This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

GOP County Convention Endorses Lance, County Candidates in Springfield

County chairman promises more county candidates by filing deadline.

Union County Republicans placed an incumbent congressman on top their ticket, while leaving three countywide slots unfilled, during the annual convention on Saturday.

Meeting at Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, convention delegates overwhelmingly endorsed U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance for reelection, while backing nominees for county clerk and one out of three slots on the Board of Chosen Freeholders. County GOP leaders will meet to pick nominees for the remaining two freeholder slots and the sheriff's office.

The county party endorsement provides a preferential ballot slot in the primary, along with assistance from party volunteers in the primary.

Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The most competition came for the congressional seat, encompassing most of western Union County. Lance, first elected in 2008, is facing off with Somerset County businessman David Larsen, Westfield businessman Bruce Baker and Hunterdon County resident Lon Husford in the Republican primary. Former congressional aide Ed Potosnak of Bridgewater is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the seat, which includes parts of Union, Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon Counties.

Larsen and Baker, who are both challenging the moderate Lance from the right, joined the incumbent in addressing the convention before the vote. Lance, a former minority leader of the state Senate, was considered the frontrunner, given the insider dominance of delegate slots. Lance has also secured county party backing in the other counties in the district.

Find out what's happening in Springfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Baker, a former Westfield Historial Society president, during his two minute long speech, warned the Republican Party that it has lost its way. He said he feels that the party has lost sight of its core values—specifically as being pro-business—and that it is becoming increasingly "irrelevant." Baker added that our society is moving towards that of George Orwell's 1984.

In his speech Larsen attacked Lance, labeling the incumbent as a third generation politician. In contrast, Lawson said that he himself was a third generation businessman. Lawson also attacked Lance for voting for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) while in office, as well as voting for congressional salary raises. Lance's father is a former state Senate president who co-wrote the current state constitution.

Lance, countering in his speech, said that he too is a third generation businessman, practicing law, and that members of his family have been politicians "as a matter of civic responsibility." He also said that while he was not in office for the first half of the TARP bill, he voted against the second half. Lance was not done, assuring the representatives that he never voted for any raises.

Lance moved on to state his positions on a few prominent issues and pointed out a number of successes from his last two year congressional term. He affirmed his belief that Israel is a friend and Iran is an enemy, that the terrorists involved in the September 11 attacks should be tried in a military tribunal, the recently passed health care bill is wrong, and that we "should not go on tour around the world apologizing for the United States of America."

Lance promoted his authorship of a state constitutional amendment during his final year in the state legislature to prohibit state government borrowing without voter approval. The amendment, approved by voters in 2008, has been a top campaign item for Lance, who has been touting his fiscal conservative stance in recent weeks.

After the ballots were counted, Lance took the congressional endorsement by a landslide, receiving 154 votes of about 200 ballots.

Lance took the endorsement with 154 out of 200 ballots, capturing the county line in June's primary. Lance did not receive the line in 2008, when delegates chose former Summit Common Council President P. Kelly Hatfield over Lance, former Scotch Plains Mayor Martin Marks and gubernatorial progeny Kate Whitman. Larsen and Baker have both said they intend on running in the June primary.

The incumbent received wide support from many of the Republican officials in attendance.

"Government is spending too much money and we need somebody to be fiscally responsible and [Lance] has that track record," Skibitsky said.

Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-Summit) said that she respects Lance's knowledge of constitutional law and his support to keep states' rights intact and that he doesn't let the federal government interfere too greatly with state affairs.

Lance said he was pleased to have the support of the county in his reelection effort.

"I hope that we Republicans can go into the majority in the House of Representatives in November," Lance said. "I think there needs to be a check and balance at the federal level that does not currently exist."

Following the congressional endorsement, county Republicans backed two nominees without opposition. Linden attorney Arthur Zapolski gained the nomination for county clerk, while former Rahway Councilwoman Elise Bochicchio-Medved gained a nomination for county freeholder.

