William Flynn

Monmouth County Freeholder Robert Clifton has decided not to challenge Assemblyman Samuel Thompson in the 2007 Republican primary, and Republicans say that the 71-year-old legislator appears to be in good shape to win re-nomination for a sixth term. Thompson is from Old Bridge in Middlesex County and there has been speculation that the Monmouth GOP might push him toward retirement.

In 2005, Thompson was the top vote-getter in a three way primary for the two 13th district Assemby seats. Amy Handlin, then a Monmouth County Freeholder, defeated longtime incumbent Joseph Azzolina by a 624 vote margin.

Democrats have still not decided if they will make a serious bid to unseat Thompson and Handlin next year. Former Assemblyman William Flynn is still mullling a run for the Legislature.

Former Assemblyman William Flynn says he will wait until after the fall election to decide if he will run for office in 2007. Flynn, an ex-Mayor of Old Bridge who served in the State Assembly from 1974 to 1986, is considered a possible candidate for State Senate or Assembly in the 13th district.

Democrats came within 1,792 votes of winning a seat on the all-Republican Monmouth County Freeholder Board last November -- if not for the 18,698 votes cast for the Asbury Park Press-endorsed Green Party candidate they probably would have won two seats -- so Monmouth was expected to be a battleground county in 2006 as the GOP seeks to defend two more of their seats. But infighting among Monmouth Democrats makes a victory there this fall far less likely.

Monmoth County Democrats announced this week that they would no longer support their Freeholder candidate, Leonard Inzerillo, because the former Middletown Board of Education member's failure to file campaign finance reports for his 2005 Assembly campaign. The controversy over the ELEC reports led to a very public fight between Inzerillo and the Democratic County Chairman, Victor Scudiery.

Scudiery and Inzerillo have had a rocky relationship since 2003, when Inzerillo within 244 votes of ousting longtime Republican Assemblyman Joseph Azzolina. He blamed state and county Democrats for failing to help him finance his campaign. Had Democrats given Inzerillo money, he likely would have won that seat. Scudiery refused to back Inzerillo for an '05 rematch; instead the nominations went to former Assemblyman William Flynn and Keansburg attorney Michael Dasaro, who beat Inzerillo in the primary but lost the general election.

Codey Filed the Following Nominations

Former Assemblyman William Flynn, who lost a third comeback bid in the 13th district last week, says he will run again. "I definitely will be running in 2007," Flynn told PoliticsNJ.com. "Events showed that with a fair amount of money Iwould have won. I carried a majoirty of the towns (in the district.) With just 10% of the money spent in the targeted districts, I would have been successful. We were outspent 6-1. .My opponents will be lost in a maze of a Democratic Administration and probably accomplish little for their constituents. I also anticipate a great Corzine Administration which will be of great help in getting the voters to realize that they are better off with Democrats." Flynn first won an Assembly seat in 1973 and lost it in the 1985 Kean landslide year. He lost Assembly races in 1987 and a Senate race in 2003.

Two men seeking election to the State Assembly in the November 8th election were on the ballot for the same office in 1977: Democrat William Flynn and Republican Miquel Sanabria. Flynn was re-elected to third term that year -- he lost his seat in 1985 and is now making his fourth comeback bid in the Middlesex/Monmouth 13th district. Sanabria ran in the Newark-based 29th district against Democrats Willie Brown and Eugene Thompson, winning a little more than 5% of the vote.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission ruled today that candidates failing to meet the threshold in the clean elections pilot project could return checks given to them, but that data disclosing those contributions recieved will have to be provided to study the problems with the project. This may cause some trouble for Democrats William Flynn and Michael Dasaro, who have returned checks they collected months ago, even though they were not authorized to return checks as a result of today's advisory opinion ELEC did not figure out how to retrieve contributions given electronically that were automatically deposited in the State Treasury.

Flynn and Dasaro challenge GOP to debate

In the 13th Assembly District, Democrats William Flynn and Michael Dasaro have challenged their GOP foes to debate at least once in all nine towns.