Republican Gov. Christopher Christie came to Hoboken again on Monday – into the heart of enemy (heavily Democratic) territory – to sell his agenda for reducing the hefty burden on taxpayers throughout the state.
While the more than warm reception he received in the stronghold of the Democratic Party in New Jersey might seem strange, it shouldn’t.
It was a staged affair.
Taking his cue from former Pres. George W. Bush and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Christie let the more sympathetic people in Hoboken know early that he would be in town – including new Mayor Dawn Zimmer and her supporters, as well as the tax revolt zealots in the Tea Party. Most of the other Democratic leadership in the county – including mayors and other public officials – got a last-minute invitation, and even if anyone but Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy wanted to show up, they would have had to alter previous engagements to do so.
This was a formula Christie used earlier this year when he paid Bayonne a visit, and may be part of a divide-and-conquer strategy to throw bones to specific swayable Democratic leaders such as Mayor Zimmer and Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith in an effort to thwart a solid Democratic front against his proposals.
Demographics also played an important role in the sympathetic receptions Christie received in Bayonne and in Hoboken, but for different reasons.
Bayonne has a lot of what used to be called “Reagan Democrats,” a working class group of voters that became discouraged with the welfare state of the Democratic Party and often broke ranks to vote for Republican candidates who seemed practical.
Hoboken has become a Christie-friendly place because of a change in the flow of higher-earning residents back into urban areas. After decades of spreading suburban sprawl, people fleeing crowded, dirty, and often dangerous cities for supposed beautiful landscapes of suburbia are returning, as urban areas are redeveloped and crime is reduced. A majority of these people are the children and grandchildren of those who once lived in cities like Hoboken and Jersey City, and many of them are dragging back with them a more conservative political view from places where Republicans are the dominating factor.
Both Smith and Zimmer have embraced Christie and to some degree Christie’s controversial proposals, saying that Democrats need to work with the governor of the state, regardless of which political party he belongs to.
But the event in Hoboken excluded the more obvious critics – such as the teachers, firefighters, and police officers whose benefits and salaries may be cut because of Christie’s proposals – so as to guarantee a positive response.
However, Councilwoman Beth Mason spoiled the governor’s game plan, arriving with her entourage to challenge Christie over the impact that his proposed cuts would make.
While people like former Councilman Tony Soares claimed Mason was “grandstanding,” others claim she was the only voice of reason at the event.
Those who support Christie claim that he is forcing municipalities and school districts to make hard choices about reducing costs. Critics, however, claim municipalities have always had the power to cut costs, and that the governor’s moves are design to strip public workers of civil service and union protections enacted early in the 20th century to keep public workers from being exploited by local and state political forces.
At stake for Zimmer is the chair of the Hoboken Democratic Party, which some believe she may not get because of her embrace of the Republican governor. Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr. is apparently poised to step aside to make room for Zimmer. But some believe the position should go to vice chair Ann Graham, not Zimmer.
Pirro might not be an asset
The Secaucus general election for City Council, slated for this coming November, got much more interesting after Mayor Michael Gonnelli picked Susan Pirro as his Independent candidate for 3rd Ward.
Once seen as aligned with former Mayor Dennis Elwell, Pirro became something of a political outcast after she allegedly mixed her Board of Education position with politics and was perhaps wrongly blamed for an incident involving a campaign flyer.
Last year, Pirro ran on an alternative ticket headed by Peter Weiner in the Democratic primary against Elwell’s team, and was defeated. Some believe Pirro was strongly aligned with Gonnelli even before Elwell’s arrest and resignation last July. Many of these same people are nodding their heads at Gonnelli’s choice as if they knew he would select her all along.
Currently seeking the Democratic bid for that ward in this June’s Democratic primary are Mark Bucchino and Mike Makarski. Bucchino has the support of the Secaucus Democratic Committee – but this may be a curse since insiders say the committee is in disarray.
If Makarski wins, voters may see a very competitive race in November, since supporters of Weiner and Elwell may come together to vote against what they see as a common enemy in Pirro.
No back-stabbing of Stack
State Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco has flatly denied any back-stab against state Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack in the last election.
Sacco said the feud that existed between the two men is a thing of the past and that he definitely did not give funds to Stack’s recent mayoral opponent, Frank Scarafile, in an effort to reduce the margin of Stack’s victory.
This rumor came from some people inside the Stack camp, but Sacco said he and Stack have grown closer because of their work together in the state Senate.
One source close to Sacco confirmed this. “Sacco has a better relationship with Brian Stack than ever before. They are very close as senators, and some people are not happy about that,” the source said.