For those that think Bob Menendez can’t smile, lunch with him at Casa Dante in Jersey City a few weeks ago would have proved a pleasant surprise.
For most people in Hudson County’s political circles, Rep. Menendez of the 13th Congressional District has always seemed a little aloof – a consummate professional with perfectly combed hair, a crisply pressed business suit and a foreboding expression.
While many people, especially his political enemies, have witnessed his wrath, the tender moments – those when he lets his guard down in public – are rare. Yet over lunch, he managed to produce a laugh or two.
Up for re-election, Menendez wanted to clear the air and talk about why people should elect him rather than support his primary opponent, Steve Fulop (see related story, page 4). Quotes for this article come from both the lunch date and a later telephone interview.
‘Shooting star’
In some ways, Menendez has lived a political fairy tale. Once called “a shooting star” of Hudson County politics, Menendez leaped into public office straight out of high school when he took up office on the Union City Board of Education.
Within six years, he managed to get elected Union City Board of Commissioners. He served as mayor, state assemblyman and state senator before seeking and winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992.
Savvy politically, Menendez leaped on the opportunity to run for the House of Representatives after a 1990 redistricting split Jersey City up into three parts and created a larger Latino district running from the tip of Perth Amboy at its most southern end to upper tip of North Bergen at its most northerly end. The 13th District encompasses most of Jersey City, Bayonne, and North Bergen, all of Union City, Weehawken, West New York, Hoboken, Guttenberg, and East Newark and Harrison – as well as large parts of Newark, Elizabeth all of Perth Amboy and Carteret.
The district has a 43 percent Latino population, giving Menendez – who is Cuban-American – a significant edge for re-election.
Although Menendez has faced election challengers prior to this year, the current battle with Fulop evolved out of a Democratic feud with state Senator and Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham in the wake of the resignation of former County Executive Robert Janiszewski. Bitter words have spilled out of both sides of the larger conflict to take control of the Democratic Party in Hudson County. Prior to Mayor Cunningham’s death on May 25, each side remained divided over a variety of issues, such as professional contracts, political patronage and support of candidates for countywide offices. Although both sides had chances to make peace, neither extended the olive branch – leaving bitter feelings to linger even after Cunningham’s death.
For Menendez, Cunningham’s backing of Fulop only digs deeper into old wounds and promises to create deeper divisions in the Hudson County Democratic family. During an interview prior to Cunningham’s death, Menendez said the feud had distracted him from helping get Democrat John Kerry elected President of the United States.
“Instead of starting to work for Kerry election prior to the primary, I have to stay here in my own district and watch my back,” Menendez said at the time.
For Menendez, the 2004 election is a critical one for the nation, a moment in time when the Democratic forces should be drawing together to resist current trends to shift additional national wealth into the hands of a wealthy elite.
“We are at a critical time,” Menendez said. “If we do not do this now, we may not get a chance again to take back our nation.”
Taking the political high road
Although a fierce political street fighter behind the scenes, Menendez has persistently taken the high road in his public campaigns, selling his accomplishments to the public as a reason for their vote. The unspoken theme of each campaign throughout his career has been to make the lives of family and neighbors better. He says the public elected him to fight on their behalf.
While his political enemies have often disputed his motives, Menendez has amassed an impressive record for bringing home the bacon, making certain that his district gets its fair share of federal dollars. When the Jersey City Medical Center needed $180 million in federal loan guarantees to make the new hospital campus possible, Menendez worked through two presidential administrations to make it happen. His staff has taken the forefront in a number of areas such as veterans’ rights, local healthcare, affordable housing, and public transportation. Through his efforts, health centers in Hudson County have been established or prevented from closing, affordable housing projects have been funded, and the Light Rail moved from concept to a reality.
“I think I’ve made a difference in people’s lives,” he said, citing the establishment of immunization days and his efforts at providing Hudson’s poor with qualified doctors and nurses.
When congress decided to close the Army base at the Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, Menendez helped with the transition, getting federal funding to help build the infrastructure that would allow the city of Bayonne to redevelop the 450-acre site.
“This has generated 250 jobs already with many more to come in the future,” Menendez said.
While opponents say the biggest contributors to Menendez campaign come from the real estate and construction industries, Menendez points to the number of redevelopments his activities helped make possible, such as the redevelopment of the Morris Canal Zone in Jersey City. He also boasts of helping financial services modernize making a huge impact on Hudson County economy as more and more professional firms seek to locate here. He also takes pride in being “a fighter” for educational needs of his district, and someone that is struggling to make up for the $27 billion the current presidential administration has shortchanged schools through the “No Child Left Behind Act.”
In transforming public housing areas like Curries Woods in Jersey City from the concept of warehousing welfare people to a community-based setting in which residents can take pride, Menendez believes he has helped “empower” people in breaking the cycle of dependency the former Welfare system inspired.
What issues are most important this year than in the past?
“Certainly dealing the rising cost of health care,” Menendez responded. “That’s why I have supported helping small and midsized business to offer health insurance or subsidize increased coverage for their employees.” Menendez also said the federal government has to balance its annual budget and cease continued overspending that has created the largest federal debt in American history.
He also said senior citizens need prescription plans that will provide them with honest discounts, not a plan issued at the whim of pharmaceutical companies.
Menendez said that while he honors those who serve in the military, he remains opposed to the war in Iraq. “I voted against giving the President the first $87 billion,” he said. “I do not believe it is in our nation’s best interest.”
Why is it important for Menendez to retain his seat?
“What I bring to the table is proven experience,” he said. “I stand up for what I believe and fight for those I represent. I have succeeded in some matters and taken principle stands. I also have seniority and leadership, and I believe I can be more effective than a freshman.”