At a rally held in Jersey City Monday, Mayor Glenn Cunningham told his supporters on the city and county level that his opponents in North Hudson will either nominate Bernard Hartnett – the current acting county executive – to keep his position in the June 4 Democratic primary, or face all-out political war.
At the same time, in a meeting of mayors in North Hudson, county Democratic Chairman Rep. Robert Menendez (D-13th Dist.) laid plans to nominate another candidate.
While Hartnett, 72, might otherwise be a perfectly acceptable choice for all Democrats – considering his remarkable record in the past – Cunningham has apparently been making inroads on the county level that has made other Democrats elsewhere in the county uncomfortable.
Cunningham and Menendez are clashing for control of the Hudson County Democrats and according to observers, the battle must be waged this year or else Cunningham – who took office only last May – might prove too strong next year and have too much power over choosing candidates for offices.
While discussions are not settled on who will face off against Hartnett in June, someone will, and the short list according to an inside source includes former County Freeholder Lou Manzo, former Jersey City Councilman Tom DeGise and Jersey City Councilwoman Mary Donnelly.
“Hartnett will not be elected county executive,” one official high in the Menendez organization said.
While rumors for a time named Hudson County Sheriff Joseph Cassidy as a possible Menendez pick and he said he would take on the role if asked, his position has lost ground during the last two weeks.
In meeting with his troops, Cunningham hopes to reverse the shift in power from Jersey City to North Hudson, something that started in the late 1970s.
“Cunningham met with county and municipal workers,” said one observer. “He said if other Democrats didn’t support Hartnett there would be war.”
But unless Cunningham can find another town to support him in his effort to retain Hartnett, the primary battle will pit Jersey City Democrats against Democrats in every other Hudson County town.
“If that’s the case, Cunningham’s man won’t win,” said another observer.
Cunningham cannot count on state Senator and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who has shifted towards Menendez over the last few weeks. Mayor Dennis Elwell, another former Cunningham supporter, will follow Sacco, despite his own disagreements with Menendez. Elwell was a supporter of former Union City Mayor Rudy Garcia, who had his own war with Menendez in 1999.
What’s at stake?
New Jersey – and Hudson County in particular – often operates under a patronage system of politics. Supporters of a winning candidate expect to get governmental jobs, contracts and other fringe benefits as reward for their efforts. At best, a good leader will offer high quality service. At worst, it can lead to corruption, with jobs, contracts and such going to family members and personal friends.
In the past, Jersey City was always the center of patronage for the county with the mayor as the person to which most people had to go. Until 1974, even county officials had to kowtow to the mayor in order to assure their people got jobs. Jersey City until then controlled five of the nine freeholder seats.
This changed in 1974 with the passage of a public referendum altering the county’s charter, which created a powerful county executive position and provided people seeking political favors an alternative source of jobs and contracts.
The county Democratic leader – usually the mayor of Jersey City – had to barter for political patronage, and could not guarantee his share of jobs and contracts on a county level. This shifted power to other parts of the county and weakened the god-like political power mayors of Jersey City once wielded. This was made worse in 1991, when Republican Bret Schundler became mayor of Jersey City, and traditional Democrats had to turn more and more to the county.
Now, Democrat Mayor Cunningham in control of Jersey City again, the party is divided, with Cunningham seeking to return the old system, leaving mayors of other towns like North Bergen, Secaucus, West New York, Union City and others to fight Jersey City’s power grab.
Who are the potential candidates?
Ironically, Robert Hartnett in the past has been called the Henry Kissenger of Hudson County for his role in helping the county recover after the indictment of political boss John V Kenny in 1971. As one of a group called “the 12 Apostles,” Hartnett helped restore confidence in county government. He stepped into the same role 30 years later in September, 2001, after the clouded resignation of County Executive Robert Janiszewski. Hartnett was appointed to fill the position of County Executive by the County Democratic Committee on October 9, 2001 and sworn in on Oct. 14 to serve until a special election in November, 2002.
As a labor attorney, Hartnett has worked with several local trade unions and corporations. From 1975, until his retirement in 1991, he served as vice president and general counsel of New Jersey Bell; in addition, he also served as corporate secretary and a member of the company’s board of directors.
More significantly, Hartnett served the Jersey City Democratic Chairman from 1972 to 1974 and on the Hudson County Democratic Committee from 1974 to 1977. During this time, Hartnett helped reshape Hudson County politics.
Mary Donnelly, who was one of the great winners in last year’s Jersey City council elections, can trace her political roots back to one of the previous key Democrats in Hudson County, former Freeholder Hank Gallo. Donnelly has been a councilwoman in Jersey City since 1997, and an active member of the St. Aloysius Parish community before that. The fact that she became the alleged target of former County Executive Robert Janiszewski during the Jersey City municipal ward redistricting last year testifies to her political loyalty to the Menendez camp, and to the fact that she is someone Menendez might feel comfortable supporting.
Where as Donnelly won big in last year’s Jersey City municipal election, Tom DeGise lost his bid for mayor against Cunningham. Menendez forces worked hard to beat DeGise in helping guarantee a Cunningham victory.
A lifelong Heights resident and Snyder High School career counselor, DeGise would balance Cunningham and keep the patronage from flowing easily to Cunningham supporters. As council president, DeGise knows as much about Jersey City as Cunningham, and would provide North Hudson with an able foil to Cunningham moves made over the next year.
Former Freeholder Louis Manzo also faced Cunningham in last year’s election, although he failed to make the runoff election. The one-time freeholder had also failed to win the mayor’s seat in 1992 and 1993, and was seen as something of a populist candidate last year.
Manzo lost in a special election of Nov. 1992, part of a 19-candidate scramble that came on the heels of former Mayor Gerald McCann’s conviction. That election featured another candidate: businessman Bret Schundler Manzo had been the favorite in that race, but many pundits believe that had Manzo’s brother Allen not run in that race as well, Manzo would have beaten Schundler. Manzo took a second stab at Schundler in the regular May election in 1993, and again lost.