Former Assemblyman Ronald Fava says he will seek the Republican nomination for Passaic County Clerk.
“I will screen,” Fava said today, referring to an interview process by the Passaic Republican Executive Committee that will award the organization line.
Sources say that Passaic County power broker Peter Murphy wants Fava to run. A former Passaic County Prosecutor and judge, Fava has always enjoyed a strong following in Passaic — and in his hometown of Paterson. His godfather was the late Frank X. Graves, a Democrat who served as Mayor of Paterson and as a State Senator.
Republicans have been looking at several candidates to replace Acting Clerk Walter Davison, 76, who moved into the post after Kristin Corrado was elected to the State Senate last year.
Democratic State Chairman John Currie had expressed interest in running last year, but has decided not to run. He had hoped Corrado’s move to the legislature would have created a special election in 2017, but Currie rivals like Senate President Steve Sweeney delayed the Corrado’s swearing past the deadline to run the office last year. Currie has pledged to go all-in to win back the post that Corrado wrestled away from Democrats in 2009.
Democratic State Chairman John Currie will not run for Passaic County Clerk in 2018, according to several sources close to Currie and Passaic County Democrats.
Republicans are looking at several candidates to replace
Currie, the longtime Passaic County Democratic Chairman, has wanted to run for County Clerk. He had hoped Corrado’s move to the legislature would have created a special election in 2017, but Currie rivals like Senate President Steve Sweeney delayed the Corrado’s swearing past the deadline to run the office last year.
Fava, 68, last held pubic office seventeen years ago. He had been appointed acting Passaic County sheriff in 2001 when Ed Engelhardt resigned, and lost the general election by a few hundred votes, despite Gov. Jim McGreevey’s landslide win that year.
In 1975, Fava was just 26 when he unseated incumbent Assemblyman William Hicks (D-Paterson) by 4,290 votes. Two years later, with Graves heading the Democratic ticket, Fava narrowly (1,006 votes) lost to John Girgenti, a 30-year-old Hawthorne school board member.