If there is going to be a new political civil war among Hudson County Democrats, it began with the closing of the election polls in Bayonne and Union City on Tuesday night, May 11, as incumbents Mark Smith and Brian Stack crushed their opponents for huge victories, enabling each to lay claim to the chairmanship of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.
Caught in the middle of these two powerhouses is Jersey City, which still hopes to have one of their political figures as chairman instead.
Smith crushed Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone by a three to one margin for Bayonne mayor, and if Smith becomes chairman in June, you can bet your house Chiappone will not be on the Democratic slate for the June 2011 primary for Assembly.
A day after the Bayonne election, Chiappone was still in shock, saying he could not believe he lost by as much as he did.
This is the second major political blunder by Chiappone. In 2004, he recklessly launched himself into a special election against then-Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria for the state Senate seat vacated by the sudden death of Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham. As a result, Doria and the HCDO denied Chiappone the Democratic line in the June 2005 primary for Assembly, pushing him out of office. (He got back in two years later.) This year, Chiappone chose to challenge the very powerful Smith, and the result will see Chiappone driven from office next year, possibly ending his political career.
Meanwhile, Stack, with 11,000 votes in his town, has bragging rights, but the HCDO still fears him because he would bring massive changes to the organization, possibly ending the gravy train for a number of long-time political operatives.
Behind Stack is U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who reportedly is getting steamed over the reluctance of some Democrats to give Stack the chairmanship.
“The party hacks just won’t do it,” said one source, “and this is like a public slap in the face to Stack and Menendez. Stack brings 11,000 votes to the table, he has the ear of the Senate president (Democrat Stephen Sweeney), and is one of the most powerful people in Hudson County, and the hacks won’t give him the seat.”
Some say Stack is also peeved at some party people in North Bergen, who may have helped fund the campaign of Frank Scarafile against Stack, not because anybody believed Scarafile could win, but in an effort to cut Stack’s lead. Challenger Frank Scarafile did better this election than last, getting 1,100 votes instead of 900, but so did Stack, getting 11,000 instead of the 10,000 votes he got in his previous election against Scarafile.
Of course, this effort to reduce Stack’s vote outcome may also have a lot to do with the struggle for the chairmanship, since there are close ties between Smith in Bayonne and North Bergen.
Jersey City, meanwhile, hopes to pit Union City against Bayonne so that it can get its own candidate into the chairmanship, possibly County Executive Tom DeGise or Jersey City Councilman Peter Brennan.
Since Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner – who won his election unopposed – is supporting Stack for the chairmanship, he isn’t being considered as a potential candidate for the chair.
Did Zimmer make Menendez angry?
It appears that Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer may have irked Menendez because she called for a special meeting of the City Council on Monday night, the same night as a Menendez fundraiser, and also made an appearance with Gov. Christopher Christie that day.
Hoboken Councilwoman Beth Mason attended the Menendez affair but hurried away to attend the council meeting. Still, she made it back to the fundraiser before Menendez left.
Some close to Menendez say he was upset with Zimmer’s appearing with Christie shortly after the HDCO gave her the right to pick Democratic Committee people in Hoboken.
And some Mason supporters see Zimmer’s appearance with Christie as a bowshot against Mason in next year’s May council elections, in which Zimmer is expected to support a candidate against Mason.
Menendez has apparently decided to give Mason her own photo op, and has invited her to attend dinner in New York City this week with President Barack Obama.
While Zimmer supporters claim her appearance with Christie was simply to support Christie’s proposed municipal spending cap (and raise cap) of 2.5 percent, the Mason people complain that Christie also increased transit fares and cut educational funding, both of which will have hugely negative impacts on Hoboken.
Zimmer supporters say that as mayor of Hoboken, Zimmer has to develop a working relationship with the governor of the state. They note that a lack of such a relationship with the former governor is what led to the eventual political demise of former Mayor Dave Roberts.
“This shows that Zimmer can work with almost anybody,” said one prominent supporter. “It is one of her strengths. She is a Democrat, a proud Democrat. That has not changed.”