Baroni throws hat in ring and Greenstein may follow suit
By: Paul Koepp
State Sen. Peter Inverso announced Monday he is retiring after five terms, opening up his 14th District seat and setting up a possible battle between two incumbent Assembly members.
Sen. Inverso, a Republican from Hamilton, has represented the district, which includes West Windsor and Plainsboro, since winning election in the backlash against Democratic Gov. Jim Florio in 1991. He said he is leaving to devote more time to his family and business. He is president and chief executive officer of the Roma Savings Bank.
Assemblyman Bill Baroni, also from Hamilton, has the official party nod to run in Sen. Inverso’s place. Mr. Baroni had announced his intention last week to seek a third, two-year term in the Assembly, prior to Sen. Inverso’s announcement.
Linda Greenstein, a four-term Democratic assemblywoman from Plainsboro who had also planned to seek re-election, is now considering whether to take on Mr. Baroni.
South Brunswick resident Seema Singh has the endorsement of the Mercer County and Middlesex County Democrats to run for state Senate. However, both Ms. Greenstein and Ms. Singh confirmed that they had agreed ahead of time to reconsider their positions on the ballot if the Senate seat opened up. Both women circulated petitions for both offices, Ms. Greenstein said.
"If I stay in the Assembly and can still provide the same services, I’ll be happy with that, too," Ms. Greenstein said.
If Ms. Greenstein were to seek the Senate seat, then Ms. Singh, who is stepping down as state ratepayer advocate next week, would run for Assembly. Ms. Greenstein plans to make her choice by Tuesday.
Ms. Singh said she still plans to be the Senate candidate.
"I have the support of the Middlesex and Mercer County Democrats," she said. "I’m very passionate about running, and I’m looking forward to it."
She cannot discuss specific campaign issues until April 6, when she will no longer be a state employee, she said.
Local officials say that Mr. Baroni will be a strong candidate. He finished ahead of Ms. Greenstein in the last two Assembly elections, including a narrow victory in Democrat-controlled South Brunswick. In addition, three labor locals representing state workers announced on Tuesday and Wednesday that they were endorsing his candidacy.
Plainsboro Republican Municipal Committee Chairman Kip Luther called Sen. Inverso’s departure "a bit of a shocker."
"I’m a little disappointed, but I have a lot of confidence in Bill Baroni," he said. "I’m very confident that he’ll work along the same lines that Peter always did."
West Windsor Republican Municipal Committee chairwoman Lois Morgan said she was sad to hear about Mr. Inverso’s departure, but said she’s not worried about her party losing his Senate seat. "The bad news is Pete is leaving. The good news is it gives Bill the opportunity to step in. He has the same belief system and he has the same type of integrity that Pete had."
Mr. Luther said he thinks voters will recognize that Mr. Baroni "carries very similar credentials" to Sen. Inverso.
"They’re two different individuals and have their own personalities and so forth, but they did work together and campaign together," he said. Mr. Baroni said he was "very sad" to hear of Sen. Inverso’s retirement.
"My family used to sit in the pew behind his at church," he said. "He has been my mentor for many years."
Ms. Morgan said Sen. Inverso played that role for many.
"He has been a tremendous influence on a lot of young people and I’m sure they’ll still go to him for advice and council. I don’t expect him to drop off the radar totally," she said, "but he won’t be sitting in Trenton."
Mr. Baroni said he wants to follow in Sen. Inverso’s footsteps by focusing on ethics reform and property-tax reform.
Traffic is another chief concern, he said. Mr. Baroni said that the proposed Route 92, which supporters said would ease traffic on Route 1, was "the wrong road at the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. The proposed toll road would have linked the New Jersey Turnpike with Route 1 at Ridge Road, but has been taken off the books by the Turnpike Authority. Mr. Baroni has introduced legislation to revoke the turnpike authority’s authorization for the roadway. He said the decision to use funding originally set aside for Route 92 to widen the turnpike was a better use of the turnpike’s money.
He also wants to divert trucks from Route 1 and Route 27 by lowering truck tolls on the turnpike during off-peak hours.
Ms. Greenstein said her legislative record has been "consumer-oriented." Like Mr. Baroni, she highlighted her support for ethics reform and property tax reform, and her opposition to Route 92.
Her most popular initiative was the state do-not-call list, she said, calling it the strongest in the nation.
Mr. Baroni said he looks forward to debating Ms. Singh. He called her a "very bright and issue-oriented" candidate.
"Seema Singh will be a dynamic candidate," said Mayor Richard Pucci, chairman of the Monroe Democrats, citing her "unique background" in an area with a fast-growing Indian-American population. Ms. Singh was born in India.
Mercer County Republicans will probably pick a candidate from Hamilton at their convention Saturday to fill the Assembly seat. Former Jamesburg Councilman Adam Bushman, who officially announced his candidacy on Thursday, is the party’s other Assembly candidate.
The Democrats, too, will "almost certainly" pick an Assembly candidate from Hamilton, Ms. Greenstein said.
Packet Staff Writer Nick Norlen contributed to this story.

