6PM: Guests are now beginning to arrive. Cecila Cilli, a supporter has generously given a whole banquet of cheeses, fruits, vegetables and desserts for the event. We on the staff are awestruck by how beautiful the room looks right now. Some of Gina's old friends and tennis students (Gina, as you all know runs a tennis club in Berkeley Heights) have come, so there's plenty of reminiscing going on. Linda Stender and Tom Wyka are planning on attending, so hopefully we'll hear from them too.
615PM: Numerous guests have arrived, including Assemblywoman Linda Stender, Lisa Smith (running for Council in my hometown - go Lisa!), Dave Robinson of DFA and Nick Fixmer of the Union County Democrats (Union County is a major part of the district). Room is getting pretty crowded, with plenty of happy conversations going on. One woman remarks, "I have NEVER seen so many young people here!". Neiher have I.
640PM: Room is near full to capacity, with a thunderstorm brewin' outside. That's not stopping the whole group of us (we were expecting 50, but have MUCH more than that!) from chatting away and devouring the food also. The atmosphere is infectious with energy and shared smiles. Scott Shields, Madison, NJ council candidate Christine Tiritilli and Jeff Gardner have joined us, along with Tom Wyka.
Tom Wyka: "This is the start of even better things - GO GINA!" (his words, not mine)
My other council candidate, Howard Geminder has arrived. Howard and Lisa are running in a town that is rapidly changing, moving towards a Democratic direction. "I'm running for Council so that when Gina Genovese gets elected, we'll have a strong working relation between Trenton and Berkeley Heights," Howard says to me.
650PM: Chip Robinson (Gina's campaign manager) starts us off. "We're going to have the highest quality Senator starting in 2008" he says. He mentions that at 24 she started her own business, which has grown extensively.
Tom Wyka is next: "Can you feel the energy in here?" Tom bellows (Tom is a great speaker). He notes how he and Gina both began their political careers through Howard Dean and Democracy for America. He explains how Elizabeth Edwards' response to Ann Coulter is part of what we need to do: "to bring in people to the public world, not to drive them away". He quotes Paul Wellstone beautifully, then talks about how Tom Kean's nasty campaign in 2006 will hurt him against Gina Genovese.
Linda Stender is next: she mentions that Paul Aronsohn is here (didn't see him before), and describes how she came to know and appreciate Gina for taking the chance of running against Kean, Jr. "Gina represents the very best of what we want in a legislator", she said. She praises Gina's character, and says, "She's going to go from teaching her kids to play tennis, to teaching them how to play politics!" (A big laugh from the room)
"We want to add one more title to her resume in her literature: SENATOR!"
7PM: Gina speaks. She acknowledges "my kids", the staff and interns on the campaign (there's 12 of us so far, none older than 25). "I was not born into politics - I was drawn into it" she said to great laughter. "I was one of the 1st Mayors [in the country] to sign the Global Warming Initiative , and I was proud of it." She chided Kean Jr. for voting against Stem Cell research, the recent property tax cut in the budget, enviromental legislation and cancer research. "If I can energize all of you, my base, I WILL WIN" she said.
Gina also praised Chip Robinson for winning the Special Election in Morris Township, and for signing up as her campaign manager. Chip then introduced the various candidates and town Democratic leaders in attendance. We then dispersed for more talk and to eat.
720PM: More talk, more good times, even with the rain. Wayne Marek, NJ-26 Assembly candidate is here, along with Nelson Vaughn (running for Mayor of Chatham Borough). All of these towns, in the formerly "deep-red" areas of New Jersey, are turning Democratic with every passing year. In Chatham Borough, two Democrats were elected last year, along with a Democrat in Berkeley Heights. And IF, IF, IF we get our base out in November, there'll be a heckuva lot more Democratic officials in the area.
Paul Aronsohn: "I'm really excited to be here. Simply stated, we need more good people in government -- people who genuinely care about their communities and who recognize that public service is supposed to be about serving the public. Gina gets it, cares about it, and is willing and able to go to Trenton to fight for it. And while many people have tended to write the 21st off as a "red" district, the truth is that people here don't think in terms of Democrat or Republican -- they think in terms of what matters most to their families and to their futures. For that reason, when they go to the polls in November, they're going to think about Gina."
Wayne Marek, Assembly-26: "Viva Democrats!!! I just want to say very quickly that this is one of the finest campaign HQ's I have yet seen!!! Gina has all of ducks in a row, her "I"s dotted her "T"s crossed, hey, she even has her lower case "J"s crossed!! Chip Robinson is such an amazing person, such a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm, together they will steamroll Tom Kean Jr!!
Tom Wyka is here, the always amazing Linda Humphries is here, this fall is going to be one of the most exciting campaigns in Morris County history! Districts 21, 25, 26 and on and on are all going to bring the blue back to our area!!
All the best!! Wayne B. Marek"
(Thanks to Paul and Wayne for their enthusiasm!)
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