Some members of the Secaucus Democratic Committee are hopping mad.
They believe they were deceived when it came to a recent political poll that claimed mayoral hopeful Councilman Michael Gonnelli was unbeatable in the November election now that former Mayor Dennis Elwell has withdrawn from the race.
Elwell resigned both as mayor and candidate for reelection after he was charged with allegedly taking a bribe in a widespread federal probe in late July.
The Democratic Committee is charged with naming possible candidates to serve as interim mayor next January, and in September, naming a possible replacement to run as mayor as the head of the Democratic ticket against Gonnelli.
Committee people were handed the numbers on a poll concluded on Aug. 9 which seem to defy logic.
“We were told that Richard Kane finished last in the polling against Gonnelli, when we know that is impossible,” said one committeeperson.
Kane, who stepped down as 1st Ward councilman months before any of Elwell’s legal troubles surfaced, is seen as the Democratic ticket’s best last hope to salvage their council slate.
Kane has the funds and creditability to possibly even win against the very popular Gonnelli, and yet committee people could not even nominate Kane as interim mayor during the committee meeting on Aug. 10.
“They closed the nomination so fast, none of us had a chance to nominate him,” another committee person said.
Even Tom Troyer, who is not on the committee, called Kane a strong and positive candidate.
“But he could have stepped away from Elwell sooner,” Troyer said, also shocked by the supposed numbers that suggest Kane trailed Public Defender Peter Weiner and Councilman John Shinnick in head to head races against Gonnelli.
Another source who claimed familiarity with the poll numbers said the report to the committee was exactly opposite of the reality.
“In name recognition, Kane came within 8 percentage points of Gonnelli,” this source said. “I’m not saying he would win against Gonnelli, but it is possible.”
As it was, the committee nominated three names: former councilman Richard Steffens, Robert Zych, and Edward Zloty.
“We don’t know where Zych came from,” another committeeperson said. “It should have been Kane.”
Under laws regulating replacement of a mayor or councilperson, the committee is charged with submitting three names to the City Council, which ultimately chooses who will replace Elwell until the Jan. 1 swearing in of the new mayor elected in November.
Some committee people, as well as others, believe that a deal has been struck that will undermine the Democratic organization in Secaucus. Although Gonnelli and others have denied any deal has been made, others claim a meeting took place between Gonnelli, State Sen. Nicholas Sacco, and newly appointed Secaucus Municipal Chairman Vincent Prieto, and an agreement was forged that would allow Gonnelli to run unopposed for mayor in exchange for the appointment of Ralph Lamparello as the new town attorney.
Lamparello’s firm, Chasan Leyner & Lamparello, is closely associated with Sacco and has recently taken on duties in many municipalities, including Bayonne.
According to the supposed deal, Steffens would be made interim mayor and the lawsuit filed by Gonnelli against Elwell and former Town Administrator Anthony Iacono would be settled with Gonnelli and his wife receiving payment of $100,000 each.
Gonnelli and several of his key supporters flatly denied any deal was struck. Although a meeting did take place with Sacco and Prieto, the whole discussion was allegedly about the poll and its implications.
Gonnelli said if he is elected mayor, all professional service contracts would be examined with the eye of reducing costs. While Lamparello might eventually become the town attorney, he would have to submit a proposal and be evaluated to determine if his proposal saved the city the most money.
Zimmer: smart politics or what?
Critics of Hoboken Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer are screaming foul because her followers found a legal loophole that would allow her to run for mayor in a special election in November without having to give up her council seat.
Zimmer, as City Council president, took over as acting mayor when Peter Cammarano resigned. But the City Council has 30 days from the date of resignation to vote on a person who will serve as interim mayor until the November special election allows voters to choose their new mayor. If the council does not vote, then Zimmer as council president continues as mayor until November.
Here is where things get tricky. If the council votes Zimmer in as interim mayor, then her council seat also comes up for a vote in the special election. If Zimmer loses her bid for mayor under this scenario, she cannot retake her council set.
If the council does nothing, then her seat remains filled until the special election. If Zimmer loses her bid for mayor, she retakes her council seat.
Since Zimmer allies control the city council, expect no vote to take place. This infuriates her opponents, who call the move political cowardice, when in truth, it is one sign that Zimmer has learned how to play the political game – and this is even more frustrating to her opponents.