GOP challengers swing at incumbents in Gloucester County

An expectant first-time father and a retired landscaper have teamed up to challenge two Democrats seeking reelection to the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Though Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in this rural county, Chris Del Borrello, 25, seems unfazed. He got a late start - entering the race only a few weeks ago as a replacement candidate - but wasted little time taking a swing.

"I'm an independent guy, not afraid to take on any member of any party, and not afraid to speak up when times are hard," said Del Borrello, a Washington Township resident whose wife's delivery date is soon after the Nov. 3 election.

Del Borrello brands incumbents Joe Chila and Robert Damminger as tax-and-spend Democrats who bow to Stephen Sweeney, the longtime freeholder director and a state senator.

"I think voters want to hear from all the people they elected," Del Borrello said, implying that Sweeney does the talking for the seven-member all-Democratic board, while the others sit in the background. Almost all votes are unanimous.

Damminger rejected that characterization. "We have seven very intelligent, very vocal voices on that board that speak their mind frequently," he said. "Steve is the director of the board and carries the message for the board."

He said most votes were for the approval of projects the board earlier discussed.

Del Borrello, whose only experience in politics was as student body president at Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Ind., joined the race when Matthew Burns, another political novice in his 20s, dropped out because of time commitments.

Running mate Ron Brittin, 61, said he had "kind of talked Matt into running" when the GOP splintered into three factions and few people were willing to run for office. Brittin, of Mantua, aligned himself with conservative gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan, who lost to Christopher J. Christie.

Brittin ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for state Assembly in 1999. He favors small government and opposes plans to build a light-rail line through the county. He also says the Paulsboro port, now under construction, is a waste of money.

The freeholders "just come up with these multimillion-dollar projects" without regard to cost, Brittin said. "The people are feeling the squeeze."

Del Borrello, an aspiring history teacher who works in his father's check-cashing business, said the county needed to be more frugal.

"I'm saving up to put a down payment on a house and have a lot of friends from New Jersey who have moved out of state and never came back" due to high taxes, he said.

But Chila, who's seeking a second term, said the county was moving in the right direction by making government more efficient, creating jobs, and providing an array of needed services.

"We have consolidated services where it makes sense," Chila, 42, said, noting that the county this year took over tax assessments, eliminating the need for each town to have its own assessor. He said that the Port of Paulsboro would bring jobs and that a clinic for veterans was recently expanded.

Chila, who is also the mayor of Woolwich Township, said he valued Sweeney's leadership and would not call for Sweeney to step down as freeholder director if he's successful in his bid to become state Senate president in January.

"He has my support if he wants to continue," said Chila, an electrician. "It's one thing if he can't do it, but he's doing an outstanding job in both capacities." Currently, Sweeney is state Senate majority leader.

Though a new state law bars officials from holding more than one government job, Sweeney, Chila, and a few other officials were exempted by a grandfather clause.

Damminger, deputy freeholder director for nine years, said he, too, would support Sweeney's remaining in power "as long as he is fit to stay."

Seeking his fifth term, Damminger, 52, says the board had kept taxes in line "while at same time shrinking the size of government." He said that in the last two years, 103 positions had been eliminated through attrition, saving $5.5 million in salaries and benefits.

A supervisor of parking garages for the South Jersey Transportation Authority, Damminger previously served on the Paulsboro Borough Council for 11 years. He now lives in West Deptford.

In other county races, incumbent Sheriff Carmel Morina, a Democrat, is competing against Republican Chris Marrero, a retired Pennsauken police officer.