>The Record: Rumana, Russo in the 40th
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Record
https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/65963057.html
THE REPUBLICAN primary campaign for the Assembly in the 40th District was not pretty to watch. The feud that had long simmered between Passaic County Republican Party Chairman Scott T. Rumana and his rivals, Peter Murphy and Michael Mecca, spilled over into a full-scale civil war.
There were two different Republican tickets in many Passaic County Assembly district races. But in the 40th, where Rumana was also an incumbent, the race was most bitter.
In the end, Rumana and his running mate David C. Russo beat back the challenge and seem in fit form as they head toward the home stretch in a heavily Republican district.
Indeed, the wounds from infighting have begun to heal, and there is little reason not to support the incumbents for reelection. Rumana, the former Wayne mayor, and Russo, of Ridgewood, are both attorneys. Russo seeks an 11th term in the Assembly. Both men are fiscal conservatives and social moderates, attuned to the values and concerns of their district and to the ever-escalating cost of living in New Jersey. Each favors leaner state government, and Rumana, in particular, has been an outspoken critic of the new, tougher regulations on affordable housing.
The problem we have with Rumana is not about policy. It is about his continued role as Passaic County Republican Party chairman. It might not have hurt his campaign for reelection, but certainly it hurts his party. More important, it is a distraction he doesn’t need as he works for the people of the 40th District.
Russo and Rumana’s challengers are Democrats John Agostinelli, a civil engineer from Little Falls and Mark Bombace, a firefighter and former school board member from Ridgewood.
Both men are earnest and eager and serious about public service. Agostinelli just missed being elected mayor of Little Falls a year ago. He sees many of Trenton’s problems occurring because of a “lack of planning.” Bombace believes the state’s recovery rests on a stronger education system that measures “one student at a time, based on their individual potential.”
Overall, though, and by comparison to their opponents, Agostinelli and Bombace lack governing experience and a full grasp of the issues and hard choices that must be made in Trenton in the coming term. Facing an $8 billion budget deficit, the Legislature needs as many fiscally prudent lawmakers as it can find. Rumana and Russo fit that bill.
The Record endorses Russo and Rumana for Assembly.