| For the first time in years, the 8th legislative District looks like it actually may be exciting. First I'll give the background and story on the district, then talk about the upcoming race.
New Jersey's 8th Legislative District encompasses 16 towns in Burlington County including Easthampton, Evesham, Hainesport, Lumberton, Mansfield, Medford Lakes, Medford, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Pemberton, Shamong, Southampton, Springfield, Tabernacle, Woodland and Wrightstown. |
| There are 127, 780 registered voters with 25% Republican, 17.4% Democrat and the majority as Independent. Republicans have dominated government at the county level for Decades, however Democrats made gains in the last election capturing another council seat in Moorestown, a seat in Mount Laurel, and a surrogate which is the 1st Democrat elected countywide in over 20 years. The town of Evesham has a May election in which the Mayor and 2 council seats are up which will determine control in the largest municipality in the district.
The district is served by 3 Republican Legislators: Senator Martha Bark, Assemblymen Francis Bodine and Larry Chatzidakis who do not have a website that I was able to find. Senator Bark was elected to the Senate in 1997, but has been in public office since 1973 serving on everything from School Board to Assembly prior to her election. She has been under investigation however for a no-show job and has said that she will not be running for re-election in 2007. Larry Chatzidakis is a businessman who was elected to the Assembly in 1997 and has also served as a Councilman, Mayor and Freeholder. Francis Bodine is a Senior Account Executive, Grinspec Consulting who was elected to the Assembly in 1992. He served in the Army, previously was a Councilman and Mayor in Moorestown, a Commissioner with the Delaware River Port Authority and a Freeholder/Freeholder Director for Burlington County.
Mount Laurel gave way to the court decision which helped determine how New Jersey Schools are funded. The district is also home to Ft Dix and McGuire Air force Bases which are also major employers in that part of the district. Overall, school performance in the district is well above the state average, with some districts recording some of the highest standardized elementary test scores and best high school graduation rates. The higher income, more developed areas of the district include Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Medford and Marlton with some areas further South in the District have extensive forests which are subject to the Pinelands Protection Act.
As I said above, Martha Bark has said she will not run for re-election. Rumors had been that the Assemblymen, Bodine and Chatzidakis wanted the seat but it appears they will be passed over and may actually both not have the party line this next time around. Reports have also said that county chairman may choose himself as the Senate candidate, but recent rumors have had it as a contest between current county Freeholder Phil Haines and Medford Mayor Scott Rudder. If Haines gets the seat, Rudder could be an Assembly candidate and the other could possibly be current Freeholder Dawn Addiego. The Democrats have not made public their candidates as of this time. |
