Pair of Democrats battle incumbents

New Jersey's 16th Legislative District includes 16 towns in Somerset County and, oddly, just a single town in Morris County.

The district's two GOP members of the General Assembly know how that stray town feels. Sometimes, being a Republican in the Democrat-controlled Assembly means being somewhat powerless to set agenda.

But that hasn't stopped longtime Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi and freshman Assemblywoman Denise Coyle from seeking new two-year terms in the Nov. 3 election.

"I actually think we have a chance to change it around," said Coyle, who along with Biondi is on the short end of the 48-32 Democratic majority in the Statehouse.

They face Democrats Roberta Karpinecz, an operations director for a transportation association, and Mark Petraske, an engineer-turned-lawyer who stepped in last month after another candidate dropped out for personal reasons.

Both Democrats say that even though Biondi and Coyle are in the minority party in Trenton, the two Republicans can be more vocal advocates for the 16th District.

"It's a district kind of starving for some leadership," Petraske said.

The district includes the Somerset County towns of Bedminster, Bernards, Bernardsville, Bound Brook, Branchburg, Bridgewater, Far Hills, Hillsborough, Manville, Millstone Borough, Montgomery, Peapack-Gladstone, Raritan Borough, Rocky Hill, Somerville and South Bound Brook, and the Morris County town of Mendham Borough.

Here's a look at the candidates:

Peter J. Biondi

Like Coyle, Biondi is a former Somerset County freeholder and longtime public servant who joined the Assembly in his mid 50s. He is finishing his sixth term.

He said that even before the current economic recession, New Jersey was on a crash course, having seen a 52 percent property tax increase in the past 7½ years.

"You can't keep doing a one-year budget with gimmicks, mirrors and smoke," he said.

Biondi has supported efforts to require a two-thirds majority vote in the Legislature before taxes can be increased. But he said that with only 32 Republicans in the 80-member Assembly, "they don't even bring us to the table."...