New Jersey 33rd District Assemblyman Rafael Fraguela held a press conference last week to counter the "lies and fabrications of the current administration" in Union City.
The assemblyman’s ire was apparently aroused by Union City Mayor Brian Stack’s rumored plans to run for Fraguela’s Assembly seat in the June Democratic primary. Stack has been criticizing Fraguela’s record of late. State Sen. Bernard Kenny confirmed on Wednesday that Stack would be part of a state legislative ticket that will announce Monday.
The 33rd District includes the towns of West New York, Union City, Hoboken, Guttenberg and Weehawken.
Fraguela’s press conference was held at the Hijos y Amigos de Fomento banquet hall on 38th Street and was called, according to a press release from Fraguela’s office, "to announce his plans for the remainder of the year; set the record straight, and address the distortions and fabrications by the Union City mayor about his political record."
Stack won an unopposed election for mayor in May 2002. He had attained his seat the year before after Mayor Raul "Rudy" Garcia resigned. Before that, he had been a longtime community activist.
A few months ago, Stack saw his authority as Union City mayor challenged by a recall campaign spearheaded by Union City Board of Education principal Jose Falto. At first, Stack chose to simply ignore the recall attempt as inconsequential, but as time went by, Stack found it increasingly difficult to ignore the challenge. Falto has become a town gadfly of sorts, attending every Union City event that has even a hint of politics. Falto has made it widely known that he intends to unseat Stack and take his place.
This wouldn’t be necessarily shocking, except that rumors have been circulating that Stack is convinced that Fraguela is behind the recall campaign, and that Falto is simply a front for Fraguela.
When asked about the rumors last week, Fraguela said, "I have not been behind any movement. At this point I need to ascertain the facets of the political landscape."
While the statement was vague, Fraguela minced no words when speaking about the Stack administration.
"I can no longer ignore the fabrication and lies," Fraguela said at the conference. "It is fine to gain politically, but not by lying." Fraguela added, "We may have thought that the mayor was putting Union City first, but he (Stack) seems to have the time to fabricate lies."
Stack has questioned Fraguela’s commitment to Union City. Some in the Stack camp suggested a growing rift between the two men over Union City’s interests on a state level and lack of frequent contact between the two leaders. This move may actually hint of a deeper rift between Stack and U.S. Rep. Robert Menendez, an ally of Fraguela, according to political sources.
I will not go quietly
Fraguela made it known that he would fight for his seat. "I have formed an exploratory committee and I will be running," he said.
As a result of the negative spin that Stack’s comments have placed on his camp, Fraguela read off a litany of his accomplishments, though he was careful to play up the "there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’ " angle. Said Fraguela, "I led the biggest and most effective renovation projects in Union City. We fixed the schools. I believe in teams and team effort. I was surrounded by great people. The parents, students and the Board of Education, they all helped."
Fraguela also highlighted his accomplishment in "streamlining" the curriculum in all the Union City schools. Said Fraguela, "At one time, every school had a different system. We united the schools with a single curriculum."
As far as Fraguela’s record in the state assembly and Stack’s assessment of it, Fraguela said, "My attendance record is perfect. I have never seen Stack press a button in Trenton. He’s not even legally allowed to so." Fraguela explained in a letter to his constituency, "Legislators are the only individuals elected by the people that are allowed to vote in the Legislature. My opponent indicated that he went to Trenton to bring money to Union City; I have not seen him there. He cannot vote. I can vote and will continue to bring a better quality of life and resources to our cities. My attendance has been perfect to date. And I have delivered many millions of dollars. These are facts, not fabrications."
However, Fraguela’s self-assessment of his performance runs counter to what New Jersey Monthly had to say about the legislator in their April 2003 issue. Fraguela is a "Sponsor of the Least Legislation," the piece noted. It said, "On the other end…is Assemblyman Rafael Fraguela, who in the first half of this session saw fit to affix his name to no more than 10 bills as prime sponsor. Only GOP assemblyman Michael Doherty (13) of Washington Township, Warren County, and his Democratic colleague Donald Tucker (18) of Newark were nearly as unproductive."
Fraguela characterized the Stack administration as a "dictatorship." When asked to clarify that characterization, Fraguela said, "I will continue to expose those that are trying to intimidate the residents and merchants of Union City."
Curiously, this is almost the same line of reasoning that Jose Falto is using in his attempt to unseat Brian Stack as Union City mayor, thereby possibly also weakening Stack’s position as freeholder.
Falto has complained in the past about Stack’s "quality of life" campaign that involved cutting bar hours. Falto has said that this is unfair to businesses and residents trying to make a living in those establishments.
Said Falto in a telephone interview, "I am glad to hear that the assemblyman will continue to seek to serve the public. As a Latino, I am concerned about losing a Latino representative in the county. The assemblyman has done an outstanding job. If he runs, I would certainly support him as a Latino."
Union City Mayor Brian Stack was matter-of-fact about Fraguela and his record. Said the mayor, "I am disappointed by [Fraguela’s] performance. He’s totally unproductive as the representative of the 33rd District. He is the weak link in the 33rd District. We have strong people here such as Senator Bernie Kenny (D-Hoboken). Assemblyman Fraguela was never there for us. I will not support him for the Assembly. He is totally unreachable when it comes to Union City." The mayor added, "It’s not about me wanting to be Assemblyman. It’s about what is best for the 33rd District."
Kenny said, "We are going to be announcing our slate on Monday morning, and Brian Stack will be a candidate for Assembly, along with Albio Sires."
Asked to comment on the escalating political mudslinging, Kenny said, "Brian Stack has demonstrated a tremendous ability. He has been very aggressive in governing Union City. Ralph [Fraguela] is someone I’ve known for 15, 16 years and he is a person I have had a good relationship with. But sometimes political circumstances dictate a change and we’re making that change. It is needed."
While the battle lines are clearly being drawn in the 33rd District, it is impossible to tell at this point what the eventual outcome will be. The fluid nature of Hudson County politics dictates that players on both sides will be lining up in the near future, and it won’t be pretty.