The races for state Senate and state Assembly in the 31st, 32nd and 33rd Districts covering Hudson County, as well as Hudson County Executive, Sheriff and Clerk were determined on June 5.
Last Tuesday was just a legal formality to confirm the winners from the summer’s surprisingly exciting election primary.
But the predictable results did not stop the Hudson County Democratic Organization from holding a post-election party at Puccini’s Restaurant on West Side Avenue in Jersey City.
Meanwhile, Democrats for Hudson County, the rival newcomer faction led by Union City Mayor Brian Stack, held a small gathering at his election headquarters in Union City. The HCDO swept the slate for state Senate and state Assembly in the 31st and 32nd district, and also did so for County Executive, Sheriff and Clerk.
DFHC won the 33rd District state Senate and state Assembly seats.
On January 1, those who won on a county level will be sworn into their county positions. Also that month, the winners of the state Senate and state Assembly seats will be sworn into their posts.
And now, while most of the candidates elected – incumbents or newcomers – will have time to catch their breaths, one hit the political ground running.
Newly-elected 31st District state Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham was scheduled to be sworn in Thursday afternoon – two days after being elected – in Trenton to fill the remaining term of her predecessor, former state Senator and Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria. Doria stepped down in October to take over as head of the NJ Department of Community Affairs.
Cunningham, who received the loudest applause at the HCDO celebration, gave credit to her late husband, former Jersey City Mayor and state Senator Glenn Cunningham, during her remarks, as she pointed and looked up to the ceiling.
“There’s one thing my mother always said and one thing you should always remember, ‘Cream always rises to the top,'” Cunningham said. “And everything I do, it is for you Glenn.”
Keeping them on a short leash
The running joke about political celebrations for predictable outcomes is that hot dogs will be served at the victory celebration, instead of a catered meal.
Tuesday’s HCDO celebration at Puccini’s saw some heated trays with pasta, chicken and other hors d’oeuvres. But it was a small setup, matching the muted, reserved mood that HCDO Chairman and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy had set for the evening.
Healy also took out the pomp that usually accompanies political speeches and put a “one minute or less” rule on the winning candidates. He would remark proudly that he kept the speeches to about 13 minutes.
However, there was genuine elation for several of the candidates, including Cunningham, Juan Perez and Barbara Netchert.
Perez was not only greeted by loud cheers but also by gifts of a white, ten-gallon hat and a plastic star badge, for being “the new sheriff in town.”
That led him to comment “Joe Cassidy eat your heart out,” a reference to outgoing Hudson County Sheriff Joseph Cassidy, who lost by a close margin in the June Democratic primary to Perez.
Cunningham was probably the most popular candidate on election night. She received hugs, kisses and words of congratulations for well-wishers as soon as she entered Puccini’s and before she was ready to leave, accompanied by her late husband’s sister. She also received a bouquet of flowers.
Before she spoke, Cunningham told the Reporter she already has a staffer working for her in Trenton in anticipation of the state Legislature going back into session after Thanksgiving, and has been meeting with fellow state legislators.
County Executive Tom DeGise was happy about his easy victory, giving him another four years in office. But it was a bittersweet one as his wife Helene passed away in August and a niece died a few weeks later.
“I am more philosophical about these things,” DeGise said. “When you had loss like I had a few months ago, it really puts into perspective what is important….I am not saying this isn’t important because I am glad I won, but it is not as important as it used to be.”
Bayonne City Councilman Anthony Chiappone is returning to the state Assembly seat that he held from 2003-2005.
“I want to thank the mayors of both Jersey City and Bayonne; I want to thank Sandra Cunningham for giving me this opportunity, and I want to thank all my running mates for their support and people of Jersey City and Bayonne and my closest supporters for making this happen,” Chiappone said.
Stack after the election
The day after the election, Stack spoke to the Union City Reporter about his victory and those of his running mates.
“It’s a great victory – it shows that when you work hard for people, it [will] show in the results,” Stack said. He added, “This is a victory for the people.”
Stack went on to talk about running uncontested:
“After the June [primary] battle, it was different for me. It was a good opportunity to meet a lot of people. I’m going to work twice as hard now for the people. It’s a great exchange between me and the public, and a chance to show people what we’ll do in the Senate.”
Stack supporter and longtime political figure Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner also commented on Stack’s victory.
“Even though Stack had no opponent, Stack’s vote total approached 19,000,” Turner said. “That’s a tremendous vote count even if someone was running against him. Brian is very popular in his district and across the board. Since the 33rd District represents a large portion of the 13th Congressional District, this bodes very well for Albio Sires’ primary election for House of Representatives near year.”
Turner said he believed the dispute between Hudson County Democrats has been settled, and he said Stack’s turn out will help Sires even if the dispute continues.
“Brian has always pushed the people’s agenda,” Turner said. “Brian understands all the problems faced by municipal government, and he understands that he will have to have a working relationship with other Hudson County officials to make sure things get done.”
Comments on the story can be sent to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com and asullivan@hudsonreporter.com Sidebar The candidates and the numbers
The word of Election Day was landslide, as in the results from the key election races up to Wednesday afternoon in predominantly-Democratic Hudson County.
Cunningham won the state Senate 31st District race with 10,170 votes to independent candidate Louis Vernotico’s 1,383. Also in the 31st, her state Assembly mates prevailed uncontested with Anthony Chiappone receiving 10,069 votes and L. Harvey Smith getting 9,980.
The 32nd District state Senate seat went to North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco with 14,719, over Republican challenger John Pluchino with 3,025. The 32nd District Assembly seats went to incumbents Joan M. Quigley at 14,540 and Vincent Prieto at 14,545. Edward T. O’Neill received 2,900 votes, and Jacob Hahn got 2,664.
The slate for the 33rd District State Senate and State Assembly seats went uncontested as well, with Stack getting 19,424 votes and election mates Ruben J. Ramos, Jr. and Caridad Rodriguez getting 17,859 and 17,386, respectively.
The 31st District covers Bayonne, southern Jersey City and parts of Downtown Jersey City. The 32nd District encompasses the western part of Jersey City near the Hackensack River along with North Bergen, Secaucus, East Newark, Fairview, Harrison, and Kearny.
The 33rd District includes part of Jersey City, as well as the towns of Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, Hoboken, and Weehawken.
In the Hudson County Executive race, incumbent Thomas DeGise won over Republican Agha M. Khan and Independent Herbert H. Shaw with 40,616 to Khan’s 5,869 and Shaw’s 2,456.
For Hudson County Clerk, Barbara Netchert won with 39,663 over David Solari’s 7,234. The Hudson County Sheriff’s race saw Juan Perez beat Gregory Rivera 40,022 to 7,176. –RK