State Sen. Bernard Kenny said he is calling it quits.
Although he will serve out his term until the end of the year, he will not seek re-election.
Kenny’s district includes Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, West New York, and part of Jersey City.
Kenny is the 11th state senator to decline to run for re-election in the June primary, but the least surprising.
With state Assemblyman and Union City Mayor Brian Stack huffing and puffing like a frustrated dragon to replace Kenny in the Senate, Kenny had little choice.
Over the last few weeks, people formerly loyal to Kenny began to shift their alliance to Stack.
The most high-profile of these is Hoboken Councilman Ruben Ramos Jr., who agreed to become the state Assembly candidate on the Stack ticket against Kenny.
Ramos jumped ship with class, telling Kenny and Kenny’s team that this was an opportunity he could not pass up, a step up in a promising political career.
Others have been less kind.
The most unkind cut against Kenny is the most invisible, since many believe that U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and his close associate, attorney Donald Scarinci, are also supporting Stack, and have been working behind the scenes on Stack’s behalf.
Menendez claims to have left the local political scene now that he has been elected to the U.S. Senate, but most see him continuing to secure his interests behind the scenes, particularly in regard to Scarinci’s contracts and Menendez’s other special interests.
While the move to Stack makes political sense for Menendez, it feels like a political betrayal similar to when Menendez gave up Union City Mayor William Musto in the early 1980s.
Kenny worked hard on Menendez’s behalf, and was instrumental in helping Menendez become U.S. Senator.
The Stack-Menendez union, however, is simply a marriage of convenience and as Stack’s power grows, he and Menendez will eventually have a parting of ways.
Vega will oppose Stack
Kenny’s announcement, however, does not give Stack a free ride into the state Senate, since West New York Mayor and Assemblyman Sal Vega is expected to announce his intention to challenge Stack for Kenny’s seat in the 33rd District.
Who will be on Vega’s ticket is vague, although reports are that Nicole Garcia, wife of former Union City Mayor Rudy Garcia, will not be a candidate despite the Vega side courting her.
Former Hoboken Councilwoman Carol Marsh’s name comes up on the wish list on both sides for a possible slot for state Assembly in the 33rd Dist.
Freeholder Gerry Lange has won additional animosity from Stack supporters by trying to recruit Katia Stack, Brian Stack’s ex-wife, to run against Brian Stack.
Vega is expected to get the support of the HCDO and appears to have the support of Mayors Nicholas Sacco, Jerramiah Healy, and David Roberts, as well as County Executive Tom DeGise.
If elected, Sal would become the first Latino New Jersey State Senator since Bob Menendez.
Stack’s got solid support
Stack is expected to announce a countywide ticket this Friday, and a lot depends upon whether they can lure Sandra Cunningham and her already announced ticket of Anthony Chiappone and L. Harvey Smith into their camp for a countywide challenge to the deteriorating Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO).
Political observers say the real prize in this election is control of the county.
County Executive Tom DeGise, his sidekick Jersey City Councilman Bill Gaughan, and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy are trying to keep control of the vast patronage the county provides to shift political control back to Jersey City.
Healy and Cunningham have been in intense negotiations over the last week in an effort to keep her out of the Stack camp. Reports suggest she will not hook up with Stack.
Perhaps the best indicator of who is on which side in the race came during the March 19 fundraiser for Hudson County Sheriff Joe Cassidy at Puccini’s. Cassidy was dumped by the HCDO, forcing him to run with Stack
Cunningham did not attend, nor did North Bergen Mayor and State Sen. Nicholas Sacco, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, DeGise, Gaughan, Healy, or Jersey City Councilman Peter Brennan. L. Harvey Smith did attend, but was announced as one of the current Hudson County undersheriffs rather than as a candidate for any position.
Hoboken Councilmen Chris Campos and Michael Russo did attend, as did state Assemblyman Louis Manzo, Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons, and Acting Hudson County Clerk Mary Jane Desmond.
Jersey City Councilmembers Mary Spinello, Michael Sotolano and Steve Fulop were also there. While Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria did not attend, his close ally, Bayonne Council President Vincent Lo Re, did. Caridad Rodriguez, West New York Commissioner recently dumped from the Vega municipal ticket, also attended.
Phil Kenny, a rumored candidate for a Stack-backed ticket in the 31st District, did attend. His own fundraiser a few weeks ago, however, had drawn from both sides of the political dispute, suggesting that either side would be happy to run with him.
West Hudson County appears to be backing Stack, since Harrison Mayor Ray McDonough and Kearny Mayor Al Santos attended the event.
Juan Manuel Perez, the candidate backed by Healy for Hudson County sheriff, also held a fundraiser even though HCDO has not yet named a full ticket. That is expected shortly.
Everybody wants Cory Booker
Local politics in Hoboken took a strange turn, as Beth Mason’s fundraising organization, Vote Hoboken, is holding a fundraiser on April 1 and will feature the film “Street Fight,” about the first failed effort of Cory Booker become Mayor of Newark.
Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons, meanwhile, will be bringing Booker to his annual power lunch at Frankie and Johnny’s in Hoboken on March 25.
In Bayonne, The Friends of Vincent Lo Re, Jr. have scheduled their 17th Anniversary celebration at the Chandelier Restaurant for Friday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. This is a change from the historical Sunday morning brunch of the past.