U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez won the Democratic Primary on June 5 and will be going into the general election against GOP challenger Bob Hugin. But while Democrats may rally behind Menendez in November, his close victory over underfunded Lisa McCormick reveals a serious vulnerability that you can expect the GOP to exploit.
A two-term incumbent, Menendez won with just shy of 60 percent of the Democratic vote. McCormick, who ran a grass-roots campaign, came up with a surprising 38 percent, despite the fact that the chairs of all 21 county Democrat organizations in New Jersey endorsed Menendez.
The senator, while never an overwhelming favorite even in past elections, was hampered by a recent scolding by the Senate Ethics Committee for how he dealt with gifts from a friend and campaign donor. The federal corruption case against Menendez fell apart after a mistrial last year. But a dark cloud has been hanging over him ever since.
His only saving grace is the Hugin may be going into the general election with as much baggage as Menendez. Hugin, a former drug company executive, oversaw a settlement in a lawsuit brought against the company. Drug companies are not popular in today’s culture and so expect Menendez to exploit this as well as the general GOP connection with Donald Trump in the November general election.
You can expect both sides to become extremely nasty as the GOP seeks to steal a critical Democratic senate seat, and the Democrats seek to hold onto it. At stake is control of the U.S. Senate and the likelihood that the Senate will oversee the confirmation of one or more Supreme Court justices over the next two years. If the GOP is successful, the Supreme Court will likely become much more conservative than in the recent past.

Sires is still popular in West New York

The battle for Democratic committee seats in West New York was clearly won by those supporting Tom and Amy DeGise in the ongoing battle over who will steer county government.
All but 10 of the 58 committee seats went to DeGise loyalists who are expected to turn out on July 19 in Kearny to vote for Amy DeGise as chair of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO).
In a statement, DeGise said that West New York and Harrison delivered a strong message to the political machine of state Sen/ and Union City Mayor Brian Stack that the HCDO won’t be taken over by him.
Stack, along with the mayors of West New York, Hoboken, and Jersey City, hope to unseat Amy’s father Tom in next year’s election for county executive. The person sitting as chair of the HCDO would have a huge say in determining which candidate the party will support.
Rep. Albio Sires, a strong DeGise supporter, put his own personal popularity on the line in this committee fight in West New York. As a former mayor of West New York, he called on his supporters to rally behind DeGise. Stack, who previously served as state senator in West New York before the town was redistricted in 2012, also tested his personal popularity, sending more than 100 workers into town to help get out the anti-DeGise vote.
Amy DeGise, however, was also helped by the fact that the committee people supporting her ran on the ballot along with Sires and Menendez. As unpopular as Menendez might be in the rest of the state, locals strongly support him.

Roque could be in trouble

The committee vote in West New York will have implications for Mayor Felix Roque was well.
With the majority of commissioners in West New York loyal to political people other than Roque, this inability to control the committee will likely be the opening gambit in a move to replace Roque next year.
Three of the five commissioners in WNY supported DeGise in this election. But more importantly, one or more have strong loyalties to state Senator and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who supports Tom DeGise, and one is strongly aligned with Sires.
This bodes ill for Roque’s reelection chances, especially because of the position Roque has taken in supporting Stack’s move to take over the HCDO.
Bad feelings will linger into 2019 even if Amy DeGise becomes the HCDO chair this year. While Stack is safe on his island in Union City, Roque will likely feel the wrath as Sires, Sacco and Tom DeGise throw their support behind one of the other commissioners to run against him.

The passing of an icon

The death of Jersey Journal columnist Earl Morgan last week is more than just the loss of another reporter. Morgan was a powerful voice in Hudson County for the under-represented, not just in the African-American community, but for any of the downtrodden masses that are often neglected or overlooked in the rush for progress.
Morgan fought for decades to make sure that these people got their fair share of the success that has enriched the Gold Coast, and held public officials accountable when it came to distribution of wealth. Over the last decade, he was a tireless voice in pushing for Jersey City government to live up to recommendations in a report that showed disparity in wealth, jobs and opportunities.
Yet beyond serving as a reminder of promises made but not lived up to by society, Morgan was the conscience of the community, a beacon of light in darkening times. He constantly fought the good fight against bad options, and in many cases, won – not for himself, but for people who otherwise lacked a voice or power to fight for themselves.
Morgan’s death robs Hudson County of experience and knowledge that only he had. While many will remember Morgan as the heart and soul of the community, he was also its living memory. He takes with him recollections that we have lost forever. We can only cling to what he’s written in the past with the hope we can build on his legacy.

Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.

