ANDY UNANUE

Rob Ortiz was widely viewed as a rising star in New Jersey politics in June 2007 when the political newcomer won 57% of the vote in his bid for Bergen County GOP Chairman after Guy Talarico stepped down one year early.  The 35-year-old lawyer was a fundraiser for Rudy Giuliani – at the time the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination – and Bergen Republicans, down on Talarico and anxious to restore their former days of glory, saw Ortiz as a bright light for their future.  But one year later, Ortiz is the underdog as he fights to win his first full two-year term as BCRO Chairman.

The race to watch next week is the contest for Bergen County Republican Chairman, where incumbent Rob Ortiz, who took over after embattled party leader Guy Talarico resigned last June, faces a challenge from former Freeholder candidate Robert Yudin and former Bergen County Utilities Authority Chairman Ben Focarino, an old hand in the BCRO who ran against Ortiz last year. Ortiz has faced criticism for, among other things, promoting the embattled Andy Unanue for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination earlier this year.

The New York Times endorsed Frank Lautenberg for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.  Sensing their work in New Jersey was over, the declined to cover the debate between Lautenberg and Rob Andrews on NJN Friday night.  The newspaper is backing Dick Zimmer for the GOP Senate nod.  Their decision not to cover the lone TV debate in the Lautenberg-Andrews primary comes a week after they moved their talented Bureau Chief, David Chen, from Trenton to New York City Hall.  The New York Times, perhaps reading Jon Corzine’s memo on filling vacancies slowly, has not yet announced who – if anyone – will represent the New York Times in New Jersey.