In the mid1980s, Gerald Lange along with Albio Sires was at the heart of the opposition in West New York, doing everything possible to unseat the powerful Democratic Mayor Anthony DeFino.
Sires and Lange were often spoken of in the same breath as part of a movement to take control of city hall from an administration they believed did not serve the people of the city.
Sires and Lange eventually won and while they remained part of the municipal government, Sires as mayor and Lange as commissioner, some say they parted ways to follow different political paths.
Yet the amazing upward movement of Sires, which could led him into the House of Representatives in November, has the potential of dragging Lange up as well.
Lange, currently a commissioner in West New York, is one of a few candidates being considered as the replacement for District 7 Freeholder to replace Freeholder Chairman Sal Vega, who is rumored to be a candidate to replace Sires as mayor and Assemblyman in the 33rd district.
Apparently not shy of promoting himself, Lange has been telling everybody he can that he will soon be a freeholder, although insiders claim the decision has not yet been made.
Vega, who managed to turn the Freeholder Chairmanship into a powerful position in Hudson County, is reluctant to leave the position – although it is clear that he will likely be named West New York mayor to replace Sires.
O’Dea thinks he’s got the votes for chairman
If Vega does indeed agree to relinquish his seat on the Freeholders, you can expect a battle to replace him as chairman.
Jersey City Freeholder Bill O’Dea is lobbying hard to get enough votes to secure the post meeting with Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria and Union City Mayor and state Assemblyman Brian Stack to secure the necessary five votes.
While he expects a fight over the seat, O’Dea believes he already can count on his two fellow Jersey City Freeholders, Jeff Dublin and Eliu Rivera, but also believes he can get the necessary two other votes “Don’t be surprised if Sal’s replacement, Gerry Lange, supports me with Sal’s blessing,” O’Dea said.
Insiders claim that Stack will ask Tilo Rivas, the Union City Freeholder to support O’Dea’s move if O’Dea can get Vega’s replacement – Lange or whomever to back him.
O’Dea also believes West Hudson Freeholder Al Cifelli will support him, although some stumbling blocks remain.
Vega’s tenure as Freeholder Chairman has made the seat a very powerful platform from which to launch a future campaign. It is no secret that Vega once intended to use the chairmanship as a launching pad for an election into the county executive’s seat. An O’Dea move to become chairman might be perceived as the first step towards the same goal, and could generate opposition from County Executive Tom DeGise.
The other potential danger involves the current political conflict that has Stack seeking to take the state Senate seat currently occupied by Bernard Kenny. If Kenny decides to leave quietly without a primary fight, the freeholder chairmanship might go to Hoboken Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons as a consolation prize.
But don’t count Kenny out yet since his appointment to the state Senate Budget Committee gives him much more clout.
Some insiders, however, believe O’Dea will fail to get the votes he needs and that North Bergen Freeholder Thomas F. Liggio, who currently serves as vice chair, will be the compromise candidate.
Vega, of course, will likely see a lot of action for his annual fundraiser for the Hudson County Schools of Technology as political people butter him up in anticipation of his promotion. His fundraiser will be held at Green Kitchen(Galaxy Towers) in Guttenberg from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 30.
DeGise fundraiser: Boom or bust?
Depending on whom you ask, the DeGise political fundraiser at Jersey City’s Casino in the Park in mid-September was either fabulously attended or showed a serious decline from the past. But supporters of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez seem to think the affair was a terrible waste of time – especially because of confusion over his campaign signs. Some or most were apparently removed as well as “Stop Bush” signs being posted throughout the Jersey City area.
The “Stop Bush” campaign has apparently sprung up as a way to campaign for Menendez without a direct connection to the Menendez organization. Armies of kids have been going through Jersey City neighborhoods leaving “Stop Bush” literature in doorways. But apparently, some have also posted signs that city workers have been ordered to remove.
The DeGise fundraiser did have more than 300 people, but some were there to support Jersey City Mayor Jeramiah Healy, not DeGise, and some county workers said – while they had been pressed to purchase tickets – later received them for free just to bolster the total number of attendees to hear Menendez and Gov. Jon Corzine speak.
A blast from Hoboken’s past
The return of former Councilman Anthony Romano (not to be confused with Hoboken school board trustee and police captain Anthony Romano) to Hoboken’s municipal government as a consultant has raised some eyebrows last week. While once considered as a mayoral candidate, Romano is a blast from a past that some people want to forget, and hardly representative of the new direction some reformers would like Hoboken to take.
Still more surprising is the fact that Hoboken school board trustee Carmelo Garcia may soon be tapped as assistant director to the Hoboken Housing Authority.
This is a surprise for several reasons. First, Garcia previously broke with Mayor Dave Roberts in such a public way that many thought a reunion was impossible. Also Garcia had once been considered as the director of the Housing Authority, but did not then have the qualifications.
Insiders in city hall say Garcia is being groomed for the position by giving him the opportunity to learn the ropes.
Troyer’s not with side
In Secaucus, Council hopeful Tom Troyer refused to take a two-cent campaign contribution from someone supporting his opposition, saying he wouldn’t take cash.
The campaign that has Department of Public Works Superintendent Michael Gonnelli leading a ticket which hopes to wrest control of the town council from Mayor Dennis Elwell by taking three council seats in November. Troyer, who is an independent from both parties, has been painted by both sides as an operative of the other.
“I can work with any of them if they do the right thing,” Troyer said. “If they don’t do the right thing, then I’m against them.”