By Matthew Gilson | The Save Jersey Blog
From 1985 to 2014, Kathe Donovan was unbeatable.
Winning a seat in the assembly in 1985, Donovan went on to serve 22 years as County Clerk and then another 4 as the County Executive soundly defeating incumbent Democrat Dennis McNerney in 2010.
But when BCRO infighting reached a fever pitch, Kathe was defeated in 2014 by little-known Freeholder Jim Tedesco who had joined county government just a year before. All the major Democrats took a pass on the race they thought unwinnable, unaware at just how much self-inflicted damage the Bob Yudin-era BCRO had sustained. Fast forward to 2016 and Republicans have lost the County Executive seat to electoral failure, the Sheriff’s department to party-switching, and optimism heading into this November is at an all-time low.
Nestled on the June ballot this year with little fanfare amidst a backdrop of party chaos?
Kathe Donovan, seeking election to the County Committee.
Donovan will run in District 1 in Rutherford, one of the most pro-Paul DiGaetano towns in the county (Yudin’s chief rival for the chairman’s post this June). Unopposed, Donovan will almost undoubtedly win the seat replacing vanquished mayoral primary candidate Daphne Williams Fox who subsequently moved (took the loss a little hard?).
The election of Donovan itself may not be monumental, but her name on the ballot serves as a reminder of just how wrong things have gone in the BCRO in the last few years. Donovan has made no public statement as to whether she will support her former assembly running mate or her long-time nemesis, but those who know her don’t think it’s too much of a mystery. Stay tuned!
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What she should do is walk into One Bergen County Plaza …Go up to the 5th Floor and throw Tedesco the hell out of there. The fireman has no clue what he’s doing and has surrounded himself with staff who’s totally incompetent and a chief of staff who makes Jeanne Baratta look like Mother Teresa.