Politics & Government

Democrats File Ticket to Oppose Republican Lawmakers

Swanicke, Albert and Bergen to oppose Kean, Bramnick and Munoz.

Democrats have filed a team of three candidates, including two who have lost previous Assembly races, to challenge incumbent Republicans for seats in the state legislature.

Warren Township resident Paul Swanicke is challenging Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. of Westfield for the Senate seat in the 21st district. Former Cranford Mayor Norman Albert and Springfield Township Attorney Bruce Bergen will again carry the Democratic banner in a challenge to Republican Assemblymembers Jon Bramnick of Westfield and Nancy Munoz of Summit.

 made slight changes to the towns covered by the 21st district, including removing the district's only toehold in Essex County - Millburn - to a new district and halving the number of towns in Morris County from four to two. The district did pick up Chatham Borough in Morris County, along with Bernards Township and Far Hills in Somerset County. The district is dominated by Union County towns, along with the two in Morris and several in Somerset.

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This is Swanicke's first run for elective office, while Albert and Bergen have become routine candidates for the Assembly. The pair challenged Bramnick and Munoz in 2009 and Bramnick and Munoz' late husband, Eric, in 2007. Bergen has sought an Assembly seat with other running mates in previous elections and Albert unsuccessfully ran in 2003 on a ticket with former Millburn Township Committeewoman Ellen Steinberg, who is now challenging two incumbent Democratic assemblymembers in a Essex and Morris district.

Albert, the first assistant Union County counsel, served one term on the Cranford Township Committee in the 1990s and was mayor in 1995, before losing his bid for a second term. Bergen has served as Springfield's township attorney off and on since the 1990s and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in the early 1990s. Swanicke is an attorney based in Warren Township and is a former partner in the law firm of Wilentz, Goldman and Spitzer.

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Kean was first appointed to the Senate seat in 2003, following a two year stint in the Assembly. He was elected to the seat in 2003 and 2007 and became Senate minority leader in 2008. Kean was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in 2006, losing to Sen. Bob Menendez, and was defeated by former Rep. Mike Ferguson in a 2000 Republican primary for Congress.

Bramnick was appointed to the Assembly in 2003 and has been elected to four terms since. An attorney in Scotch Plains, Bramnick is a former Plainfield city councilman and the Westfield Republican chairman. He serves as the number two Republican in the Assembly and lost a race for Westfield Town Council in the 1990s. Munoz, , was appointed to the Assembly in May 2009 following her husband's death and was elected to her first term in November of that year.

Democrats have rarely put up a fight in the 21st district, which is one of the most Republican in the state. Albert and Bergen were rarely seen on the campaign trail during the 2009 election. Kean's 2007 opponent, former Long Hill Township Mayor Gina Genovese, was seen campaigning during her campaign and Steinberg waged an active race in 2003.


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