Redistricting Means State Run Unlikely for O'Neill

When Chatham Borough moved from the 26th legislative district to the 21st, as was announced Sunday, it caused some changes in School Superintendent Jim O'Neill's plans to run for a legislative seat.

"Chatham Borough is the only Morris County municipality in the 21st district, and they at least have on paper a full slate of candidates which they didn't anticipate changing," O'Neill said in an interview with Chatham Patch Friday. "I won't run in a primary against another Democrat."

Chatham Borough and Long Hill are the only two municipalities from Morris County now in the 21st district.

The 21st district is considered one of the safest Republican districts in the state. The district, which was created in 2001, and its predecessors have routinely elected Republicans in the legislature and produced multiple Republican legislative leaders.

Since 2001, Union County Republicans have held the districts three seats, with vacancies being hotly contested among the county party faithful seeking a chance to move up the political ladder.

A source close to the Union County Democratic Party said Democrats will be fielding candidates for the 21st district's Senate and Assembly seats. In the past, the party has fielded candidates in the district but has not heavily contested the race.

O'Neill, who announced he will retire as superintendent in June, said he's thought about running for political office before, but doing so presented a conflict of interest with his position as superintendent of the School District of the Chathams.

"When I decided to retire, it became more of a real possibility," he said, and he reached out to local Chatham and Morris County Democrats for help exploring available options.

Among those he spoke with was Ed DiFiglia, the chairman of the Chatham Borough Democrats.  

"I think Jim would make an excellent candidate. ... Part of being a superintendent is working with a lot of competing interests, and being responsive to the needs of the people," DiFiglia said. "In that respect, Jim O'Neill would be a perfect state legislator because he has experience balancing those interests in the way that best meets everyone's needs."

O'Neill said that even the process of preparing to file for a state race was "constraining," because so little was known about how redistricting would affect Chatham.

"Any other year it would have been fairly easy to get the prerequisite number of signatures and get the petition filed in a timely fashion," he said. "But when you don’t find out the new districts until April 4 and filing is due April 11, that’s difficult, especially for someone who’s new to the process."

O'Neill said he has spoken with the Union County Democratic Party about a possible run in 2013, but said he does not believe it is possible to indicate anything so far in advance.

In 2007 and 2009, former Cranford Mayor Norman Albert and Springfield Township Attorney Bruce Bergen have sought the district's two Assembly seats, but have rarely campaigned.

Former Long Hill Township Mayor Gina Genovese was the Democrats' 2007 nominee against Sen. Tom Kean Jr. for the Senate seat and ran one of the more active campaigns the district has seen from a Democrat.

The last Democrat to wage a heavily contested race for one of the district's Assembly seats was former Millburn Township Committeewoman Ellen Steinberg in 2003. Steinberg, who had also sought the Senate seat in 2001, had waged a primary campaign against the Democrats' two picks for the Assembly, defeating former Roselle Park Councilwoman Melanie Selk to win the nomination, before losing the general election.

On Thursday, Union and Somerset County Republicans renominated the 21st district's three incumbent Republican legislators for another term. Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. of Westfield will seek his third term, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick of Westfield will seek his fifth term and Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz of Summit will seek her second term. Morris County Republicans traditionally do not field an endorsed ticket in primaries, but have shown support for the incumbents in past races.

The GOP decision comes as Assemblywoman Denise Coyle (R-Bernards Township), who was moved into the 21st as part of the redistricting, briefly considered a primary challenge to Munoz. Coyle, a former Somerset freeholder director, ultimately decided to move into the new 16th district rather than challenge the formidble Munoz.