On July 26, Democratic Committee members from the towns in the 31st state Assembly district (Bayonne and part of Jersey City) will meet at Nicholas Oresko School in Bayonne to select the person to fill the state Assembly seat vacated by the resignation of Anthony Chiappone.
Leading candidates are said to be Joe Conte of Jersey City, Jason O’Donnell of Bayonne, and James Dugan of Bayonne.
Jersey City is making a play for the seat even though Chiappone is from Bayonne, and if the committee picks Conte or some other Jersey City candidate, no one from Bayonne will be seated in any of the three legislative seats in the 31st District – one state Senate and two Assembly seats.
O’Donnell, as chairman of the Bayonne Democratic Committee, is said to be the favorite of Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith. But because two thirds of the votes will come from Jersey City, Smith will have to make deals to get enough votes to get his candidate elected.
State Sen. Sandra Cunningham reportedly does not want O’Donnell, but it is unclear who she will throw her support behind. One source claims she favors Dugan, but even if she does, she has no committee votes pledged to her.
Jersey City committee votes are largely divided among other politicians, such as Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy and various council members, freeholders, and other city and county figures.
As chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, Smith has clout to broker deals that would win him the votes he needs for O’Donnell, but that comes at the risk that Cunningham might choose to run an alterative candidate in November, and perhaps – teaming up with State Sen. and Union City Brian Stack – a full anti-HCDO slate in next June’s Democratic primaries.
Soares appointment angers some reformers
The recent appointment of Hoboken’s Tony Soares to the North Hudson Sewerage Authority has raised some reformer eyebrows since Soares currently serves as the chairman of the Zoning Board as well as a substitute teacher in the public schools. While hardly the kind of triple-dipping that state Sen./North Bergen Mayor/Assistant North Bergen Schools Superintendent Nicholas Sacco engages in, the moves behind the scenes seem to violate some of the principles Hoboken reformers espouse.
Some supporters of Councilwoman Beth Mason blamed Mayor Dawn Zimmer last week for setting the wrong example last year when she retained her position as council president and interim mayor. But this is somewhat disingenuous since Zimmer would have lost her council seat if she’d lost her bid for mayor in the special election. In addition, Zimmer herself told a local website last week that she thinks people should not serve on more than one board, and that she had hoped a different candidate would be chosen. It was the City Council that voted Soares in.
Soares is a strong Zimmer supporter and an ally of Councilman Michael Lenz – who is running in November’s special election to retain his 4th Ward seat. But Soares was appointed to the Zoning Board under previous administration, and became chairman last year.
He has responded several times to critics about his substitute teacher job, saying that it is hardly a lucrative position – and hardly something that generates political power.
While Soares’ new position on the sewerage authority does give him more power, the appointment came with the blessing of normally critical council members like Michael Russo, and so if there is a backlash, Zimmer shouldn’t be the one completely accountable.
However, backlash from the move could generate new candidates for the 4th Ward special election in which Lenz is currently being challenged by Tim Occipinti. One name being thrown around is Rami Pinchevsky, a Planning Board member who is seen as a very dedicated reformer and someone not likely to broker any backroom political deals. The race could see other candidates from all over the political map coming out to challenge Lenz. Some names mentioned include Fred Fraizer and even former Councilwoman Terry LaBruno.
No North Hudson war?
Political consultant Paul Swibinski said there is absolutely no truth to reports that a war is brewing between Sacco and West New York Mayor Sal Vega – and that Swibinski is in the middle of it.
According to the rumor, one of Vega’s people was allegedly behind the Hudson County Schools of Technology’s recruitment of athletes, which caused Sacco some embarrassment last month when the Hudson County Freeholder Board lashed out about it. The rumor claimed Sacco got peeved at Vega for refusing to fire the responsible person, and commissioned a political poll to see which candidate would do best against Vega in next year’s municipal election.
The poll did take place, but Sacco’s people are denying being behind it. The poll pitted Vega against Freeholder Jose Munoz or Assemblywoman Caridad Rodriguez. No one will release the exact numbers, but Rodriquez apparently came out ahead.
Reports also say that Sacco is annoyed with Freeholder Bill O’Dea, who used a lot of inside information to make his case about the recruitment. O’Dea has been rumored also as a possible candidate to run against County Executive Tom DeGise next year – in a supposed deal with Sandra Cunningham.
“Rumors are fun aren’t they?” O’Dea said.“If you add Stack to the rumor than it becomes very interesting. For now it’s just nice, fun summer speculation. My motto is just keep doing my job to the best of my ability and fighting the good causes. Also- try and enjoy the summer. Do folks around Sandy come talk to me from time to time? Sure. Same for from other camps.”
On a side speculation note, he said: “I think the reason these rumors are out there is that Tommy [DeGise] has never really connected with the African-American community, while my district [both as councilman and freeholder] is so diverse that my involvement with the minority community and high profile on issues that impact it lend me to be a natural candidate from their perspective.”