HILLSBOROUGH: Township Democrats to choose candidates — and more

Challengers organize "about 30" candidates for party district posts

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Township Democrats will face a primary election decision in June to determine more than their candidates for two seats on the local governing body.
   Party organization ballot contests could decide more — like the direction of the Democratic Party in the township.
   Filing by Monday’s deadline were municipal party chairman Arthur Skaar and attorney Jason Storipan, who will run as “regular organization Democrats” against former school board member Thuy Anh Le and John Beggiato, who filed as “Hillsborough Democrats.”
   Incumbents Douglas Tomson and Gloria McCauley are running uncontested for the Republican Party. Two three-year terms will be decided.
   Shortly after the 4 p.m. filing deadline Monday, the Le and Beggiato campaign released a statement that said they had organized about 30 individuals to file petitions to run for election as county committee persons in their respective election districts.
   The township Democratic Committee runs the local party apparatus and members are part of the Somerset County Democratic Committee.
   The statement said that most have filed under the heading of “Hillsborough Democrats” and will appear in columns under Ms. Le and Mr. Beggiato on the primary election ballot.
   Mr. Beggiato and Ms. Le have been endorsed the Democratic Alliance, a group of party activists in what amounts to a political club.
   Mr. Skaar said last week he had offered to reopen the screening process with all candidates, and have a new vote for preference. He suggested the party chairman — himself — might have withdrawn in the interest of unity.
   He said Ms. Le told him that she and Mr. Beggiato wanted to run as a team.
   The statement by Ms. Le and Mr. Beggiato said new committee members “will help to invigorate the Democratic Party in Hillsborough.”
      ”The official Democratic Party in town should be run by a committee of 66 elected DCs (district committee members) but the committee has been largely empty for years and little effort has been made to fill the vacant seats,” the statement said. “This has allowed the party to be controlled by a very small group. This group has used unfair and closed procedures for the selection of Democratic candidates for Township Committee.”
   They said that’s the reason neither Ms. Le nor Mr. Beggiato chose to take part in the selection process of the official party organization and instead will let the 5,891 registered Democrats decide who should be their candidates for Township Committee.
   As examples of “unfair and closed procedures” Ms. Le and Mr. Beggiato said that last year the mother of the selected candidate, Will Kole, was one of three people on the screening committee that selected him. In the three years prior to 2013, the chair alone decided who should become the candidates, they said.