By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Somerset County Freeholder Jack Ciattarelli, of Hillsborough, is likely to be chosen in the next couple of weeks to fill the remaining six weeks of the Assembly term of Peter Biondi.
In January, some other Republican will be selected to fill the seat to which Mr. Biondi seat was elected Nov. 8, two days before he died. The person will serve at least through November, depending on who wins a special election next fall.
In between, Somerset County Republicans also will decide who gets to be an interim freeholder, filling the seat now held by Mr. Ciattarelli.
Somerset has never had to use the convention format to fill a vacancy, said county GOP Chairman Alfred Gaburo, of Montgomery. He’ll get a crash course quickly.
The process is complicated by the timing of the vacancy. It comes at the tail end of one 10-year redistricting configuration and the beginning of the next.
Through the first week of JanuýPage=001 Column=001 OK,0000.00þ
ary, when the two-year legislative general session ends, Mr. Biondi was representing a 16th District made up of almost all Somerset County municipalities.
When the next session begins Jan. 10, it will be comprised of members elected in districts reconfigured to meet the 2010 census figures. The Princetons, South Brunswick and some of Hunterdon County are in the new 16th; five Somerset municipalities north of Somerville have been moved out.
Hillsborough, Montgomery and Manville will continue in the 16th District.
The first step is to call together all of the elected Republican County Committee members from the municipalities in the current 16th District. State Sen. “Kip” Bateman said the GOP is eyeing Tuesday, Nov. 29, for the confab.
In all likelihood, Republicans will select Mr. Ciattarelli, who was elected Nov. 8 to a two-year Assembly term in the “new” 16th.
The selection of Mr. Ciattarelli will give him a leg up in seniority and provide time for some transition ýPage=001 Column=002 OK,0000.00þ
to a new Assembly team for the district. For the short time, he would join Denise Coyle as representatives of the district. Ms. Coyle, of Basking Ridge, decided against running again when she knew she would have to move her residence into the boundaries of the new district.
Jan. 10, Mr. Ciattarelli will be sworn to his own two-
year term, and a vacancy would be declared in the seat to which Mr. Biondi was elected Nov. 8. That will necessitate another convention — this one of “new” 16th District county committee members — probably at the end of the month, to choose an Assembly member to serve through November.
Meanwhile, the party also has to think about filling the freeholder seat that will be vacated by Mr. Ciattarelli. Mr. Gaburo said he’s hesitant to know how often he can call together county committee members so he’s trying to figure out if he can double up on the party confabs.
If it’s legally possible, he probably would like to have the freeholder slot filled at the same event the Assembly vacancy is filled.
That will require a close reading of the timing provisions in the state statute regulating succession.
New Jersey filled vacancies by special elections until the mid-1980s, but they often attracted sparse turnout. They were dropped to save money and the job given to be filled by the party committee of the departing member until the next general election.
