The sun is rising towards high noon on Nov. 2. Juan Perez steps off the wooden planks at the far end of wild west city, his spurs jangling as he adjusts his hat and checks his six guns.
At the other end of the street, Frank Schillari does the same.
Neither one looks remotely like Gary Cooper, but both hope voters will see each as the hero of this epic battle as they get ready to face off on Nov. 2 to determine which one will wear the badge when it is over.
These men are not friends. You might not even get them in the same room at the same time without fear of sparks flying. Both sides have already gone too far for either of them to back down.
Just why Perez lost favor with the political bosses of Hudson County remains one of the great mysteries of this showdown. Some believe Perez did too good a job, treating his position as sheriff as something more than a mere ceremonial position. Although he appears to have enjoyed the role, his officers apparently patrolled county parks and streets with the aim of enforcing the law.
Even Perez seems cloudy on this, saying repeatedly during the build up to this election that he got along fine with all of the political factions.
Perez, however, did make enemies, even if he didn’t recognize them at the time, and was dumped from the party line – just as the fickle political bosses dumped Joe Cassidy before Perez.
Locked out of the Democratic line, Perez became the candidate of the Republican Party – in the hopes that he might be able to ride the coattails of the Republican revolution currently underway in the state and the nation.
Behind the scenes, supporters of both sides sent off a series of anonymous complaints, suggesting that the other candidate was the equivalent to Stars Wars’ “Darth Vader.”
But events took a dire turn when Perez fired Schillari, who serves as undersheriff. Schillari filed a lawsuit against Perez, Perez rehired Schillari, and Schillari dropped the suit.
But the damage was done, and the build up to the election got even stranger. At one point, a supporter of Perez filed charges against Schillari for allegedly assaulting him at the sheriff’s office, although the surveillance tape appeared to show no physical contact.
The latest showdowns
The latest rounds in this escalating, slow motion gun fight have taken the conflict to new lows, as both sides attempt to create doubt in voters before the election.
Earlier this month, Charles Hannon, a worker in the Perez campaign, filed suit against Schillari claiming he maintains two residences and may not be qualified to run for sheriff. The suit claims that Schillari has a Florida-issued driver’s license as well as a New Jersey driver’s license
Paul Swibinski, speaking on behalf of Schillari, said that at the time of the rebates on the Florida condo, Schillari and his wife were legally separated, with Teresa Schillari residing in Florida, while Frank remained a resident of Secaucus. Both filed federal income taxes reflecting that, and when they reconciled in late 2009, Teresa rescinded her Florida residency claim.
As for the driver’s licenses, New Jersey has a policy that says a person applying for a license in New Jersey must surrender his or her license from another state.
“The law says nothing about renewals. Frank renewed his Florida license, which he had for more than 25 years, in 2007,” Swibinski said.
Spanish is not Schillari’s mother tongue – obviously
In a separate but apparently related matter, Hannon filed a complaint saying that he had become the target of vandalism – and, of course, blamed supporters of Schillari.
Not to be undone, the Schillari campaign struck back, claiming that a Perez advertisement in a Spanish-language newspaper misrepresented Perez in violation of state election laws. One aspect of the charges says Perez, a Republican candidate, paid for an advertisement in a Spanish newspaper claiming he is a Democrat.
“The ad features a large photo of Perez with large headline type declaring ‘Soy Democrata’ which translates to “I am a Democrat.” The ad actually translates to: “I am a Democrat and I will be voting for Juan Manuel Perez. The Democrats ought to reelect Perez for Hudson county Sheriff.”
Occhipinti did better in video debate
Reviews of the Hoboken 4th ward special election debates vary, but the most objective observers believe Tim Occhipinti, who is challenging incumbent Councilman Michael Lenz, did better on the debate taped for the Hudson Reporter website than a live debate staged later the same day by the Quality of Life Coalition
While both candidates answered questions, Occhipinti appeared to rely heavily on his notes for the live debate from a script, while he was much more adamant in the video debate.
Meanwhile, Occhipinti appears to be pulling out no stops in gathering big name support for an election for a position that expires next July 1.
About 80 people showed up at West End Station for Occhipinti’s fundraiser, including Assemblyman Ruben Ramos, Michael Novak, state Assemblyman Joe Cryan, Newark Councilman Ronald Rice, Jr., several other out-of-county political people, and Rashard Casey, one time All State Football star for Hoboken High School who later went on to become the quarterback for Penn State.
In what some claim was an election ploy to help Occhipinti get votes in the Hoboken projects, last week State Senator and Union City Mayor Brian Stack came to visit the Hoboken Housing Authority. But Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who is backing Lenz in the election, also attended the event, somewhat dispelling any advantage Occhipinti might have received.
Fulop is seeking council candidates
In Jersey City, Councilman Steve Fulop is looking for a few good men and women to fill his slate of council candidates in anticipation of his 2013 run for mayor. His announcement comes early because he knows he has to raise money and to discourage the Hudson County Democratic Organization from backing someone against him.
Fulop is also announcing to bring attention to his upcoming fundraiser at the Grand Banks Cafe on Montgomery Street on Nov. 4.
But some believe that Fulop could be knocked off in the 2013 mayor’s race if the right candidate comes along, such as Jersey City policeman and school board member Sean Connors or State Senator Sandra Cunningham.