Demcorats have picked former Bergen County Freeholder Julie O’Brien to run for State Assembly in the 40th district to replace Ridgewood Councilman Michael Sedon.
Sedon has withdrawn from the race.
O’Brien is a former Ramsey Councilwoman. She was elected freeholder in 2006, but lost her bid for re-election to a second term in 2009.
Democratic County Committee members from the Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Morris towns in the district are expected to meet on Monday to formally award the nomination to O’Brien.
O’Brien and Little Falls councilwoman Maria Martini Cordonnier will challenge Republican incumbents Christopher DePhillips (R-Wyckoff) and Kevin Rooney (R-Wyckoff).
The 40th has 8,472 more Republicans than Democrats.
Donald Trump won the district by eight percentage points in 2016; Mitt Romney carried it by twelve points in 2012.
In 2018, the towns in the 40th went heavily for Democratic congressional candidates.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) won five of the seven Bergen municipalities in the 40th, with a margin of 4,219 votes. Rep. Mikie Sherrill carried the five of the eight towns in the other three counties by a 3,267 vote margin.
The 40th includes: Allendale, Franklin Lakes, Ho-Ho-Kus, Midland Park, Ridgewood, Waldwick and Wyckoff in Bergen; Cedar Grove in Essex; Pequannock Township and Riverdale in Morris; and Little Falls, Pompton Lakes, Totowa, Wayne and Woodland Park in Passaic.
Republicans have not filled a vacancy on the 35th district Assembly ticket following the withdrawal of Robert Cartalemi. The deadline for the GOP to find a replacement candidate against incumbents Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson) and Benjie Wimberley (D-Paterson) is September 12, although judges have been known to ignore statutory requirements like that.
Nominal “Republicans” Kevin Rooney and Christopher DePhillips are functional Democrats anyway.
Rooney and DePhillips are just transactional tools of Trenton special interests.
So there is no real substantive difference between the “Republican” or Democratic candidates in D40.
Taxpayers are screwed either way.
Yup it’s called the Uniparty… They’re taxing is right out of the state!
Well Jim S…Rooney has a 93% NRA rating…and a 0% rating with Planned Parenthood. Add to that a miserable 18% rating with the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters AND a whopping 80% with the Koch brothers PAC…and even the casual voter can see that Rooney and his all too quiet sidekick DePhillips are both dedicated Trumpublicans…and wrong for New Jersey