Mayor Rob Greenbaum says he’s considering whether to toss his hat into the ring for the upcoming vacancy in the 24th district.
After she was hired as Franklin’s business administrator, current Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose (R-24) announced on Jan. 1 that she planned to vacate her seat, but she has not yet set a date for her departure.
Greenbaum, a Republican, said he’s still weighing his options because a run “would impact my mayorship and my decision to run for a second term as mayor.”
“I really like being mayor of Mount Olive,” he said.
One of the biggest issues, though, was whether he’d be able to drum up enough support to win since the district primarily covers Sussex County, he said.
Mount Olive is the only Morris town in the 24th district, which also includes 11 Warren County towns, but it’s also the most populous.
“I think, ultimately, if I were to run I would present a strong candidacy,” he said. “People shouldn’t really care where the person is from in the district, but what that person would ultimately bring to the table.”
John Sette, chairman of the Morris County Republican Committee, told NJ Advance Media last week McHose’s departure from the 24th district would spark a tri-county Republican convention, and that he hoped someone from Mount Olive could grab the seat.
“I’m always interested in promoting in Morris County people, but this is still in its infantile stages,” Sette said.
Greenbaum is admittedly facing an uphill challenge.
Two other candidates have already emerged in Sussex — Freeholder Gail Phoebus and, according to New Jersey Herald, former Green Mayor Marie Bilik.
Phoebus has already received the endorsement of McHose and two other legislators in the 24th District — state Sen. Steve Oroho of Franklin and Assemblyman Parker Space of Wantage, the newspaper reported.
Sette told NJ Advance Media one of the advantages to this race for Greenbaum is that it’s an open primary.
“Everybody involved is really nice people and good Republicans,” he said. “”We’ll see how it plays out.”
Originally published on Nj.com
Justin Zaremba
