Wright says she'll seek Baroni senate seat

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Wright says she'll seek Baroni senate seat

By Matt Friedman | February 25th, 2010 - 4:03pm
Former Assemblywoman Barbara Wright (R-Plainsboro) says she’s definitely running for the seat of outgoing state Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton).

“I have been approached by a number of people… I have thought about it and I’m ready to run,” said Wright, a former Plainsboro councilwoman and mayor who served in the assembly from 1992 to 2000.

Hamilton Councilman Tom Goodwin has not announced his candidacy, but is expected to run and appears to be the favorite to replace Baroni. West Windsor Councilwoman Linda Geevers is also mulling a run.

If the 76-year-old Wright wins the district’s Republican committee vote to become Baroni’s interim replacement, it will likely set up a rematch between her and Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) in November. Greenstein unseated Wright in the 1999 election, and now Greenstein is favored to be the Democrats’ nominee against the person Republicans pick to fill Baroni’s set.

The timing is perfect for Wright. On Monday, she finishes a six month stint as the interim CEO of the New Jersey State Nurses Association. During her time in that post, she and the organization took an active role in lobbying on behalf of the recently passed medical marijuana bill.

“With all due respect to other colleagues who might also like this opportunity, I just think that I’d like to put my credentials out there which I think are quite good.”