Although Hudson County residents are planning to vote for governor on Nov. 3, and some towns have mayoral or council choices, there are also two contested races in each district for the state Assembly. Assembly seats have two-year terms.
Two Democrats are running in each district, sometimes opposed by Republicans or independents.
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Usually, the Democrats win in Hudson County, but that’s not always the case. In one district, the incumbent candidate was recently indicted for alleged misuse of state funds.
31st District: Much of JC, all of Bayonne
In the 31st district, which encompasses a large portion of Jersey City and all of Bayonne, voters will have the chance to re-elect Democratic incumbent Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, who was indicted on state charges for allegedly misdirecting payments to his legislative aides into his personal and political reelection accounts.
Since each district has two assemblymen, Chiappone has a runningmate: Charles Mainor. The two of them are challenged by Republicans Irene Kim Asbury and Marie Day, as well as independents Neil Scott and Omar Dyer.
32nd District: North Bergen, Secaucus, part of JC
In the 32nd District, covering a western portion of Jersey City, North Bergen, Secaucus, East Newark, and parts of Bergen County, current Democratic Assemblypersons Joan Quigley and Vincent Prieto face light competition in longtime independent candidate Herbert Shaw. He often has run with the slogan “Politicians are Crooks” or “Politicos son Corruptos.”
33rd District: Hoboken, UC, WNY, Weehawken, Guttenberg, part of JC
In the 33rd District, which includes Hoboken, Union City, Guttenberg, Weehawken, West New York, and northeastern part of Jersey City, incumbent Assembly members Ruben Ramos Jr. and Caridad Rodriguez are challenged by Republicans Beth Hamburger and John Barbadillo.
Who they are
31st District:
Anthony Chiappone – Democrat
Chiappone, had served in the state Assembly for one term, from 2004-2005, and won a second term in November 2007. Chiappone had previously served on the Bayonne City Council for over 10 years. Chiappone attended York College and Jersey City State College, and is a photographer by training having operated a photography and video shop in Bayonne for 20 years.
Charles Mainor – Democrat
Mainor lives in Jersey City and is a police detective who has been on the force for over 20 years. He also serves a recruiter for the Police Department, to bring in new recruits. He has been the director of the YMCA Safe Haven Program for five years in Hudson County.
Marie Day – Republican
Day, a Jersey City resident, is the designer and Director of D&J Career Center. She is presently a consultant for the School of Nutritional Science of the International Nutrition Consultants Association. Day serves with the Haitian Pentecostal Church, and is also a board member of the Jersey City Chapter of the Haitian-American Voters and Entrepreneurs National (HAVEN).
Irene Kim Asbury – Republican
Irene Kim Asbury, a Jersey City resident, serves as a court-appointed mediator in Hudson and Passaic Counties. Asbury graduated from the Johns Hopkins University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and received her Juris Doctorate from the Seton Hall University School of Law in 1999.
Omar Dyer – Independent
Dyer, a Jersey City resident, is an independent writer and founder of a program called Next Generation of Leaders. He attended Hoboken High, the University of Oregon and New York University.
Neil Scott – Independent
Scott, a Jersey City resident, is a businessman who previously worked in information systems. He is a member the Kiwanis International Club, serves on the Business Advisory Counsel of Urban League of Hudson County, and is the President of the Board of Directors of the Society Hill 1 complex.
32nd District:
Joan Quigley – Democrat
Quigley, a Jersey City resident, has served in the state Assembly since 1994. Quigley is an administrator for Hoboken University Medical Center. She was previously employed with the Hudson County Welfare Board and the Hudson County United Way. She received degrees from Hudson County Community College, Saint Peter’s College and Rutgers University.
Vincent Prieto – Democrat
Prieto, a Secaucus resident, has served in the state Assembly since 2004. He is working as a construction code officer for several Hudson County towns. Prieto attended Middlesex County College and Bergen Community College. Prieto served on the Secaucus Planning Board from 1998-2001.
Herbert Shaw – Independent
Shaw is a perennial independent candidate who has run for various political offices since 1969.
Shaw was born in Weehawken and lived in West New York and Union City, before moving to Fairview and getting married. He then moved to North Bergen. He is a retired operating engineer and is a Korean War Veteran.
33rd District:
Ruben Ramos – Democrat
Ramos, a Hoboken resident, has served as a state Assemblyman since 2008. He also has served as a city councilman and City Council president in Hoboken. Ramos is a teacher in the Paterson Public School system.
He is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Caridad Rodriguez – Democrat
Rodriguez, a West New York resident, has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2008. She served as commissioner of Parks and Public Property in West New York from 2006-07. She attended Union Hill High School and Berkeley College.
Beth Hamburger – Republican
Hamburger, a Hoboken resident, works in sales at Bloomberg, LP in New York. She is also a board member on Security Traders Association of New York Incorporated. Hamburger also served as an alternate delegate at this year’s Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
John Barbadillo – Republican
Barbadillo is a West New York resident. He works in Paragon Credit Union Bank in New Jersey. He also is on staff at the restaurant Ruby Tuesday. Barbadillo graduated from Community School in Teaneck and Centenary College.