Burlington County Commissioner Balvir Singh says he won’t stand aside for a caretaker to fill a soon-to-be-open seat in the New Jersey State Assembly and will run in a special election convention in January to replace Rep.-elect Herb Conaway, Jr. (D-Delran) in the legislature.
“I want to be transparent about my intentions — not only do I seek to fill the unexpired term, but if successful at the convention, I also plan to pursue the nomination for the full term in the upcoming primary election,” said Singh.
Conaway must resign from the Assembly seat he’s held for nearly 27 years before taking his seat in Congress on January 3. Burlington County Democratic Chairman Matthew Riggins said today that he wants outgoing County Commissioner Dan O’Connell to serve as an interim assemblyman, allowing voters to choose in a line-free, office block ballot June primary.
Singh cited past practices of Democrats filling vacancies for county and state offices with candidates who could use the advantage of incumbency—and the county line—to box out potential primary opponents.
“At no point did any candidate seeking a temporary appointment or party leader express concerns about the timeline. Even with a November election, county committee members have historically filled vacancies as late as September, just two months before the general election,” Singh argued. “What about the future? Is each municipality, county, or state legislative vacancy from here on going to be filled temporality? Rules for thee and not for me?”
Singh’s decision to compete for the seat in January could leave him at odds with a large group of Burlington Democrats who have advocated for an open primary process as part of the new world order that gave candidates picked by insiders an advantage. Possibly complicating matters is that the poster child for these reforms is Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), the U.S. Senator-elect from New Jersey and a popular Burlington County Democrat.
The 7th legislative district is heavily Democratic, and the new Assembly candidate chosen in a primary is a clear favorite to win the general election.
“When the upcoming convention convenes, likely in January, to fill the Assembly vacancy, I trust the process will remain non-discriminatory, fair, transparent, and united in purpose,” Singh said. Win or lose, I will respect the committee members’ decision.”
Another candidate, Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie, has not yet said if she will challenge O’Connell.