Although Bayonne residents can vote on Nov. 3 for a new councilman and for the New Jersey governor, there are also two state Assembly seats in contention. Assembly seats have two-year terms.
Voters can choose any two Assembly candidates on Nov. 3, and those do not have to be from the same party. Some are Democrats, some are Republicans, and some are independent.
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 recently was indicted on state charges for allegedly misdirecting payments for his legislative aides into his personal and political reelection accounts.
Pick any two Assembly candidates on Nov. 3.
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Candidates in brief
Chiappone, a Democrat, 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.
He was recently indicted on a charge that checks for his aides were diverted into his campaign accounts. However, he has been fighting the charge.
Mainor, a Democrat, 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.
Day, a Republican, is a Jersey City resident. She 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, a Republican and 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.
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.
Scott, a Jersey City resident, is an independent as well. He 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.