In what some Hudson County Democrats are calling “the biggest blunder” in Hudson County political history, state Sen. and Union City Brian Stack virtually threw away his chance to become the chair of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), the county’s longtime Democratic political organization (or machine).
Amy DeGise, daughter of County Executive Tom DeGise and a member of the Jersey City school board, won the seat instead.
Stack – along with powerful political allies such as Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, state Senator Sandra Cunningham, Freeholder Bill O’Dea, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, and West New York Mayor Felix Roque — thought he could persuade the Democratic committee people from various towns who voted during the Wednesday, June 12 HCDO reorganization meeting.
Stack was expected to become chair and even had the approval of many political people who later sided with Amy DeGise. Stack and Fulop had started a countywide political war when they confronted Tom DeGise in March and told him they would not support his reelection.
The details of the meeting conflict depending on who you talk to about it, but the outcome was very clear.
Tom DeGise would not go into the good night quietly, and vowed to build opposition to the Stack-Fulop juggernaut.
Although Fulop campaigned in Jersey City to get out committee voters there, some of the committee people had never met Fulop before, since in the past most of his dealings with committee members had been through surrogates such political operative Tom Bertoli.
Since Fulop’s election in 2013, however, many of these operatives have left and, in fact, some like Bertoli actually worked on DeGise’s behalf.
Stack’s loss has huge implications for the future – especially for Fulop and those who supported him.
While Amy DeGise has been very gracious in accepting the post as chair, some of the power brokers that supported her such as State Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco and Amy’s father, Tom DeGise, won’t be.
Expect Fulop supporters who got positions with the county in the past to lose HCDO support for their re-elections in the future. This includes County Clerk Junior Maldonado and County Register Diane Coleman.
For Fulop, the future is even bleaker. While Fulop still remains the mayor of one of the largest cities in New Jersey, he has very few friends in higher levels of government. Gov. Phil Murphy does not particularly care for Fulop – neither does Senate President Stephen Sweeney. The recent conflict also alienated Fulop from Rep. Albio Sires.
Since Fulop is seen as the one of the moving forces behind the botched attempt to undermine Tom DeGise, Stack might not even trust Fulop in the future.
Stack, with his fiefdom in Union City, will be immune. Most likely, the HDCO will make peace with him because they still need the 10,000 votes he can generate – especially in the upcoming reelection of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez in November.
Freeholder Bill O’Dea – another strong supporter of Stack and Fulop – will also likely go unscathed since he has a strong personal base on the west side of Jersey City.
“Nobody is going to blame O’Dea or even (Hoboken Councilman) Michael Russo,” said one political observer. “They had personal reasons for supporting Stack. Everybody is going to blame Fulop and there will be retribution.”
Since the war was largely fought over control of patronage such as jobs and contracts, most believe Jersey City will see far fewer resources and jobs than they might have had Fulop and Stack not started this political war.
“Fulop will be isolated,” another source said. “This will be attrition by a thousand little cuts. He will see no legislation passed in Trenton that favors Jersey City – such as involving school aid. He won’t get the benefit when it comes to setting the county taxes. There will be very critical review by the state of the city’s abatement policies and there won’t be any county jobs coming to any of his supporters.”
Hoboken’s Bhalla is likely to see a similar impact for his choice to support Stack, although not as severe.
Roque in West New York will likely see strong opposition in his 2019 bid for reelection, if indeed he seeks reelection.

Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.

