Lesniak backs Rob Menendez for Congress

Former State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) said he will support Rep. Robert J. Menendez (D-Jersey City) when he seeks re-election to a second term next year.

“I support Rob.  I like him.  He’s hard-working.  He’s dedicated,” said Lesniak, a former New Jersey Democratic state chairman who spent forty years in the New Jersey Legislature.

Menendez represents Elizabeth, Lesniak’s hometown.

Lesniak expressed some concern over the effect U.S. Senator Bob Menendez’s indictment on federal bribery charges will have on his son’s political career.

“He should not be hurt by the alleged sins of his Dad, but he will be,” Lesniak said.

Lesniak played a major role in helping Menendez, then his colleague in the State Senate, win a congressional seat.

As Democratic State Chair in 1992, Lesniak strongly advocated for the creation of a House district that would help New Jersey elect its first Hispanic Member of Congress.

Congressional redistricting in 1992 redrew the district of a Hudson County congressman, Rep. Frank Guarini (D-Jersey City), to include a substantial number of Hispanic voters in North Hudson that had previously been in a Bergen County-based district, along with parts of Newark, Linden, Elizabeth, Woodbridge, and Perth Amboy.  Guarini declined to run for re-election rather than face a primary against Menendez.