Glenn Cunningham, Louis Manzo and Anthony Chiappone had already been sworn in officially as state senator and assemblymen of the 31st District respectively on Tuesday at the State House in Trenton, but a second ceremony was held Wednesday night in Jersey City.
For the nearly 1,000 supporters who came out to St. Peter’s College in the near-freezing temperatures on Wednesday, it was as if they were watching the three men win their elections all over again.
City employees, political supporters, family members, visiting dignitaries and local well-wishers witnessed a new political chapter in the careers of the three public servants, who had all had political careers before. Cunningham is presently in his first term as Jersey City mayor.
The mistress of ceremonies was City Councilwoman Viola Richardson, who opened the evening by introducing the honorees. Manzo and Chiappone came on stage, escorted by their families. Newly elected State Senator Cunningham had his wife, Sandra Bolden Cunningham, at his side.
“It is finally here…the day where we will recognize three individuals who have weathered the storm, who have gone through hell and back,” said Richardson. “And three people who are victorious, who have won the fight, who have won the race.”
The reference was to last year’s nasty campaign among two opposing Hudson County Democratic factions for seats in the 31st District. The reigning county Democratic faction, which includes Hudson County executive Tom DeGise, has been opposed to Cunningham, who was seen as wanting more power for Jersey City in the county.
Throughout the evening, a number of speakers gave their testimonials and prayers to the new officials bound for the State House. Among them were State Senators Nia Gill (D-Montclair) and Ray Lesniak (D-Union), and Kearny Mayor Al Santos.
“About a year ago, Hudson County politicians were having what’s called leadership meetings, and some people were not invited,” Santos said.
First Lady Sandra Bolden Cunningham gave a stirring testimonial to her husband, citing his faith in God in helping him to achieve his victory over his Democratic opposition. She admonished his opponents for not knowing who they were running against.
“They didn’t know that he asked God first,” Sandra Cunningham said. “They didn’t know that when he was trying to become state senator, it wasn’t about him seeking power; it was about empowering the people of the 31st District. But I have one thing to say – they know it now.”
Real issues
After his inauguration, Chiappone, formerly an activist and council member in Bayonne, said, “I will not be an assemblyperson that you just see during election time. I will be someone that you can pick the phone up and call anytime. I will be someone that you can feel free to stop into my office and see me or one of my staff, or call up my wife Diane and say simply ‘Diane, can I get a hold of Tony, I have a problem.’ ”
Sworn in next was Manzo, a former Hudson County freeholder and former head of the Jersey City Department of Health, who brought an entourage of nieces and nephews to the stage.
Manzo peppered his thank-you speech with quotes from noted figures of the past such as John F. Kennedy, Jr. and Martin Luther King, and gave statistics about the important political issues that will need to be tackled by the state Assembly in the upcoming legislative session.
He announced his sponsorship several upcoming bills, including Bill A572, known as the Smart Homestead Rebate Bill. If approved, it will authorize the placing of a 1/10 of 1 percent surcharge on incomes over $155,000 and a 1 percent surcharge on incomes over $1,000,000 in order to remedy what he saw as an increasingly unfair situation facing the majority of low and middle income New Jersey taxpayers.
“Of New Jersey’s 2.7 million tax filers, 2.5 million make less than $155,000, yet pay six cents of every dollar they earned to fund school operations,” Manzo said.
Staff announcements
In other news, Cunningham recently named two new hires for his state Senate staff.
Dejon Morris will be his office manager. He will be in charge of constituent services, operating the Jersey City office to address the concerns of those residents of the district. Morris was an employee of the Jersey City Department of Cultural Affairs.
The other new employee will be Tralone Shorter, who will be the legislative director operating out of both Trenton and Jersey City. Shorter worked previously in the office of U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, most recently as a special projects manager, and brings a wealth of experience working in Trenton and in Washington D.C.
So far, Cunningham and Louis Manzo have their staffs in place, but Anthony Chiappone is still working toward having a staff in place before the end of this week.