Although hardly yet settled, two full tickets appear to be emerging for the May 11 municipal election, with incumbent Mayor Mark Smith at the top of one ticket and Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone at the top of the other.
Smith, who held a very successful fundraiser in late February, said he will be unveiling a complete ticket shortly rather than introducing candidates one at a time. This is designed to show that he has a team that will be working together, but the delay has fueled speculation that he might not run.
He said he is running, but wants to present a united front.
“I believe we are on the right track, doing everything we need to help the city,” he said.
Smith is expected to unveil his ticket at the Knights of Columbus building on March11.
“I believe we are on the right track, doing everything we need to help the city.” – Mark Smith
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Chiappone, who has been indicted for alleged misuse of aides’ checks, said he is aware that he is a relatively easy target for negative campaigns, but believes he will be exonerated of the charges against him. He said he intends to put up a full slate of candidates for the May election.
As of the first week of March, Councilman Gary La Pelusa (who has testified against Chiappone) was among those who took out paperwork to run for mayor, as well as Leonard Kantor, John Budnick, Richard McCarthy, John Cupo, and Chiappone. But some of them may run for council instead.
For instance, Cupo said this week he will be running for the 1st Ward council seat. “I think that’s the best option for me,” he said.
Other positions
Although Smith would not elaborate on the candidates he will be running with, he said he will have a full ticket. Sources close to Smith said he will run with already declared at-large incumbent Councilman Terrence Ruane, but the rest of the ticket is still shrouded in mystery.
Council President Vincent Lo Re said this week that he will be running for office on the Smith ticket.
Incumbent 2nd Ward Councilman John Halecky has yet to decide if he will seek reelection, although several weeks ago, he was leaning against running. Since then, he has taken out paperwork that would allow him to run.
Chiappone has apparently reached out to Connolly and former Bayonne Business Administrator Peter Cresci as possible runningmates. A source close to Cresci said he would be unlikely to join the Chiappone ticket, but might run for mayor if Smith does not.
La Pelusa has also taken out paperwork to run council at-large. So have Brian O’Connor, Ursula McGurrin, Christopher Amabile (unrelated to political consultant Tony Amabile), Deborah E. Noble, former Councilwoman Maria Karczewski, William J. Birtwistle, Thomas J. Bragen, John Budnik, Mark Urban, Jerome Hogan, Denis F. Wilbeck and Richard McCarthy.
Karczewski said she hasn’t yet decided whether to run at-large or for the 3rd Ward, but she said public response to her campaign has been overwhelmingly positive in favor of her running.
In a reversal of his previous position, Incumbent Councilman Ted Connolly said he will be running for council in the 1st Ward after all.
“I picked up petitions,” he said on March 3, although he would not say yet whether rumors are true that he will be on a ticket headed with Assemblyman Chiappone.
Last month, Connolly said he was not going to seek reelection, partly because he anticipated becoming the target of a negative campaign he did not wish to put his family through. With Cupo already saying he will run to challenge Connolly, he joins a wide field of possible challengers. They include Brian O’Connor and Ursula McGurrin, who have also picked up paperwork for a possible 1st Ward council run, as have Barry Kushnir, Roy Mieszkowski, Thomas J. Cotter and Ray J. Massarelli. Although she has not yet taken out paperwork as of early March, Agnes Gillespie, who ran with Chiappone in 2006, has apparently asked to run in the 1st Ward on the Smith ticket.
Possible challengers in the 2nd Ward against Halecky are Salvatore Gullace, Raymond Rokicki, and Ramon O. Veloz.
La Pelusa, who has yet to make up his mind about which seat he will seek, has also filed to retain his seat in the 3rd Ward. Possible challengers include Michael Alonso, Deborah Noble, Maria Karczewski, Anthony San Philip, Mark Urban, and Richard McCarthy, all of whom have taken out paperwork to run in the 3rd Ward.
City Council President Vincent Lo Re expects to make an announcement about his intentions later this week.