Politics & Government
Morristown GOP Leader: 'We're Pretty Happy' to Still Be In 25th District
County's seat remains firmly planted on Republican legislative turf.
The more things change, the more things stay the same.
While legislative district boundaries shifted across the state this weekend, Morristown remains in the 25th District—a legislative grouping consisting almost entirely of Morris County communities. It continues to be represented by state Sen. Anthony R. Bucco, Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco and Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, also Republicans.
And though the makeup of both districts has changed—scroll down to the bottom of this article to see a full breakdown of the new 25th District—it's still clearly Republican turf.
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“It doesn't really affect Morristown at this time,” said Mary Dougherty, the municipal chair for Morristown on the Morris County Democratic Committee, and wife of Morristown mayor Timothy Dougherty. “We'll be keeping an eye out to the future, what our needs are and see how that works as far as the redistricting. For today, it doesn't do much to change our role at this point.”
And her Republican counterpart, Frank J. Vitolo, said he's relieved to still be in the district Morristown's called home.
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“There was some talk early on about Morristown moving out of the 25th," he said. "We're pretty happy that didn't happen, where we have Reps. [Michael] Patrick [Carrol] and [Anthony] Bucco, whom I like a lot."
The 25th District lost Jefferson and Rockaway Township to the 26th District. It picked up Washington Township, Bernardsville, the Chesters, Mendham Borough and Netcong.
The changes come as political lines move throughout New Jersey. The commission responsible for drawing the state's legislative districts in the aftermath of the 2010 census has made its decision, and approved a legislative map favored by Democrats overall.
The redistricting process involved a commission of five Democrats and five Republicans, the latter with political support from Gov. Chris Christie. Each side drew its own map for the state, and a tiebreaker vote was cast over the weekend by a non-partisan, judge-appointed commission member, Rutgers public policy professor Alan Rosenthal. The professor sided with the Democrats, saying their map was less disruptive to the state.
Assemblyman Bucco, son of the senator, said he's glad that "the towns that we picked up [in the 25th District] are good, solid Republican towns. They've got great Republican leadership in those towns. I'm looking forward to getting to know them."
Republicans statewide have criticized the new map, saying it protects incumbent Democrats and unevenly represents populations in the northern and southern halves of the state.
“Overall it is what it is," Vitolo said. "We probably could have done a little better, but nothing we could do about it.”
Key Changes in Eastern Morris County
Morris County Democratic Committee Executive Director Chip Robinson said he was excited by one change to the local legislative map—the traditionally Democratic and Essex County-centric 27th District picked up several towns on his turf. It gets Harding, Chatham Township, East Hanover, Hanover and Madison (it also gets as Essex County's Millburn).
"I'm very, very happy," Robinson said. "For the first time I'm going to have some Democratic representation in my county."
The county last sent a Democrat to the state legislature in 1993, when Gordon MacInnes of Morris Township was the 25th district's senator. His single term ended in 1997.
"I think you're certainly going to see very competitive local races in the eastern part of the county," Robinson said, predicting a down-ticket impact. The changes do, however, mean the Democratic committee will need to scramble to place candidates in legislative races, as several of those on its expected slate live in towns that have changed districts.
But John Sette, chair of the Morris County Republican Committee, said Morris would remain "100 percent Republican for municipal and county."
"You can tell my friend at the Democratic Committee not to worry. They went from absolutely no shot to absolutely no shot," Sette said. "Every year, they tell us this is their year. I'll believe it when I see it."
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