Some of the people who celebrated the Democratic council sweep in Secaucus Tuesday had never stepped inside the Masonic Temple before.
This year, the Democrats preserved their 5 to 1 majority on the Town Council with a coalition of former enemies, traditional Democrats united with former Independent followers of Mayor Dennis Elwell. It was a winning combination that allowed this coalition to claim victory in every district of all three wards that were up for election last week, allowing Michael Grecco to win his fifth term in the 1st Ward, Robert Kickey his first term in the 2nd Ward, and Fred Constantino (who ran unopposed) his 4th term in the 3rd Ward.
The temple, located near the corner of Paterson Plank Road and the Maple Street ramp, had always been the sanctuary of the Democratic Party, the place to which Democrats retreated after each election to gloat over their victories or to lick their wounds after a loss. Until Mayor Dennis Elwell ran as a Democrat last year, many of the people who supported him had gathered at the nearby VFW hall, part of the opposition party that had dueled the Democrats into a standstill over the last decade.
Even the beaming Mayor Dennis Elwell looked a little out of place on election night Tuesday – although he claimed to have come to the temple as a kid as part of local charity fund-raisers. But he grinned as wide as his Democratic allies when he introduced the winning candidates to the crowd.
“This is a great victory of the Democratic Party and for the town of Secaucus,” Elwell told the crowd. “This did not come easy. It came because we were organized and ran an organized campaign.”
Although the victories were decisive, they were not as overwhelming as some Democrats had predicted before the election. Grecco received 1,135 votes to 843 for his opponent, Dawn McAdam. Kickey, who was appointed to a vacant seat in January, received 1,369 votes. Challenger George Broemmer got 937.
Councilman Fred Constantino – whose election in the 3rd Ward was undisputed – led all voting with 1,533 votes.
The issues
Elwell claimed the election was an endorsement of the policies that the Town Council adopted over the last year, a show of public support for the way the town has handled numerous problems such as the Keystone Contamination cleanup.
In their campaign, the Democrats ran on their zero-tax-increase budget as well as their ability to secure $3.6 million in grants for such things as flood control, land preservation, improvements to Meadowlands Parkway and local streets, and the reconstruction of the recreational center.
Grecco, who was thought to be the weakest of the two challenged candidates, said his fellow Democratic Councilman, Chris Marra, had helped him, making the door-to-door trek to visit voters during the months leading up to the election. “I think the voters believe we are doing a good job,” he said.
For Kickey, this was his first election, even though he was running as an incumbent. Last January, he took over the unexpired year left in Elwell’s term after Elwell had been elected mayor in 1999. As a solid supporter of Elwell’s previous campaigns, Kickey tested the power of the Democratic machine to deliver votes for him.
Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto, the Democratic Municipal Chairman in Secaucus, joked last week, telling Kickey: “Now you know what the difference is between running for office and being a supporter.”
In the hours leading up to the closing of the polls on Nov. 7, Kickey had apparently grown nervous. He had served as Elwell’s campaign manager for many years before seeking to secure the 2nd Ward seat for himself.
For Constantino, the victory was sweet.
“This shows us that people believe in our programs and that we are doing the right things,” he said.
Councilman John Reilly, who faces reelection next year, said the election had still more significance, stirring up the memory of two of the more powerful campaign managers of the past: Rocco Impreveduto and Daniel Flanagan, both of whom died in 1997.
“It was Rocky’s dream to have a united Democratic Party,” Reilly said. “This year, his dream came true.”
McAdam came to the Democratic celebration at the Masonic Temple to shake Grecco’s hand, congratulating him on his victory.
“That took guts,” Elwell said in later observations, who noted that his coalition – called the Elwell Team – should not get cocky with this victory.
“The challenge that Team Elwell has is for us to be humble and not be overconfident and to remember we are servants of the residents,” Elwell said.
Tougher than it looked
The challengers mourned their loss a few blocks away at a local restaurant and struggled to make sense of the numbers and what went wrong. Some of the faces in this crowd were former Democrats such as former 1st Ward Councilman Robert Campanella, people who had not fared well in the 1999 shift of power that allowed the new Democratic coalition to form, and had pinned hopes on a strong Independent challenge.
Campanella, sitting in the same room with former opponents like Harry Winarski, said he believed the Independents had run good, energetic campaigns.
First Ward challenger Dawn McAdam had run with a slogan of “Policy of Honesty.” She had promised to be a truthful and energetic spokesperson on the council for the residents of the 1st Ward and had proposed noise barriers along highways that broach residential neighborhoods as well as the televising of council meetings. Broemmer had campaigned on the need for a tax on hotel rooms in Secaucus as part of an effort to bring more revenue into the municipal budget. He also sought to use technology and other means to help curb traffic violations on Secaucus streets.
Winarski said McAdam had managed to get her name out into the public when running against Grecco, who had established name-recognition from previous school board and council elections.
“I gave it my all, a lot of people voted for me to represent them,” McAdam said. “I walked the whole ward on my own. I did not have anyone else with me. I wanted to show people I could do this on my own.”
Several voters at the polls credited Mike Gonnelli, the Department of Public Works superintendent, as a deciding factor in the 1st Ward race. These voters said Gonnelli had sung the virtues of Grecco, convincing them to vote Democratic.
Although Democrats won all districts, the relatively close numbers, Broemmer supporters said, indicated that the Democrats have no mandate and that a sufficient number of voters in town still have questions about the council’s current policies.
Surprisingly, voter turnout was lower than expected, despite a steady stream of voters all day in most of the polls.
“Before the election, people thought we would get between a 70 to 75 percent [turnout],” said Town Clerk Mike Marra. “About 62.8 percent of Secaucus voters came out. In non-presidential years, about 50 percent of the registered voters come out.”
How Secaucus voted
Secaucus residents voted on the presidential level for Democrat Al Gore over Republican George W. Bush by a margin of 4,132 to 2,550 respectively. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader received 201 votes, and Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan drew 10.
Voters also came out for Democrat Jon S. Corzine, giving him 3,720 voters to Republican Bob Frank’s 2,544. For Congress in the 9th District, incumbent Democratic Congressman Steve Rothman beat Republican Joseph Tedischi 4,022 to 1,657.
Voters also approved the two ballot questions. The question that would allow certain taxes to be dedicated to transportation uses won by 2,371 to 1,359. Voters overwhelmingly approved the question that would allow the public to be informed of sex offenders, by a margin of 3,085 to 776.
How close is too close when nobody’s around?
Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto and Department of Public Works Superintendent Mike Gonnelli found themselves being pursued by state troopers on Nov. 4 when someone called the police claiming they were violating election laws.
“We were standing out in front of the Reform Church on Centre Avenue,” said Impreveduto, who also serves as the Democratic municipal chairman in Secaucus. “We were the only people on the whole street. No one was there and yet someone called the police.”
Impreveduto said later in the day, someone called him to tell him the state troopers were looking him.
In an exchange at Huber Street School, Impreveduto and 2nd Ward Councilman John Bueckner argued over whether or not Impreveduto had violated the election laws.
Bueckner claimed Impreveduto was campaigning within 100 feet of the polls, in violation of the limit imposed by state law. No one is allowed to approach voters with the purpose of influencing their vote. Impreveduto said he was not approaching anyone, because there was no one there to approach.
“The only person I talked to was you,” Impreveduto told Bueckner.
First Ward independent candidate Dawn McAdam said she had called the authorities because too many Democrats seemed to be campaigning within the 100-foot restriction.
“If I’m abiding by the rules, so should they,” McAdam said.