by Fred Snowflak, Editor The Daily Record March 23, 2008 There have been years when it took Morris County Democrats to the last moment to find candidates to run for Congress in the heavily Republican 11th District. In 1994, the selected candidate never filed a petition on time and the only Democrat on the ballot was a fringe candidate who had gained some notoriety by denying that the Holocaust ever happened. The party had to rally around write-in candidate Frank Herbert to beat that candidate in the primary. This year, Lew Candura, the Morris County Democratic chairman, ought to be overwhelmed with glee. There are three people who want the party's nomination for Congress. And you probably didn't think incumbent Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, was so easy to beat. The candidates are Tom Wyka of Parsippany, who ran against Frelinghuysen in 2006; Ellen Greenberg of Mendham Township and Harry Hager of Chester Township. All say they will file nominating petitions by the April 7 deadline. Wyka, you figure, has the most name recognition of the three in Democratic circles. His candidacy against Frelinghuysen in 2006 was a good one. Yes, that may sound dopey to say, considering that Frelinghuysen got 62 percent of the vote. But that 62 percent was about eight to 10 percentage points less than the congressman usually gets. Wyka, who formally kicked off his campaign a few months ago, probably wasn't counting on having to go through a contested primary. But he says he's ready. "I know that I have a lot of contacts, and that I have built up a tremendous amount of goodwill in the party," Wyka said. "People know I am the best to carry the message." Neither Greenberg nor Hager were overly critical of Wyka. Hager, a retired banker and former Chester school board member, said, "I credit Tom for standing up, but he's not a veteran; he doesn't have a business background." Hager had been an ardent Wyka supporter, although he did most of his work clandestinely. During the 2006 campaign, Hager was a familiar presence on my blog under the name "Vietvet," or "Vietvet for Wyka." He used that forum to write lengthy posts criticizing Frelinghuysen. Frelinghuysen is a ranking minority member on the House Appropriations Committee, and as such, Hager said last week that he bears some of the responsibility as to why money was not available to outfit U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with the proper equipment. Greenberg, an attorney, admits the difficulty that any Democrat will experience challenging Frelinghuysen in Morris County. The district includes all of Morris and small parts of Essex, Passaic, Somerset and Sussex counties. There are some Republicans who treat Frelinghuysen, whose family has been in public service literally since the birth of the United States, with great reverence. That seems odd to those outside the Republican inner circle. "We don't have kings, we don't have royalty," Greenberg said. She said of Frelinghuysen, "I perceive him as someone who seems like a nice guy, but who is out of touch." Regardless of party, primaries often come down to personalities and popularity more than issues. And, of course, politics. Morris County Democrats have a closed primary; county Republicans have an open primary. A so-called closed primary is when the Democratic committee endorses a candidate, who then gets a preferential ballot position and party support. That's usually a prescription for victory. Candura has the right to award the endorsement, or party line, unilaterally. Running the Morris Democrats is a powerful position indeed. Or, he can call a county convention of committee members and have them vote. Candura says he doesn't know yet what he will do. What's more pleasing to contemplate is how there are three Democrats running for Congress. "This to me is amazing," Candura said. "Our success has brought out the Democrats like never before." He noted that new Democratic registrations because of last month's presidential primary have increased party rolls in the county from 42,000 to 66,000. All, of course, is not rosy. Running for Congress is one thing, Democrats running for local office are another. In local elections, Candura said, "We still have trouble getting people to run." Fred Snowflack is editorial page editor of the Daily Record. Contact him at fsnowfla@gannett.com or (973) 428-6617. His column appears Sunday and Wednesday. |
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