When Jason O’Donnell took over as chairman of the Bayonne City Regular Democratic Organization last June, Joseph Doria was still mayor, and the upcoming year – although scheduled for a presidential primary election on Feb. 5 – seemed pretty predictable.
In October, Doria took a job as the commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs in Trenton, and Terrence Malloy became interim mayor. Still even more significant, Bayonne because the county headquarters for the election of U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton.
“We’ve opened our Bayonne office for Hillary,” he said. “We’re the only one in Hudson County.”
The two-room store front staffed with several dozen volunteers a day works the phones, making as many as 2,000 calls a day trying to get out the vote for Hillary.
“I think Bayonne will turn out for her,” O’Donnell said a few days before the primary. “This is her demographic.”
Bayonne became Clinton central for Hudson County partly because of some prominent Hudson County leaders such as Mayor Jerramiah Healy – who serves as chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization – supports Clinton adversary, Barack Obama. Healy in fact is the state co-chair for Obama.
“It was surprising to us that nothing going on for Hillary here,” O’Donnell said. “So I took a shot in early December, not knowing where the leaders were,”
O’Donnell said he knew Bayonne would play a critical role if Clinton was to win.
“I took the lay of the land as to where the campaign stood,” he said. “I knew that Mayor Malloy and many of the other council members had endorsed Hillary. So I figured if we didn’t do it, I’m not sure anyone would open a headquarters for her in Hudson County.”
Having a campaign headquarters and a staff working to get out the vote was critical, since it was clear that the county’s largest city – Jersey City – would likely go to Obama. “We needed something to counter that vote,” he said.
Bayonne has always had a good political organization, and combining this with information supplied by the state Clinton Campaign, O’Donnell believed the headquarters would be very effective on Clinton’s behalf.
Yet part of this organizational effort has to do with building the local part for the future.
“We have a freeholder primary in June and we have a mayoral election in November,” he said, adding that November will also require the organization to gear up to support which even Democratic nominee is running for president.
“My theory is run scared or run unopposed,” O’Donnell said. “I believe we have to earn every vote every time we go out.”
Serving the community
A Bayonne fireman with three children, O’Donnell comes into the political scene with a history of public service.
“I do what is best for the party and the city,” he said.
A tavern-owner for seven years and a bartender for about 15 years, O’Donnell said he’s learned a lot about conflict resolution, and believes that even among his own party members, he can find common ground.
“I think in the end everybody is looking for what is best for Bayonne,” he said.
To get involved with local politics, O’Donnell had some big shoes to fill. He inherited the same district where former Mayor Dennis Collins residents.
“My grandfather and he were school mates,” O’Donnell said, claiming he can’t compare to Collin, but can only keep up the tradition for public service.
O’Donnell proved himself as the campaign manager for Nicholas Chiaravalloti’s failed bid for state Assembly in last June’s primary, an election O’Donnell claims his candidate should have won – but for the massive turn out in Jersey City against him.
“We got the Bayonne vote out, Jersey City beat us,” he said.
One of the lessons learned from that campaign is not to relinquish control of the campaign.
“We aren’t going to depend on Jersey City to get out the vote for us, we’re going to make sure we get out our vote no matter where it is,” he said. “In future we need coordinate entire legist district.”
This is hugely important in the presidential primary where Jersey City’s organization is pulling out votes for Obama.
Taking his place on the team
After the primary, Erica Daughtrey, moved on to take work with the state, leaving the chair of the Bayonne City Regular Democrats vacant.
“It was something I was interested in,” O’Donnell said. “I’ve been watching and learning and decided this was the time.”
Without Doria as a powerful presence, a bit part of O’Donnell’s job has been to find a way to energize the party.
“We have to be self sufficient now, and this is a whole different political scene,” he said.
While the Clinton campaign is the highest profile job in this year, it is not the only campaign he will have to run. He said Bayonne City Local Democratic Organization will also be seeking to win the freeholder nomination for incumbent Freeholder Doreen DiDomenico in June.
“If I am reelected as chairman in June, we’ll play a significant role in the general election next fall,” he said.
As chairman he will also be responsible for getting out the Clinton vote against the Republican candidate, as well as supporting the local candidates for House of Representatives. A large portion of Bayonne is in the 13th Congressional district, a seat currently occupied by Rep. Albio Sires. A portion of Bayonne is also in the 10th Congressional district, where Rep. Donald Payne serves.
Doing this for the future
O’Donnell feels confident that win or lose the Clinton campaign will have rewards for Bayonne Democrats.
“We hope to be rewarded for what we’re doing in the primary,” he said. “We have to prove ourselves, and thankfully we have people like [County Executive] Tom DeGise and [Jersey City Councilman] Bill Gaughan on our side.”
O’Donnell hopes Bayonne will retain its status as a political force to be reckoned with in the future.
“I think we are strong,” he said. “Look what happened this year. Mayor Doria left and we’re still standing.”
But more importantly, the change in political landscape gives power back to the individual.
“Committee people in the past had a lot to do. They used to make sure people got their trees trimmed on their block and took care of other problems residents might have,” O’Donnell said. “Over the years, politics changed. Now, I see us taking ownership of the party again, opening up the doors to allow everybody to come in.”
In the week before the Feb. 5 primary, O’Donnell said his office is very busy, planning a massive media campaign while also getting people out to canvas the vote.
“We’re coordinating with the state campaign,” he said. “And we’ll have the phone bank running all the way through Tuesday night.”