Peg Schaffer

MARTINSVILLE – It looks like a joke at first or at least an appropriate back burner relegation for the Somerset County Democratic Party, which sits under a pizza parlor facing away from the road.

They don’t dominate here, haven’t for years, and that’s an understatement, but the little storefront plastered over with Democratic Party campaign signs belies the internal workings of what new party chair Peg Schaffer sees as a movement.

“I forgot how to practice law,” says Schaffer, sporting a “McBush” button and gulping coffee as she surveys headquarters where two dozen campaign workers stay on the phones.

DENVER - A good orator indulges in autobiography to the extent that he or she can connect to a common story, with the danger never far that the wrong points of emphasis can entrap the speaker in self congratulations.

Michelle Obama’s Southside Chicago roots and maternal () treaded too close to the edges of egotism for only a handful of the New Jersey delegation, with most Democrats hailing the effort as a dead-on bull’s-eye.

They spilled into the spacious Celtic Tavern on Blake Street after the convention on Monday night, and the liquor flowed as U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) celebrated the presidential candidate’s wife as a people’s champion.

"Her speech reached out and spoke to the common story," said Lautenberg. "It reminded me very much of my own story, growing up in Paterson, working hard, having a father who died young. She told a story that many of us can relate to."

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Somerset County Democratic Chair Peg Schaffer, right, with Montogomery Mayor Cecilia Birge, one of her freeholder candidates. 

Charged up by the presidential race, Democrats believe they can storm GOP freeholder strongholds in at least three counties this year: Somerset, Burlington and Monmouth.

While the Democratic Party has chopped away in sections at county freeholder seats in Monmouth and now is one win away from obtaining a majority, Somerset and Burlington remain elusive Republican bulwarks for the Democrats, who see Monmouth as a model.

The election this week of a new Democratic Party chair in Somerset brought forth fighting words from those party members long schooled in living under Republican rule, and prompted the obligatory GOP reply that for all the updates on Democratic Party registration, the county remains red.

MANVILLE - In a contest for Somerset County Democratic Party chair, Peg Schaffer of Bedminister prevailed over former county freeholder Michael Ceponis at the VFW Hall tonight.

The pair had matched up against each other after Rebecca Perkins of Warren dropped out and endorsed Ceponis.

Schaffer, who won on first ballot, had received the support of retiring chair Elia Pelios.

MANVILLE - In this three-person race for Democratic Party chair in Rebecca PerkinsSomerset, Rebecca Perkins has just thrown her support to former Freeholder Michael Ceponis.

Now it's a contest in the VFW Hall between Ceponis and Peg Schaffer of Bedminister.

Schaffer is the candidate backed by retiring Chair Elia Pelios.

Three Somerset County Democrats hope to succeed outgoing Chairman Elia Pelios tomorrow.

Peg Schaffer, Mike Ceponis and Rebecca Perkins all hope to reinvigorate the party, which has struggled over the last couple decades to overcome complete Republican domination.

Schaffer, who’s backed by Pelios, appears to be the favorite, with state Democratic sources saying they expect her to be the next chairwoman.  But her opponents have used that against her, saying that electing her to the top position will essentially be a continuation of the last 10 years under Pelios.