According to county Republican Chairman Phil Morin, Zapolski spent 30 years as a captain in the United States Air Force, served as liaison in the Texas House of Representatives, before becoming an attorney in Linden. He unsuccessfully challenged county Surrogate James LaCorte in 2009.

Morin stressed that Zapolski's experience is a good fit for the clerk's job, which involves administering county elections, maintaining records of deeds and mortgages and processing a variety of paperwork, including passport applications. The clerk's office serves as a revenue center for county government.

"It is important to have [in the clerk's office] someone who has strong managerial skills and a managerial background," Morin said.

LaCorte defeated Zapolski by just under 13,000 votes in the surrogate's race.

Zapolski will face Democratic incumbent Joanne Rajoppi for the clerk's office. Rajoppi, a former Springfield mayor and county freeholder chairwoman, is seeking her fourth five year term in the job. Previously she served 12 years as county register of deeds and mortgages, a job that was folded into the county clerk's office after Rajoppi was first elected clerk in 1995. Rajoppi has served in elective office since the early 1970s following her election to the Springfield Board of Education.

In 2005, Rajoppi defeated Plainfield Republican Chairwoman Saundra Spector by just over 34,000 votes.

Bochicchio-Medved ran for the state Assembly in 2005 alongside Republican Scotch Plains Mayor Nancy Malool. Malool and Bochicchio-Medved lost to Democratic incumbents Jerry Green and Linda Stender by a 2:1 vote. Bochicchio-Medved also unsuccessfully sought a freeholder seat in 2002, finishing sixth out of six candidates.

According to Morin, the Republicans had a second candidate running for freeholder as of earlier this week. Morin did not offer a name because the identity of the candidate had not yet been released to the public. Morin did say, however, that the candidate had to pull out of the race because his employer informed him that he could not run for public office.

In total, there are three freeholder positions that are up for election this year. Morin said that the remaining two Republican freeholder candidates, as well as the nominee for county sheriff, will be chosen by the executive board of the Union County Republican Committee in the very near future. The filing deadline for the June primary is April 12.

Morin, a former Cranford mayor, said that under normal circumstances, candidates would interview with the committee before being unveiled at the convention. However, due to unfavorable timing, the candidates were not able to convene with the committee, and therefore they will be interviewed shortly following the convention.

Bochicchio-Medved and her eventual running mates will face Democratic incumbents Dan Sullivan of Elizabeth and Bette Jane Kowalski of Cranford, along with newcomer Plainfield Councilwoman Linda Carter. Sullivan, the current freeholder chairman, was first appointed in 1995 is seeking his sixth full term. Kowalski, the freeholder chairwoman in 2007, was appointed to replace Westfield Democrat Mary Ruotolo in 2004 and is seeking her third full term. Carter replaces Freeholder Rayland Van Blake on the ticket. Van Blake did not gain the support of county Democratic leaders for a second term.

The sheriff nominee will face Democratic incumbent Ralph Froelich, who is seeking his 12th three year term. Froehlich, a former Elizabeth councilman and police officer first elected in 1977, is the longest serving sheriff in state history.

In 2007, Froehlich defeated Summit attorney Peter Lijoi by slightly over 13,600 votes.

County Republicans will face a tough climb during the election, with Democrats outnumbering the GOP countywide. The Republican Party has not won a county wide election since 1994. Rajoppi is the highest vote getter in county history, with Froehlich taking second place in the category. In 2009, Fanwood Republican Nicole Cole finished approximately 5,000 votes behind Freeholder Mohamed Jalloh in one of the closer county races in recent years.

Morin is optimistic, though, citing the surprise 2006 defeat of longtime Democratic Linden Mayor John Gregorio by independent Richard Gerbounka in the Democratic stronghold. Gerbounka is seeking reelection to a second term in a race which is likely to be one of the top battlegrounds in the county.

"If there was ever an election where the incumbent office holder was in the crosshairs, it's this one," Morin said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?