Monmouth Dem Chairman endorses Jones

Monmouth County Democratic Chairman David Brown has endorsed LeRoy Jones for New Jersey Democratic State Chairman.

The Monmouth endorsement brings Jones closer to the magic number of 49 ½ votes needed to win the chairmanship against incumbent John Currie.  It is not immediately clear how many of the eight Democratic State Committee votes out of Monmouth will back Brown’s choice.

“Upon consultation with the Monmouth State Committee and having a detailed meeting this past week with Chairman Jones, I am endorsing Leroy Jones today because I strongly feel he will unite the Democratic Party by bringing our Governor, Senate and Assembly Leadership and various Democratic leaders in the state together as one cohesive team,” Brown said in a statement released on Monday afternoon.

Brown said that the decision to back Jones over Currie, the choice of Gov. Phil Murphy, a Monmouth County resident, is about uniting the state Democratic party.

“The Democratic Party today is very fractured. Democrats across the state have read the news and have seen the constant battles between our various Democratic Party leaders in the state,” said Brown.

The county chairman noted that the Monmouth delegation backed Currie five times since he first ran for state party chairman in June 2013. 

“Chairman Currie is now the longest serving State Party Chairman in New Jersey history and we thank him for his incredible service to our party and our state,” Brown said.  “He is someone I deeply admire and my endorsement today of his opponent – Essex County Democratic Chairman Leroy Jones – has nothing to do with him but instead a craving to unite the Democratic Party in New Jersey and I believe Leroy Jones is in the best position to lead that unity.”

Before leaving for a family vacation, Murphy texted the Monmouth state committee members asking them to stick with Currie. 

Last week, Politico New Jersey reported that Murphy texted Democratic State Committeeman Robert Salman of Marlboro asking him to back Currie.  Salman said he has had discussions with Murphy administration officials regarding a new chief ethics officer position at New Jersey Transit.

“The election for State Chairman came up quickly a few weeks ago and I told those on both sides of the race that we would not rush into any decision. When the election kicked off on December 18th, within 48 hours. 17 or the 21 county party leaders issued immediate endorsements of their preferred candidate,” Brown said.  “We told leaders on both sides that we would take a few weeks to decide. Our Vice-Chair Mary Foster and I have had detailed conversations with all 8 members of our State Committee regarding this topic.