THE TIME OF DEATH was late Tuesday evening after votes were tallied in the 40th District. The Bergen County Republican Organization gave up the ghost on June 5, 2007.

The county organization did not die naturally; it was done in by its chairman, Guy Talarico. Rather than focus on party building, unity and fund raising, Talarico drove the party further to the right, ignoring voting trends and continued defeat at the polls. In his last attempt to win an election, Talarico challenged Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole's slate in the 40th, dragging former Bergen County Freeholder Todd Caliguire, who led the Talarico ticket, down to his third political defeat.

While wanting to run a Bergen County candidate to replace retiring state Sen. Henry McNamara was not unreasonable, Talarico did not have the political or financial capital to expend on a contested primary.

Of more concern was the despicable, nasty tone of the Caliguire campaign. It culminated with a mailer equating O'Toole with the Rev. Al Sharpton. The Bergen Republican Organization chose to play the race card, attacking O'Toole's Korean heritage. Calguire's campaign manager told The Record they could have altered O'Toole's photo for the mailer. "We could have made a more jaundiced look to his skin. We did not."