The Gloucester County Republicans’ Lincoln Day event used to be a somewhat muted affair during the Sweeney era, Save Jerseyans. In recent years, hard-charging GOP Chairwoman Jacci Vigilante kicked it up a notch with high-end speakers and new energy.
On Friday night, her organization reached a new level with an overflow crowd at Monroe Township’s Scotland Run country club including a large showing of GOP notables from around the state. If the mood of the room was reduced to a single word it would’ve been “momentum.” There was a major announcement, too, confirming attendees’ optimism: a mayor and two councilmen defecting from the Democrats.
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Mayor Richard DiLucia, Councilwoman Katherine Falcone and Councilman Steven McKinney all confirmed that they’re switching parties. Township council now moves from 6-1 Democrat to 4-3 Democrat setting up yet another pivotal 2022 control race for a Glouco Democrat establishment that’s suddenly on the ropes after decades of dominance.
I caught up with DiLucia and Vigilante before the cocktail hour to ask the obvious question:
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DiLucia is a labor guy and formerly served as AFSCME Local 1099 vice president (among other roles). It was a common theme in the room: labor gradually switching teams from “blue” to red is playing a major role in Glouco’s conversion from a lean-blue Camden Machine satellite county to a place Jack Ciattarelli carried by 11-points last fall.
Glouco Republicans were obviously abuzz regarding Monroe but they also unveiled the party’s endorsed 2022 commissioner slate: Stephen Pakradooni (who carried the Gloucester County section of LD4 during his 2021 state senate run) and Harrison Township Committeeman Adam Wingate. If the pair defeats Democrats Frank DiMarco and Denice DiCarlo in November, then Republicans will take control of the board for the first time since the 1980s.
One of the more remarkable aspects of the evening was the interest from outside the county.
There was a statewide vibe: Congressman Jeff Van Drew (who represents multiple Glouco towns), Cumberland Chairman/Senator Mike Testa, Cape GOP Chairman Mike Donohue, LD1 Assemblyman Antwan McClellan, LD3 Senator Ed Durr (who hails from Glouco but whose district goes further south, too), and rising star Bridgewater Mayor Matt Moench.
I asked one attendee what he thought about Steve Sweeney’s new think tank at Rowan University.
“Tonight will be better attended,” he replied with a wry smile.
Humor aside, no one in the room downplayed the difficulty of the challenge ahead. They simply weren’t exactly shy in admitting that they liked their chances.
