Confusing election

Nearly 86,000 people went to the polls this week in Hudson County to vote in municipal, county and federal elections, the results of which will become tea leaves to read for future elections. Next year, several key elections take place around Hudson County.
While Democrats did well in retaining their seats locally, the election proved ill for Democrats nationwide. Republicans have taken control of the U.S. Senate, giving them control of both houses of Congress. With the Supreme Court seen as leaning largely in the GOP’s favor, the last defense against total GOP domination of the U.S. government is President Barack Obama. This is hardly heartening. Even when things go well, Obama tends to vacillate.
This sets the stage for the 2016 presidential election and could well help Hillary Clinton if the GOP is seen as too aggressive in trying to push its agenda, especially in regards to women’s rights.
Cory Booker’s successful reelection bid over Republican Jeff Bell, and other elections in Bergen County, set the stage for the gubernatorial election in 2017 in which Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop is expected to compete for the Democratic nomination to succeed Christopher Christie if the governor resigns to seek the Republican nomination for the presidency.
The Fulop campaign team was very helpful in getting the vote out for Booker, and also gave early support to Democrat James Tedesco in his upset victory over Republican incumbent Kathy Donovan to become Bergen County executive. Along with Fulop’s record on law enforcement and ties with voter-rich Newark and Paterson, his support of candidates this year can only strengthen his bid for governor.
While GOP candidate Jude Anthony Tiscornia lost by a four to one margin against incumbent Democratic Rep. Albio Sires, he did well enough with more than 10,000 votes to be viable in a future election, possibly as a City Council candidate in Jersey City.
Kenneth Kopacz beat Michael Alonso in the race for freeholder in District 1 in Bayonne and lower Jersey City, a last chapter in the change of Bayonne government that began earlier this year with the victory of Mayor James Davis and his ticket. Many people claim that Alonso would have done better had he tried to tie himself more closely with Davis.
The other disputed freeholder race in Jersey City saw a lopsided victory in favor of Gerard Balmir over Dwayne Baskerville. Balmir had the support of Fulop as well as the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO).
Francis Bruno was also run over by the HCDO in an attempt to beat Anthony Vainieri in North Bergen. Vainieri, however, had state Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco in his corner.

Power play in Jersey City school election

In an era when unions appear to be losing political clout, the teachers’ union in Jersey City pulled off an impressive victory in the Board of Education election. Their candidates, Lorenzo Richardson, Joel Torres, and Gerald Lyons, easily beat two incumbents to take their place on the board. But the Parents for Progress candidates – who had the two incumbents on their ticket – also lost because they lacked the Fulop political machine’s backing.
In past elections, Parents for Progress could count on Fulop’s team to get out the vote. But Fulop backed away from them this year, leaving them to run their own campaign. The group fared poorly everywhere in the city, but found a strong backlash in wards F, D and C, which came out in droves against them.
This election dramatically alters the makeup of the board, which prior to this had been dominated by members supported by Parents for Progress. After the reorganization meeting, Parents for Progress will have only a 5 to 4 majority.
And this won’t last long. Insiders believe board member Vidya Gangadin will side with the newly-elected board members in a bid to become board president. But Marilyn Roman, who has been the sole voice for the opposition on the board over the last year, will likely get the nod.
“She still has connections downtown,” said one source.
As for Richardson, his massive vote count – more than 13,000 – positions him to be considered as a possible mayoral candidate in 2017.

Roque wins

Perhaps the biggest victor in this election, West New York Mayor Felix Roque, wasn’t on any ballot, but all four of the candidates he supported in the Board of Education election won all four contested seats – three for three years, one for two years.
Pablo Fonseca, campaign manager, said his team started early making sure that every piece of literature had the ballot numbers.
“We must have knocked on 20,000 doors,” he said. “I have a program I’ve been working with and tweaking over the last 20 years. It has a history of success. It is the program that is in West New York now.”
Voter turnout was also very high in West New York for a mid-term election, he said, and this was due to the get-out-the-vote effort.
The ballot was very confusing since Roque-supported candidates were scattered over 14 different voting slots.
“This became an educational process,” Fonseca said. “Getting people to vote for number 2 but have them jump to 14 is hard to do. But we had great, qualified candidates and we had a lot of discipline.”
The victory sets the stage for next spring’s municipal elections and makes it clear that Roque will be difficult to beat.

History repeats in Hoboken

In Hoboken, the forces opposing candidates backed by Mayor Dawn Zimmer once more shot themselves in the foot, as a ticket backed by Carmelo Garcia stole votes and resulted in the loss of one more seat on the school board. This is largely a repeat of last year’s municipal election in which divided anti-Zimmer people allowed the mayor to win.
Peter Biancamano, who led the voting, is the last old Hoboken voice on the school board, but his will be a hard voice to hear over the next year as the Zimmer-backed board members try to push through their own agenda.
Anthony Romano’s strong showing in the freeholder election – where he was unopposed – may well send a message to Garcia. Romano is rumored to be considering a run for mayor in 2017. Garcia is seen as a potential rival, once more threatening to divide the old Hoboken vote.

Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.

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