Very bitter about politics at the end of his life, Mark Twain said, “If we would learn what the human race really is at bottom, we need only observe it in election times.”
This was never more relevant than in the ongoing dispute to collect committee votes in order to select the next chair of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), the countywide political organization.
Arms are being twisted; loyalties tested, and friendships severed so that one group of mayors can get their share of the county patronage. The jobs in question have been under control of another faction for years.
Recent reports suggest that two of the orchestrators of the revived political war in Hudson County – State Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop – may be at each other’s throats in an attempt to blame each other for why the chairmanship of the party is slipping away.
Stack, Fulop, and other politicos like Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and West New York Mayor Felix Roque are hoping to wrest control of the party, and would like to replace the official at the head of county government, County Executive Tom DeGise.
Fulop and Stack’s troubles, of course, recall an anonymous quote that says, “The most dangerous irony is, people are angry with others because of their own incompetence.” Fulop and Stack are providing future political leaders with a real lesson on how not to take control of county patronage, something of a throwback to an old novel about the gang who could not shoot straight.
It is not DeGise who actually controls the patronage, but State Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco. And Sacco clearly isn’t willing to give it up without a fight.
The mayors’ move to unseat DeGise seems too much like betrayal. This is partly due to the fact that DeGise played a key role in brokering peace between Stack and Sacco in the past.
But Fulop, Stack, and others are looking beyond DeGise to the hefty number of political jobs that Sacco has controlled for more than a decade. This war is and always has been about getting their share of county patronage – very similar to the war that led to DeGise become county executive in the first place. Back in 2003, then Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham wanted those jobs, and found himself facing the same uphill battle.
For some, this move by Stack may be the last straw. The aftermath of this may be a political Hudson County united against him in the future. While Stack has a lot of clout, he still needs support from others. Some may actually see this as a sign that Stack may have to be stopped in the future, and the start of a whole new guerrilla war against him.
In fact, an attempt to undermine the four mayors may have already started. While U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and Gov. Phil Murphy appear not to be taking sides in the battle, Rep. Albio Sires apparently is working behind the scenes to eventually bring down Roque in West New York.
Seen as one of their many miscalculations, the Stack contingent threatened to run a candidate against Sires in the Democratic primary on June 12 as part of a power grab, but backed out at the last minute.
This failure to keep Sires occupied has allowed Sires to work against Stack’s ally Roque and will likely result in Roque being unseated next year when his reelection comes up.
Commissioners in West New York have already begun their campaign to undermine Roque, not merely absconding with the committee votes Stack needs, but also apparently raising money for an eventual mayoral challenge.

The biggest blunder of all

Until April, Stack had the support of nearly all 12 Hudson County mayors to be selected as the next HCDO chair.
But when he and his errant mayors launched their attack on the county executive two months ago, the whole game changed.
In an example of incredibly foolish and bad timing, Stack and Fulop met with DeGise at the Coach House Diner in North Bergen to tell him that they wanted someone new for county executive in 2019 – most likely Jersey City-based Freeholder Bill O’Dea.
Stack and company mistakenly presumed that DeGise would shake in his boots when two of the more powerful mayors in Hudson County issued their decree.
But DeGise decided to play hardball, and launched a counter attack to keep Stack from inheriting the chair of the politically powerful HCDO.
The sad part for Stack is that all he had to do to avoid this confrontation was to wait until after June 12 when the committee was expected to give him the chair.

Amy DeGise could win the chair instead of Stack

Now most political observers believe Stack will not get the seat – even though some DeGise supporters are upset by the person DeGise decided to back for the seat instead: his own daughter, Amy DeGise.
Stack has called Amy DeGise’s selection “a joke,” but if anything, the joke may be on Stack. Her personal political base, combined with her father’s, may become the deciding factor in winning her the chair over Stack.
Stack’s camp has been attacking Tom DeGise as a closet Republican, saying that he worked closely with former GOP Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler. But this is thin ice because of Stack’s own relationship in the past to GOP Gov. Christopher Christie, from whom Stack got a lot of political and financial favors in the past.
Both Tom and Amy DeGise have deep roots in Jersey City. That is a problem for Stack. Fulop may not be able to carry the necessary Jersey City committee votes to give Stack the seat. This is particularly true since the Bayonne election resulted in the reelection of Mayor Jimmy Davis, a strong DeGise supporter.
The Bayonne election is also emblematic of Stack’s problems. Once the county chair seat became disputed, Stack should have sent help to Davis’ opponent, and supposedly eventually did, but very late in the campaign. Now, Stack may wind up coming up short, and will be faced with fewer choices next year.
Amy DeGise, if she becomes chair, will undoubtedly give the official democratic line on the 2019 primary ballot to her father.

Will Stack back an independent ticket in 2019?

If Stack still intends to unseat DeGise as county executive, he will be forced to run an independent ticket in the general election. This will be costly, and will require Stack’s rich ally, Fulop, to let go of some of the hefty campaign contributions Fulop got when still thinking about running for governor.
Some reports suggest that Stack and Fulop, already feeling the heat from the challenge, are second guessing their timing as to when they started the war against DeGise.
But there is to be hell for others in this coalition, too, including Bhalla in Hoboken, where several council members have already thrown their support behind DeGise.
With Davis, Sacco, all of the west Hudson mayors as well as the mayors of Weehawken, Secaucus, and Guttenberg behind Amy DeGise for HCDO chair, and behind Tom DeGise for county executive, it is unclear how Stack can possibly win this fight.
As in 2007, when Stack last attempted to overthrow the HCDO, this war appears to be running out of fuel even before it started. And the backlash against Stack and company is bound to be bad and long lasting.
Bad things got said and will no doubt continue to get said unless someone with some common sense intervenes. But even then, it may not be possible to go back to the peaceful co-existence that briefly held sway over the last few years.

Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.