State Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack apparently met with Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer last week in an out-of-county location. Supposedly, the subject involved what to do with the 33rd District Assembly seat currently occupied by Carmelo Garcia. Garcia has been at odds with Zimmer and her allies for some time.
Garcia insists that he is “in tight with Brian,” and will retain his seat on the Assembly. Others are not sure. There’s even speculation that Garcia’s close ally and former aide, Chris Campos, could be drafted.
But that is one of the least likely of all rumors, since Campos would not betray his old friend and Zimmer would not likely pick him as a replacement anyway.
So the big question remains who will replace Garcia if Stack decides he wants someone else in that Assembly seat. While a number of people would like to be considered, including Frank Raia, the seat will likely go to a Hispanic.
Gearing up for the Hoboken election
Daniel Bryan’s resignation as Zimmer’s chief of staff is apparently not tied to the Zimmer pending resignation rumor, inside sources say.
The rumors about Zimmer resigning will get progressively less credible as Hoboken gets closer to its midterm elections. If she was considering resigning, a number of people in her camp would be doing their best to talk her out of it. This is partly due to the fact that Zimmer holds a slim lead on the City Council, and her resignation would put control of the city in jeopardy. Insiders claim she simply doesn’t have enough qualified candidates in the ward races in November for her to resign and still have her people in control of the council.
This is particularly true if one or more of the current ward council members decides not to run for reelection.
At this point, Garcia – if dumped from the state Assembly – may run in the 6th Ward against Councilwoman Jennifer Giattino. This would give Garcia, the former executive director of the city’s housing projects, an affordable housing platform and could position him as the champion of the working and middle class who are being priced out of one of the most affluent communities in the state.
Most believe that former Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr. will try to get back onto the City Council in a race in the 4th Ward against incumbent Councilman Tim Occhipinti. This would be a grudge match since Ramos rightfully believes Occhipinti’s campaign for mayor in 2013 cost Ramos the mayor’s seat in a three-way race that Zimmer narrowly won.
A council victory would set up Ramos for a mayoral run in 2017, although at this point Freeholder Anthony Romano is seen by many as the frontrunner against Zimmer or a Zimmerite candidate for mayor.
Everybody is waiting on Councilwoman Beth Mason. Will she run for reelection? Zimmer people would love to beat her in the 2nd Ward.
Let’s make a deal
Democrats in the 31st Assembly District are struggling to make peace before the primary explodes into all-out war.
Reports suggest that Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop named Councilwoman Joyce Watterman as his candidate for the state Assembly without consulting State Sen. Sandra Cunningham first.
In the 31st District, which is all of Bayonne and half of Jersey City, the mayor of each town gets to pick one of the two Assembly members. But it is generally considered good form to consult the state senator of that district.
Watterman would replace Assemblyman Charles Mainor as the Jersey City candidate backed by the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO). Bayonne Mayor James Davis is likely to back Nicholas Chiaravalloti over incumbent Jason O’Donnell.
Those close to Cunningham said she was enraged over the political slight – especially because she might have gone along with Fulop had he asked.
But Fulop’s slight may have been more intentional than it first appears, and some believe that he is positioning Watterman to make a run against Cunningham for state Senate in two years. In some ways, this would be an even greater political slight since former Mayor Glenn Cunningham, Sandra’s deceased husband, helped give Fulop his start in politics.
The flap risks even more fall out since it nudges Cunningham in the direction of state Senate President Steve Sweeney, who is expected to oppose Fulop in a Democratic primary for governor in 2017.
Behind the scenes, members of the HCDO – through the office of state Senator and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco and Assembly Speaker and HCDO Chairman Vincent Prieto – are trying to avoid open war in the 31st District.
The HCDO may offer Mainor a position as undersheriff – an appointed position in the office of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Department. Sean Connors, who is being courted to run against Tom DeGise for county executive in the June Democratic primary, may also get a similar offer.
If peace cannot be brokered, then it is possible Cunningham, with the help of Sweeney, will back Mainor and O’Donnell against Watterman and Chiaravalloti. Sweeney has apparently already agreed to support several fundraisers.
Cunningham has every right to be nervous about a potential challenge. Watterman works hard, is well liked, and got a significant showing in her run at-large in 2013.
Part of the flap between Fulop and Cunningham may have to do with Cunningham’s close relationship with Sweeney, who has attended several Cunningham Foundation Charity events. But so have other Democratic and Republican legislators.
This feud between Fulop and Cunningham could drag other politicians outside Jersey City into the fray since Sweeney also has a close relationship with Stack in Union City.
Someone might challenge DeGise anyway
While DeGise seems above the fray, he continues to mount endorsements from Hudson County mayors for his reelection as county executive – Zimmer being the latest.
One source suggest that Henry Marrero, who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic Primary last June for the North Bergen freeholder seat, may run against DeGise, if he decides not to run against Sacco for mayor of North Bergen.
Some claim Larry Wainstein of the Concerned Citizens of North Bergen intends to run against Sacco. This would put Stack in an awkward position since he is trying to maintain peace in North Hudson.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.