North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco was asked how he felt about the lopsided election results Tuesday that saw him gain his fourth term as the New Jersey state senator, representing the 32nd District.
“Honestly, I didn’t see the totals,” Sacco said. “Did I win?”
Of course, the mayor was speaking tongue-in-cheek. Sacco didn’t merely win re-election. He won in a rout, collecting nearly 78 percent of the vote. He beat Republican challenger Louis Lusquinos of Kearny and two independent challengers, including North Bergen resident Denis Jaslow.
The final tally saw Sacco securing 16,756 votes, compared to 3,971 for Lusquinos and just 906 for Jaslow.
Although the turnout was extremely low (about 27 percent of the district’s nearly 80,000 registered voters came out Tuesday), Sacco was obviously pleased with the results.
“I think it shows that the people of the 32nd District are satisfied with the performance,” Sacco said. “They showed it by the way they came out and voted.”
Sacco admitted that he didn’t put the same kind of effort, energy and funding into this Senate campaign as he did with the two previous municipal elections, the special election that saw Commissioner Allen Pascual elected last November and the township-wide municipal race last May that saw Sacco and his entire ticket of supporters swept into office once again.
“We definitely took a low-key approach in this election,” Sacco said. “Our committee people went out door-to-door and reminded people to vote. We knew that we had a strong backing in North Bergen and we relied on the political leaders in the other towns in the district for their support.”
Added Sacco, “But we didn’t publicize the election, didn’t pay for huge ads or signage. I figured that North Bergen had already been through two tumultuous elections and we didn’t need to put anyone through another one. The weather was unpleasant, but still, people managed to come out and vote, and I’m grateful for that.”
Sacco said that the election victory will enable him to continue to push for some legislation that he has sought in the past.
“There are some things that need to be completed,” Sacco said. “Hopefully, now, with a clean-cut majority in the Senate, we can accomplish some things we had been working on.”
After Tuesday’s election results, the Democratic Party holds a 22-18 advantage in the state Senate, which is good news for Sacco.
“We’re going to be able to introduce the Democratic agenda and have our bills at least considered now,” said Sacco, who was expected to be named the chairman of the state Senate’s Transportation committee in caucuses that were held Thursday. “We have a majority now and that’s something we’ve never had since I’ve been there.”
Sacco said that he cannot rush legislation that benefits his district now, simply because the Democratic Party is in charge.
“We have to be careful with the legislation we select,” Sacco said. “The administration can make mistakes. We have to make sure that it is desirable to the people who live in the 32nd District.”
Sacco said that it was a never-ending lesson in futility, trying to pass a bill through a Republican-dominated Senate.
“It was a lesson in frustration,” Sacco said. “I just hope that my Republican colleagues in the Senate continue to have an open mind. I hope we can work together.”
Sacco said that he will continue to fight for legislation that will help improve public education for the 32nd District, as well as improvements to roadways, such as a proposed plan to improve Tonnelle Avenue (State Highway 1&9).
“We have to see what the other issues are,” Sacco said. “I’m just happy to get to serve another term.”