Perhaps the biggest surprise in the March 31 filing of Assembly candidates is that incumbent Carmelo Garcia of Hoboken declined to run again in the 33rd District.
The district includes Union City, a large section of Jersey City, Hoboken, and Weehawken.
Most believed he would file to run even though he lost the support of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), denying him the official Democratic line on the primary ballot in June.
But Garcia’s fate was sealed when state Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack endorsed Annette Chaparro of Hoboken instead.
New Jersey legislative districts have two Assembly members. Since Garcia has declined to run, Chaparro and incumbent Raj Mukherji will be unopposed in the June Democratic primary, and will face Republicans Garrett Smulchik and Javier Sosa in November.
Usually a maverick, Stack had too much to lose by supporting Garcia. Hudson County Democrats have been showering Stack with governmental favors to keep him in the political fold.
Although it was previously thought that Chaparro was picked by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, reports suggest that Stack actually selected Chaparro over Garcia, rubbing just a little more salt into Garcia’s wounds. Garcia was firmly convinced that Stack would select him to run.
Until last week, Garcia intended to run anyway, convinced he could retain his seat against Chaparro despite her overwhelming political support. He apparently thought differently on the eve of filing. The question is whether or not Garcia will run for Hoboken City Council in November as some predict he might.
Mainor faces an uphill battle
Assemblyman Charles Mainor, who lost the support of the HCDO in favor of Angela McKnight in the 31st District, may have a better chance of retaining his seat.
Mainor has decided to run despite also losing the support of state Sen. Sandra Cunningham.
Mainor’s situation differs slightly from Garcia’s. McKnight is the choice of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop. Even if Cunningham wanted to support Mainor, she may not have the influence to help him win against Fulop’s political machine. Cunningham would also risk Fulop coming out against her when she runs for reelection in two years.
Mainor, however, may have the support of the teachers’ unions, who were so instrumental in upsetting incumbent Board of Education members last November.
As respected as McKnight is for her charity work, she is also connected with a charter school, and could be perceived as anti-teachers’ union.
Mainor is also running in an Assembly district with a larger field of candidates, some of whom might be able to drain some votes from McKnight.
Joseph Conte, who is running with Ramon Regalado, has already focused on McKnight, questioning whether she can operate her not-for-profit while serving as an Assembly person.
Also running in Jersey City are Bruce Alston and Dejon Morris.
The 31st District is split between Bayonne and Jersey City, and the mayor of each city traditionally gets to pick the candidate. Bayonne Mayor James Davis has said he supports Nicholas Chiaravalloti. But there is opposition in Bayonne, including Regalado and Washington Flores.
Republicans Herminio Mendoza of Jersey City and Matthew Kopko of Bayonne are unopposed in the Republican primary.
Bayonne Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell, who lost HCDO support, has decided not to run for reelection.
The 31st District campaign has already turned ugly
Campaign flyers in support of Chiaravalloti blanketed a six-block section of Jersey City just in time for the funeral of former Jersey City Schools Superintendent Charles T. Epps Jr.
Chiaravalloti denied responsibility for these. People connected with his campaign claim someone copied his literature to distribute in order to make him look insensitive in the African American community in Jersey City.
Flyers were put under windshield wipers and pasted to light poles near the church. People connected to Chiaravalloti blamed the distribution of the fliers on the opposition.
Pat Desmond, whose name was mentioned most as the possible culprit, vehemently denied the ill deed.
“People forget I helped Epps when he ran for the Assembly,” Desmond said. “I liked the man. I would never do anything to disrespect him or hurt his memory.”
Desmond, who works for several of the candidates, claimed this was “an HCDO stunt” to make the opposition look bad.
Other candidates in the race also said they played no part in issuing the flyers.
But the incident suggests that this will be an ugly race, especially in Bayonne. Chiaravalloti has the endorsement of Davis, but not everyone associated with Davis’ successful mayoral victory last year likes Chiaravalloti.
For some, Chiaravalloti’s close association with former Bayonne Mayor Joe Doria is troublesome. But opposition to him may not be enough to overcome the powerful HCDO political machine and his support in Jersey City from Mayor Fulop.
The HCDO may be nervous about it and has already challenged Flores, claiming he is a registered Republican.
Flores was supposed to run for the House of Representatives in 2012 as a Republican but failed to get his signatures in.
“That’s nonsense,” said Desmond, who represents Flores, “He’s a registered Democrat now.”
No opposition for other races
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez are running unopposed in the 32nd district that includes North Bergen, West New York, Guttenberg, Secaucus, Kearny as well as parts of Bergen County. Republicans Lisamaria Tulsa of Secaucus and Frank Miqueli of West New York are also unopposed in their primary.
County Executive Tom DeGise will run unopposed in the Democratic primary, seeking his fourth term. DeGise has managed to get the endorsement of nearly all Hudson County mayors, including Stack and state Senator and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco.
Republican Ivan Southerland is running unopposed in the Republican primary for county executive.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.