democratic Party. But his quest for a rematch fell short in 2005, when he was denied the party line and came in a distant third in the Assembly primary. And after failing to file ELEC reports for parts of his 2003 and 2005 Assembly races, he dropped his bid for Monmouth County Freeholder under pressure from Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Victor Scudiery.

But you won’t hear Inzerillo blame anyone for his losses. Reports of his criticism of Scudiery and other members of the party leadership for not giving him any help were overblown, he said. Besides, he added, nobody expected him to beat Azzolina.

Brookdale Community College has canceled State Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos’ cable television show, saying the college does not want to be at the flashpoint of a political campaign.

Kyrillos had hoped to show himself in conversation with U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie, an unabashed critic of state officials and arguably the GOP's favorite leading man. But the interview Kyrillos did with the feisty Christie may air after the Nov. 6th election on a pubic access channel, and not before, said Cheryl Cummings, executive director of the Brookdale Network, which produced the program.

"The program is not running," Cummings told PoliticsNJ.com. "It’s been produced, but it’s not running." She called a plug on Kyrillos’ website alerting viewers to the pre-election times and dates of his show "inaccurate information."

The open slot on the Democratic Assembly slate in the thirteenth district was not intentional: Old Bridge resident Bob Brown had about 169 signatures on the wrong petition, leaving Patricia Walsh as the lone challenger to GOP incumbents Amy Handlin and Samuel Thompson.  Democrats are pledging a write-in campaign to nominate a second Assembly candidate -- and a Senate candidate against Minority Leader Leonard Lance in the 23rd district.

One indication that the Democrats don't intend to mount much of a challenge to five-term State Senator Joseph Kyrillos: their candidate is Leonard Inzerillo, who had a very public fight with party leaders last summer. 

Monmouth County Republican Chairman Adam Puharic’s Statement on Inzerillo Withdraw

INZERILLO BOWS OUT, THROWS FULL SUPPORT TO CHAIRMAN, PARTY AND CANDIDATES

HAZLET TOWNSHIP (MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ): Democratic Candidate for Freeholder Leonard Inzerillo today announced that he is bowing out of the 2006 election.