Charles W. Kim

By: centraljersey.com
Democrats from Middlesex and Mercer counties will gather in Princeton Saturday to choose a replacement to fill newly elected state Sen. Linda Greenstein’s Assembly seat in the 14th district, officials said.
The convention is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. for the estimated 300 delegates from the two counties at the Hyatt Regency on Route 1, Mercer County Democratic Chairman Elizabeth Muoio said Monday.
A total of seven candidates, including South Brunswick Councilman Joe Camorata and Board of Education member Arthur Robinson, are vying for the seat along with five candidates from Mercer county communities, Ms. Muoio said.
Ms. Greenstein, a Plainsboro resident, who has served in the assembly for the district since 2000, won a special election against GOP incumbent Tom Goodwin in November.
Sen. Goodwin was appointed to the seat by Republicans when former state Sen. Bill Baroni was tapped by Gov. Chris Christie to run the Port Authority last year.
Following the November election, a number of people expressed interest in claiming the seat for the Democrats, including Mr. Camorata.
"Too many people are sitting there (in Trenton) that don’t understand what they are doing to these towns," Mr. Camorata, 57, said in a November interview. "There are so many unfunded mandates."
Besides Mr. Camorata and Mr. Robinson, five Mercer County candidates will lobby the party for the position, according to Ms. Muoio.
Ms. Muoio said the field of potential Mercer County candidates for the appointed seat include West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, West Windsor Councilman George Borek, Hamilton resident Don Tretola, former county chairman Rich McClellan, of Hamilton, and freeholders Dan Benson and John Cimino, also from Hamilton.
According to Ms. Muoio, Middlesex County has about 172 delegates and Mercer County has about 168. All delegates may not attend the convention, however, Ms. Muoio said.A first ballot will be taken and candidates with at least 20 percent of the vote will continue on to the second round of balloting. The first candidate to reach 50 percent plus one vote will win the seat, Ms. Muoio said.
Under state law, the party must swear in a new Assembly member for that seat within 35 days of when Ms. Greenstein took the oath of office for her new Senate seat, Ms. Muoio said.
Once the selection is made Saturday, the winner will likely take office Monday or Tuesday, Ms. Muoio said.
Although the majority of contenders from the seat come from Mercer County, only two of the seven municipalities are located in Mercer, according to the state.
The state legislative website lists the communities in the district as Cranbury, Hamilton, Jamesburg, Monroe, Plainsboro, South Brunswick and West Windsor.
Ms. Muoio said keeping the seat with a Mercer County representative to join Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo, of Hamilton, would keep the power balanced because Ms. Greenstein’s more powerful Senate seat represents Middlesex County.
Even when the winner is sworn into the position, he will have to win it yet again in the November general election, according to Ms. Muoio.
According to Ms. Muoio, another wrinkle could be added if the Legislature completes redistricting from the 2010 U.S. Census before the general election, which could change the political landscape of the 14th district.