Burlco lawmaker switches parties

Assemblyman Francis Bodine of Burlington County, who has served as a Republican for 30 years, yesterday announced he had joined the Democratic Party and would run as a Democrat for the state Senate this year.

Bodine's announcement, which he made in his hometown of Moorestown alongside U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews and several other Democrats, came after GOP leaders refused to endorse his candidacy for another term.

The 71-year-old lawmaker, who started out as a Moorestown councilman in 1977, and moved on to become mayor and county freeholder before joining the Assembly in 1994, said he wanted to continue to serve and that switching parties gave him that opportunity.

"It was a very, very emotional, stressful decision that I wrestled with up until this afternoon," Bodine said. "But this is what I want to do."

Bodine said he would serve the remainder of his term in the Assembly as a Democrat and would run in the November election on the Democratic ticket for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Martha Bark. Running with him are Assembly candidates Chris Fifis, a Lumberton resident and co-owner of Ponzio's Restaurant in Cherry Hill, and Mount Laurel Councilwoman Tracy Riley.

The GOP has backed Burlington County clerk Phil Haines for the Senate seat, and county Freeholder Dawn Marie Addiego and Medford Mayor Scott Rudder for the Assembly seats now held by Bodine and Larry Chadzidakis, who also failed to win party support for another run.

Bodine called himself a "fiscal conservative" and said "that will not change" just because he has switched party allegiances.

At the same time, he said: "I have been viewed as a moderate Republican and I expect to be viewed as a moderate as I go forth."

Bodine's former Republican colleagues blasted his defection. In a series of biting news releases, they painted him as a man out for himself, not the public good.

State GOP chairman Tom Wilson said party leaders had been concerned for years that Bodine was "out of touch with the party" and had suggested he step down in 2005.

Burlington County GOP chairman Mike Warner accused Bodine of becoming "a pawn" for the South Jersey Democratic machine led by George E. Norcross III, who has for years controlled Gloucester and Camden County politics while Burlington County has remained under solid GOP control.

"Bodine's actions today confirm that the decision not to endorse his candidacy for reelection was correct," Warner said in a statement.

Norcross was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

Both GOP leaders brought up accounts of a golf trip Bodine took to North Carolina in 2001 that was reportedly paid for by lobbyists.

Democrats, meanwhile, welcomed Bodine - whose defection gives them a 50-30 edge in the Assembly - with open arms. Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D., Camden) defended his newest caucus member against GOP accusations of unethical behavior, calling him "a consummate professional and a man of integrity."

"I'm sure Fran's decision to switch parties was a tough one," Roberts said in a statement. "But Fran boasts a moderate record, and he has long enjoyed a reputation of rising above the partisan fray by being an untiring, principled and independent voice for his fellow residents in Burlington County."

The defection is not altogether unusual for the state Legislature, although in recent years, lawmakers have been walking the other way across the political aisle.

Democratic Sen. Raymond Zane went Republican in 2001, followed by Hudson County Assemblyman Rafael Fraguela and Middlesex County Assemblywoman Arline Friscia in 2003. That same year, Assemblyman Matt Ahearn left the Democrats to become the state's sole Green Party legislator.

When it comes to South Jersey politics, though, Bodine is just the latest in a series of elected officials to switch to the Democratic Party recently. Last month, Republican Winslow Mayor Sue Ann Metzner crossed the aisle, taking Councilman Rick LoSasso with her. The move gave control of the Camden County municipality to the Democratic party machine.

Citing "basic and irreconcilable differences" with the GOP, Logan Township Mayor Frank Minor and two councilmen flipped in January, handing control of the Gloucester County municipality to Democrats. And in September, Franklin Township Deputy Mayor Pete Scapellato defected, giving Democrats a majority in the Gloucester County town that has long been considered a GOP bastion.

Democrats hope that with Bodine's help, they will continue to make inroads into GOP-dominated Burlington County, too.

Said Fifis, Bodine's new running mate: "This is not the Republican stronghold they think it is. . . . We're in this race to win."