Elia Pelios

Assemblyman Rick Merkt forced two Democratic County Chairmen to apologize for filing an ethics complaint against himTwo Democrats today publicly withdrew an ethics complaint they filed against Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Morris) last year.

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr and former Somerset County Democratic Chairman Elia Pelios last year filed a complaint with the Joint Committee on Ethical Standards alleging that Merkt had violated the state’s conflicts of interest law and the legislative code of ethics related to his vote on the 2002 budget.

The ethics complaint, which was also filed against six other Repulbican legislators, was dismissed a month later after the committee found that it went beyond the statute of limitations. But Merkt took particular offense to it, filing a lawsuit against the the two Democrats charging libel and defamation of character.

MANVILLE - In a contest for Somerset County Democratic Party chair, Peg Schaffer winsPeg Schaffer of Bedminister prevailed over former county freeholder Michael Ceponis at the VFW Hall tonight.

The pair had matched up against each other after Rebecca Perkins of Warren dropped out and endorsed Ceponis.

Schaffer, who won 185 votes to Ceponis's 132 on first ballot, had received the support of retiring chair Elia Pelios.

Three Somerset County Democrats hope to succeed outgoing Chairman Elia Pelios tomorrow.

Peg Schaffer, Mike Ceponis and Rebecca Perkins all hope to reinvigorate the party, which has struggled over the last couple decades to overcome complete Republican domination.

Schaffer, who’s backed by Pelios, appears to be the favorite, with state Democratic sources saying they expect her to be the next chairwoman.  But her opponents have used that against her, saying that electing her to the top position will essentially be a continuation of the last 10 years under Pelios.

Insiders say that there are three leading candidates for Somerset County Democratic Chairman: Michael Ceponis, who was the last Democrat to win election to the Somerset County Board of Freeholders (Christie Whitman unseated him in 1982); former Warren Township Board of Education Rebecca Perkins, who ran a close race for Freeholder in 1999; and Margaret Schaffer, the Bedminster Democratic Municipal Chair.  The incumbent, Elia Pelios, is not seeking re-election.

SOMERVILLE - Elia Pelios will not pursue a sixth term as chairman of the Democratic Party in Somerset County.

"After ten years of banging my head against the wall, I've come to the realization that there's only so much more time before brain damage sets in," said the 38-year old chairman who operates in a GOP-controlled county.

Still, Pelios said this year's presidential primary generated new registered Democrats, and for all of the organizational advantages that Republicans enjoy in Somerset, they number just 1,000 more than the Democrats.

Somerset County Democratic Chairman Elia Pelios is stepping down after ten years.  Democratic County Committee will meet in June to replace him.

Four candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination for Somerset County Freeholder to oppose Republicans incumbents Peter Palmer and Bob Zaborowski: Somerville Councilman Dennis Sullivan, Montgomery Mayor Celia Xie Birge, North Plainfield Councilman Douglas Singleterry, and Rev. John Graf, the former Somerset County United Way Chairman who sought the GOP nod in 2007.

Somerset County hasn’t elected a Democratic Freeholder since 1979, but Democrats think that this year they just might be able to capitalize on Republican misfortune and pull it off.

This year, two women from the small town of Green Brook are battling it out to see whether the county’s five-member freeholder board will remain all Republican, or whether it will be joined by a lone Democratic voice for the first time since 1982, after Christie Whitman took the seat from Michael Ceponis. The Democrats have fielded Green Brook Committeewoman Melonie Marano, while Republican’s have tapped the town’s mayor, Patricia Walsh.

Here's a partial transcript of an instant message exchange between PoliticsNJ.com and Somerset County Democratic Chairman Elia Pelios:

Politics NJ: So who is stepping up to help you win in Somerset this year?

Elia Pelios: Well, clearly, the GOP

Democrats in the 7th Congressional District aren’t thinking twice about fielding Assemblywoman Linda Stender to run for the seat again in 2008, despite the fact that she already lost once.

That’s because Linda Stender did better than anyone expected last November, coming within one point – just about 3,200 votes -- of unseating incumbent Republican U.S. Rep Mike Ferguson in a district that hasn’t elected a Democratic congressman or woman since 1954.

Ethics complaints filed against seven GOP legislators by Democratic County Chairmen Richard Perr of Burlington and Elia Pelios of Somerset have been dismissed by the Joint Committee on Ethical Standards.  One Republican, Assemblyman Richard Merkt, says he may file a defamation lawsuit against Perr and Pelios for falsely accusing them of unethical conduct.  

A statement issued by Merkt labeled the complaints a "politically-motivated smear by state Democrats to divert attention from the recent federal criminal indictment of Democrat Senator and kingpin Wayne Bryant, as well as numerous ongoing federal criminal probes into Democrat legislators who steered state grants so they could profit personally."