In an effort to block state Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack from becoming the next chair of the Hudson County Democrat Organization (HCDO), the political people behind County Executive Tom DeGise are looking for someone to run against Stack.
Stack is behind a move to unseat DeGise as county executive in 2019, and as chair of the HCDO, he’d be in a good position to do so.
The chair has become vacant because the current chairman, Vincent Prieto, has been named the executive director of the Meadowlands Sports and Exposition Authority.
Until two months ago, everybody was on board for Stack to get the seat. But Stack, along with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, and West New York Mayor Felix Roque, decided they want to replace DeGise. This has caused a split in the Democrats countywide.
While DeGise people believe they have the votes to give the chair to someone else, they still haven’t come up with a candidate. Some possible names have floated to the surface such as former Assemblyman Sean Connors, former Freeholder Jeff Dublin, and possibly Freeholder Jerry Walker.
Winning the war for the HDCO chair will hinge on the ability of each town to come out with committee votes.
In West New York, Roque had apparently put together committee people to vote for Stack. But someone apparently stole the filing petitions. Several sources say that the state Attorney General is investigating the matter.
Roque’s workers gathered signatures without names, and then were set to meet at Las Palmas restaurant in West New York when they discovered the theft.
After a long delay, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez has come out in support of DeGise. This means many people who previously sat on the sidelines will also support DeGise.
State Sen. Sandra Cunningham, who is a close friend of Stack’s, will likely go with DeGise too, although this is not yet confirmed.
Since Stack will need most of Jersey City’s committee votes, this is bad news for him.
If Cunningham goes with DeGise, Stack will have to run his candidate against DeGise next year off the official Democratic line on the ballot.
Fisher is out as Hoboken Democratic chair
In a move that could face legal challenges, the Hoboken Democratic organization has voted out Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher as chair, naming Phil Cohen to replace her.
The move could be challenged because the committee’s by laws say that a chairperson is elected for a two-year term.
But the move was done ahead of the June county committee vote. Bhalla supports Stack for county chair. Fisher apparently would support a candidate named by DeGise.
Cohen had made an unsuccessful pitch for the Hoboken chair in 2011.
Former Hoboken Councilman Tony Soares said he never thought that it was a good idea for council candidates to get involved with the Democratic or Republican committees. He said Hoboken elections are non-partisan.
“If you run for committee, you have to declare which party you belong to, and in the age of Donald Trump, this becomes a real issue,” he said. “Even if you’re a moderate or a liberal Republican, they want you out.”
Fisher came under fire in the last Hoboken election when she helped Jen Giattino, a registered Republican at the time, run for mayor. Giattino has since switched parties to become a Democrat.
Some people thought it was inappropriate that the chair of the Democratic Party in Hoboken should be co-chairing the campaign of a Republican.
Meanwhile, sources say that 3rd Ward Councilman Michael Russo will likely run on a ticket backed by Bhalla.
“There’s nothing odder than politics,” one source said, referring to the fact that for years, Russo and his family had been seen as Old Hoboken. This move would have him running on a New Hoboken ticket.
Old Hoboken people are sometimes called “born and raised,” and New Hoboken are those who moved here from other places.
Bayonne debates?
Candidates for mayor in Bayonne almost had a choice of which debate they wanted to go to, since both were scheduled for April 26.
Hudson Media Group had scheduled its debate at their studios in North Bergen well over a month ago. But within the last week, the campaign team for Mayor Jimmy Davis arranged for a public debate to be held at Bayonne High School.
Some Davis supporters claim the Hudson Media Group would have broadcast to a limited audience, and they wanted a debate to be viewed by as many Bayonne residents as possible.
Pat O’Melia, however, disputed this, saying that the broadcast had the potential to reach many more people than the live debate. He said he believed the Davis people feared what questions he would ask at his debate, noting that when negotiating for a Davis appearance, the campaign staff tried to set limits on what could be asked.
O’Melia, indeed, confirmed he intended to ask provocative questions such as about the mayor’s texting scandal and who would have to pay the settlement for the suit that has been filed against Davis.
A one-time employee of the city has sued Davis as a result of an exchange of texts, some of which were sexual in nature.
Davis supporters, however, claim the suit has had very little traction in the election, and has become a non-issue.
Divergent opinions on Bayonne election
Supporters for Davis and his opponent Jason O’Donnell see the outcome of the election in vastly different ways.
Davis people believe his council ticket will be swept back into office.
O’Donnell people see all five ward seats as in play, and possibly the two-at-large seats as well. Some even believe that voters in the 3rd Ward might split their ticket, voting to reelect Gary LaPelusa to the council, but also voting for O’Donnell as mayor.
Several observers to the Bayonne Community News debate – which is expected to go online shortly – expressed surprise at candidate Mitchell Brown. Some assumed he had run for mayor to split the vote of Davis or O’Donnell. But his jabs at both Davis and O’Donnell during the debate showed that he is a serious contender.
Running on a shoe-string budget, Brown hopes to get into a runoff against either Davis or O’Donnell.
In Bayonne, a candidate must get 50 percent of the total vote. If none of the candidate do, then the two top vote-getters face off in a runoff election.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.
