Sen. President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) gave up his Gloucester County Freeholder seat this week, dropping the tally of 20 dual elected office-holding legislators grandfathered in on Feb. 1, 2008 to eight who remain.
Only seven will remain when Assemblyman and Essex Freeholder Ralph Caputo (D-Belleville) walks away from one of those seat this spring.
“That’s not because of any pressure,” he said. “This will give someone else a chance, (plus) it’s a lot of work, like Sen. Sweeney said.”
The tally would then drop to five when the mayoral terms of state Sen. Robert Singer (R-Lakewood) and Assemblyman Ronald Dancer. (R-Plumsted) expire in 2011. Their legislative office confirmed neither would be running for re-election.
Potentially, only three dual-office holders could remain after 2011 – state Sens. Nick Sacco (D-North Bergen) and Brian Stack (D-Union City), and Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) – if two other double-timers opt out of one of their seats.
State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) and Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) face two elections each this year, and today neither committed to which campaigns they’ll be running.
State Senate:
1. Dana Redd (D-Camden) – Councilwoman, Camden
Donald Norcross (D-Camden) sits in Redd’s District 5 Senate seat, and she is working hard as mayor of Camden. The women’s caucus got Redd’s seat back in new state Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro), but some black caucus legislators are still waiting for their seat back.
2. Nick Sacco (D-North Bergen) – Mayor, North Bergen
Sacco goes about his business quietly and efficiently, so much so that his three public payroll jobs and his annual $278,000 in salaries aren’t even fodder for election opponents. Wait…he doesn’t have any election opponents.
3. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) – Mayor, Wood-Ridge
Sarlo’s term in Wood-Ridge expires this year and he would face simultaneous election cylces in November if he chooses to keep both seats. Sarlo said today he’s still looking at his options, all of his options.
4. Robert Singer (R-Lakewood) – Mayor/Committeeman, Lakewood
Singer is walking away from his municipal positions this year and concentrating on his district work, according to his legislative office. The question remains whether or not pressure from Gov. Chris Christie, who has been highly critical of dual-office holding, played a role in his decision.
5. Brian Stack (D-Union City) – Mayor, Union City
Dr. Stack M.D. is specialist and general practitioner for the most densely populated city in the nation and his town is in good health. Stack even turned down a party chairmanship in Hudson to focus on his only patient, Union City.
6. Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) – Freeholder, Gloucester County
Sweeney leaves the board at the most inopportune time, with the lockstep majority bringing two newly-elected Republicans into the fold.
State Assembly:
7. John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro) – Mayor, Paulsboro
Burzichelli – like all state legislators – will defend his Assembly seat in 2011, but his municipal term does not expire until 2012, so his dual office decision will wait. One more term and Burzichelli can celebrate his vicennial anniversary, 20 years as mayor.
8. Ralph Caputo (D-Belleville) – Freeholder, Essex County
Caputo said he’ll give one up, but which one? He doesn’t even know, Caputo said today, and he’ll wait to see a redrawn legislative map before committing to one or the other.
9. Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne) – Councilman, Bayonne
Chiappone lost his council seat, a mayoral campaign, his Assembly seat, and some of his freedom in a matter of months. His September sentencing for theft by deception assures he’ll never hold public office again.
10. Gary Chiusano (R-Franklin) – Freeholder, Sussex County
Chiusano and fellow Republican Assemblyman Scott Rumana were the only two double-jobbers to voluntarily resign their second posts as soon as the law took effect, even though they were grandfathered in.
11. Ronald Dancer (R-Plumsted Twp.) – Mayor, Plumsted Township
Dancer, like his district-mate Singer, is opting not to run for municipal re-election this year, avoiding a heavy two campaign load in 2011.
12. Joseph Egan (D- New Brunswick) – Councilman, New Brunswick
He’s approaching a decade in the Assembly, but Egan gave up his council seat in 2010 after nearly two decades. Fear not, his son won a council seat with Mayor James Cahill.
13. Elease Evans (D-Paterson) – Freeholder, Passaic County
Evans stepped down from the freeholder board in 2008 after serving as freeholder director for three years, but continues to serve in Trenton.
14. John McKeon (D-West Orange) – Mayor, West Orange
McKeon ceded his mayor’s seat in 2010, and filled it with ally Robert Parisi, who barely made the jump from councilman.
15. Paul Moriarty (D-Washington Twp.) – Mayor, Washington Township
Moriarty dumped his mayor’s seat in 2008 and the former media man has been concentrating on working with the South Jersey Dems to craft bills like the Fair Scratch-off Act and Schultz’s Law.
16. Ruben Ramos (D-Hoboken) – Councilman, Hoboken
Ramos gave up his council seat, but will keep his Assembly chair as long as district-mate Brain Stack has his back. Rumors of Ramos’ return to Hoboken to face off against Mayor Dawn Zimmer will linger until her 2013 election.
17. Scott Rumana (R-Wayne) – Mayor, Wayne
Rumana is no longer mayor, but some of the decisions he made as Wayne’s chief executive are still lingering, like an ethics complaint over the Wayne Energy Corp. situation.
18. Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) – Councilman, Passaic
His district recently under a microscope because of Fred Scalera’s resignation, Schaer faces two elections this year – municipal in May and state in November – and said he’ll make his decision on the two seats after he looks at redistricting map in March.
19. Daniel Van Pelt (R-Ocean Twp.) – Mayor, Ocean Township
Van Pelt is reporting for a 41-month prison sentence after the holidays, so his two job days are over. Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove (R-Long Beach) has taken his place in Trenton.
20. Joseph Vas (D-Pert Amboy) – Mayor, Perth Amboy
Vas lost as mayor in 2008 and gave up his Assembly seat under indictment. While he faces up to eight years in jail, his replacements, Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz and Assemblyman Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge) are doing just fine.