Jon Bramnick threw a party at last November’s League of Municipalities Convention in Atlantic City and one of those attending was Robert Auth, an assemblyman from LD-39 in northern Bergen County.

Frank Pallotta was paying attention and he didn’t like what he saw.

He put it this way:

“Recently, .. Assemblyman Bob Auth publicly rejected President Donald Trump, when he chose to align with, and endorse for Governor, self-proclaimed Trump-hater, State Senator Jon Bramnick. While Auth calls himself a ‘conservative,’ his actions tell a far different story.”

So now Pallotta says he’s running for the Assembly.

As we know, each district has two Assembly members with the other one here being John Azzariti.

But Pallotta is clearly targeting Auth, who he claims remained silent when Bramnick backed the Freedom to Read bill, which protects librarians from civil and criminal penalties regarding library books. Opponents say it allows pornography in schools.

Pallotta is no stranger to seeking office.

He ran unsuccessfully against CD-5 congressman Josh Gottheimer in 2020 and 2022.

Both times he ran “off the line” in the primary. And that’s a strategy Pallotta plans to employ again. He said:

“While I have great respect for the Bergen County Republican Organization’s (BCRO) approximately 800 Committee members, of which I remain an active member, I cannot in good conscience participate in an obsolete and antiquated convention process that can drag on for months, draining tens of thousands of dollars and critical resources away from what really matters – direct voter engagement. The main purpose of the county convention in past years had been to win placement on an organizational line – a line which no longer exists.”

Instead, Pallotta said he will focus on a direct connection with voters, “not backroom deals.”

That means paying attention to such issues as public safety, law enforcement, flood mitigation, crumbling infrastructure, overdevelopment, and the high cost of living.

Back when Auth was at Bramnick’s party, he said he was playing the “long game,” meaning that Bramnick remains the best GOP candidate to win the general election in a state where Dems still have a registration advantage of about 900,000.

On his reelection website the Auth campaign says:

“As our Assemblyman, Bob Auth has a proven record of commonsense leadership focused on helping the families, children, seniors, and taxpayers of Bergen and Passaic Counties. Whether it’s fighting for our fair share from Trenton or working within our communities, Bob Auth has your best interests at heart.”