Barbara Buono Introduces Labor Leader As Lieutenant Governor Pick

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono confirmed the worst kept secret in New Jersey politics Monday, introducing labor leader Milly Silva as her choice for running mate in her bid to defeat Gov. Chris Christie in November.

Silva, 42, was widely rumored to be Buono’s choice last week when reports of her pick first surfaced. Buono’s campaign did not confirm the choice.

The Buono-Silva ticket is the first all-woman gubernatorial ticket in New Jersey, and just the third in the nation.

Buono introduced Silva at a standing-room-only event in a conference room at the Sheridan Hotel in East Rutherford, speaking about the labor leader with glowing praise as an advocate for the middle class and a believer in equal opportunity.

“Milly’s spent her entire career lifting up everyday people and striking down injustice without fear or reservation,’’ Buono said. “And she won’t stop now.”

Silva, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, often spoke in Spanish during her acceptance speech, which touched on economic opportunity for the working and middle classes, gay marriage and gun control.

“I’m proud to be on the ticket with a woman who shares my values,” Silva said.

Silva wasted no time taking shots at Christie, calling him a “bully,’’ who she said has used New Jersey as a stepping stone to higher office and whose economic policies she indicted as benefiting the rich at the expense of the poor.

“Governor Christie is just itching to leave New Jersey in the dust to satisfy his own personal ambitions,” said Silva, of Montclair. “We live in a New Jersey where whatever Chris Christie says goes. That’s not a leader. That’s a bully.’’

Buono, a state senator from Middlesex County, is trailing Gov. Chris Christie by 30 percentage points in recent polling. The governor is running for re-election with, Kim Guadagno, lieutenant governor.