Race to watch is for Bergen GOP Chairman; and a plug for Charlie Stile's excellent story on the Bergen GOP in the 1960's

I think Ortiz will win. The rank-and-file respect what he's re-built. The Unanue thing was a bungle, but didn't cause any permanent damage to the party.

Did he come back from Colorado yet, and if so did he even vote, since he has a poor primary voting record...

Oh yea, he is a NEW YORK RESIDENT!!

Way to go Rob!

http://www.gopusanj.com

If Rob Ortiz thought Jersey Joe was no longer viable because of the manifesto, then the honorable thing to do was to call a BCRO meeting and try to rescind the endorsement up front, not work behind the back to undermind a standing endorsement by the committee.

I am guessing Ortiz loses. Bob Yudin is not an arch conservative, but at least he will listen to all sides of the party.

One other thought: even if Ortiz wins, how long until he jumps ship when he sees an opportunity that he views as better. You know he was angling for a job from Rudy. At least with Yudin, the committee can be pretty certain that he'll stick around.

If the Dems can come together after their bitter in fighting why cant we.? Just imagine the combined money and energy, youth and experience of a fusion ticket Ortiz, Ben F , Bob Y, Rob Schroeder, Bill Thomson etc etc. The Dems have voted for Corruption Inc to continue in Bergen County. Its time for a taxpayers bill of rights in Bergen. It will be interesting to see who will be first to put their ego aside after this race and get on board.

He hates conservatives, is a single issue abortion zealot and his influence can be seen by Dick Zimmer's second worst showing in the state. At least Yudin wants to win. All Ortiz is looking for is a payday.

i'm guessing someone whizzed on your cornflakes this am. Wanting to win is great but for all those earnest hopes and desires, Bob Y has never gotten it done. Criminy, because of his prior 50,000 and 40,000 vote losses, he can actually claim that last year's 12,000 vote loss was a drastic improvement.

I'm not saying he's a bad guy. He's stepped up in the past and that is something. Bottom line though is he is not the guy for this job and everybody knows it.  The only people I see supporting him are people looking to advance their own interests and agendas, not the interests of the party.

oh yeah, your rant is just unsupportable paranoid drivel.

Throughlymoderatemillie, of course, brands anyone who disagrees with her as a hater. That's right out of the John Lindsey handbook.

The fact is that Rob Ortiz hasn't just taken the highroad. He took potshots at his critics in his three-page letter. And the suggestion that he respected the BCRO decision because Jersey Joe remained on the county line is absurd. Ortiz could not legally remove Jersey Joe from the line, but he did everything he could to undermine his candidacy. As for Bob Yudin not being able to fundraise or "get it done," I can tell you that I got more campaign mailings financed by Yudin last year than by the BCRO. That says a lot. And Ortiz did absolutely nothing to assist the candidates in the 39th, let alone the 37th.

I freely accept that Bob Yudin is not a staunch conservative. But at least he will listen to all sides of the party. Ortiz will never unify the party because he has made it perfectly clear that he only cares about one wing of the party.  

Also, Yudin will spend more time at being chair. Ortiz has a fulltime job as a lobbyist-attorney and young kids. You can bet that even if reelected, he will jump ship at the first good opportunity. In the meantime, we should try to beat the Democrats by offering a difference,  instead of imitating their party's imperial bossism in Bergen.

A hater is someone who criticizes and drops bombs for the sole purpose of damaging someone else.

You wanna disagree with me go ahead. I respect that.  That doesn't make you a hater.  Just be fair and be accurate. The gop.observer and vincognito posts are neither fair nor accurate.

As for the observer, I saw no potshots in the Ortiz letter. I think you are a tad sensitive. On the other hand, has Bob Y said anything, anything other than Rob Ortiz is the devil? He hasn't told us why he would be a good chairman, can you? Is all the money he has raised...no can't be that. Is it all the elections he has won...strike 2.  Wait, maybe it's his relationships throughout the state and the country with party leadership, donors and others who can get things done...no, those are Ortiz's relationships.

You are also wrong about the line. As chair Ortiz did have the legal authority to remove Pennacchio from the line. He couldn't have been plainer that he never considered that as an option. Funny, though, I noticed that you didn't respond to the part about Bob choosing to protect himself last year rather than standing up when Guy screwed the county committee and sitting legislators.  Do you have an answer for that?  

You got more mail from Yudin, that's great. How'd that work out for you? Maybe it cut the margin of defeat from 40,000 to 12,000.  Not exactly what we should be writing home about.  Ortiz raised more money in less than a year than Talarico raised in over 2 years.

What wing of the party is it that Ortiz favors? What is that based on? You're just making this up aren't you?

Your last paragraph is barely worth dignifying with a reponse. Are we to understand that you have some keen insight into Rob's priorities, hopes and aspirations? You're just making that up too aren't you.

As for vin, that post is less silly but still flawed. Yes, Bob Y did call for an open convention 2 years ago and that was the right call. I never said he was a bad guy, I just think he is incredibly misguided. As right as he may have been in '06, we was that wrong in "07.  He still has to answer for his choice last year when he stood with Guy while he totally neutered the county committee. That was a far more egregious insult to the sovereignty of the county committee than the Pennacchio non-situation this year. Bob chose to look out for himself.  Bob's entire position on that issue is therefore totally hypocritical.

He also still has to answer for calling out Assemblywoman Vandervalk after the '06 primary when he screamed "you're next Charlotte...we're coming after you next"  Or is that how he is going to listen to all sides of the party? 

As for ENCAP, regardless of what you say, shouldn't we be most influenced by the fact that Mayor Hipp is enthusiastically supporting Ortiz's re-election.

If you guys want to debate I'm all for it. Just read this post first. Note that it deals with facts, that there is no speculation or guesswork, and no insults. See if you can do the same.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergenpolitics/Jersey_Joe_nearly_scored_... Its time for everyone on all sides to stop the fighting and donate to the local and county candidates now. If you dont donate you really cannot complain. Did any of you donate last year ? Did any of you walk with or donate $$$ to Judith Fisher last year ? or the county team ? We cannot afford any more bad press. Who is going to step up and unite after Tuesday ?

you are truly grasping for straws now

that is probably the most nonsensical statement i have ever seen on this site and there have been some doozies

if i were a betting man, i'd wager that the Pennacchio camp would agree that Ortiz is the better choice for chair

there is no problem with Morris County and even if there were, it wouldn't be an issue

As a Yudin supporter, i'm guessing you really don't want to talk about which candidate has better party connections THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE STATE