Keep an eye on the hotly contested race for Middletown Township Commission, since it is a precursor to the campaign for State Assembly in the 13th district next year.  If Democrats win the local race, they will be more inclined to fund challengers to Republican incumbents Samuel Thompson and Amy Handlin in 2009.  And if the GOP takes the Middletown race, state Democrats will be hesitant to fund a campaign in a district they haven't won since 1983. 

If Joseph Kyrillos doesn’t get picked to run for Lt. Governor in 2009, he’s likely to retire from the State Senate in 2011, according to a Monmouth GOP leader with knowledge of Kyrillos’ plans.  The six-term State Senator is actively seeking the LG nod, hoping to run on a ticket with his friend, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin would be the front runner to succeed Kyrillos in the Senate -- though not at all automatic on the GOP side -- if the 13th district seat remains intact after redistricting.  If the seat is open, mapmakers could move State Sen. Jennifer Beck into District 13; her hometown, Red Bank, borders on the 13th.  That could boost the chances for Democrats to recapture the 12th district, where former State Sen. Ellen Karcher and former Assemblyman Michael Panter are mulling comebacks.

As PolitickerNJ.com begins a subjective tournament to choose New Jersey's Smartest Legislator, state Sen. Leonard Lance could be the early front runner. Lance has faced some criticism from members of his own party for being more of a statesman than a politician, but several statehouse watchers and former legislators say he may be one of the brightest people in Trenton.

"Leonard Lance is the one guy who sits in the legislature today that could have sat in the Senate in the late 1960's and early 1970's," said lobbyist/public relations executive Alan Marcus, who served as Clerk of the General Assembly in 1969, at age 21. "Leonard is a throwback to that era of the noblesse oblige, of quiet brilliance -- of people who don't speak on every issue, but who become conversant on every issue."

Lance isn't the only name that comes up in discussions about smart legislators. In the Senate, the most repeated names were Raymond Lesniak, Nia Gill, Kevin O'Toole, Bill Baroni, John Adler, Dick Codey, and Barbara Buono.

In the Assembly, Joe Roberts, Michael Patrick Carroll, Joe Malone, David Russo, and John Wisniewski were frequently mentioned as among the brainiest.

The Asbury Park Press has endorsed incumbents Amy Handlin and Samuel Thompson for the two 13th district Assembly seats.  READ

The open slot on the Democratic Assembly slate in the thirteenth district was not intentional: Old Bridge resident Bob Brown had about 169 signatures on the wrong petition, leaving Patricia Walsh as the lone challenger to GOP incumbents Amy Handlin and Samuel Thompson.  Democrats are pledging a write-in campaign to nominate a second Assembly candidate -- and a Senate candidate against Minority Leader Leonard Lance in the 23rd district.

One indication that the Democrats don't intend to mount much of a challenge to five-term State Senator Joseph Kyrillos: their candidate is Leonard Inzerillo, who had a very public fight with party leaders last summer.