Hudson Reporter Archive

Pick a side in Hoboken

The Hoboken bloggers who generally support Mayor Dawn Zimmer appear to be outraged by a rumor that Councilman Tim Occhipinti might run for reelection in November with Zimmer’s support.
The bloggers have spent so many years abusing Occhipinti that it may be impossible for them to switch gears to support him – even if they put clothespins over their noses.
Part the reason is that Occhipinti ran for mayor against Zimmer in the 2013 election with the alleged support of Councilwoman Beth Mason. Since the bloggers so revile Mason, it will be hard for them to trust Occhipinti even if he gets a Zimmer endorsement.
The roots of the current situation with Occhipinti go back to his mayoral bid when he ran as a third candidate. He has been accused by some of helping Zimmer win the election because he took votes away from Zimmer’s other opponent, former Assemblyman Ruben Ramos. Ramos is apparently looking to run against Occhipinti in the 4th Ward race.
Occhipinti could save his seat with Zimmer support, but it could splinter Zimmer’s reform party the way her support for the Board of Education candidacy of Carmelo Garcia did a few years ago. Many Zimmerites believe Zimmer’s pushing her side to vote for Garcia resulted in the reform ticket losing that year. Some predict a similar outcome in November, if Zimmer supports Occhipinti.
This, of course, only feeds the hopeful ambitions of anti-Zimmer forces who need to hold onto the 4th Ward seat if they have any hope of retaking control of the City Council.
Mason, meanwhile, said she is not financially supporting anti-Zimmer candidates such as Terry Castellano, although Mason apparently expects some of these candidates to support her move to become chairperson of the Hoboken Democratic Committee in June.
“Terry Castellano always pays for her own campaign,” said a source close to Mason.

How close will North Bergen be?

The North Bergen municipal election has everybody’s attention.
While most political observers believe Mayor Nicholas Sacco’s ticket will prevail over one led by long time adversary, Larry Wainstein, some want to see by how much Sacco wins. Are there any chinks in the fiery dragon’s armor? Sacco has been so powerful for so long that any sign of weakness could open up a new political frontier in North Bergen.
Wainstein talks a good game, but even he must realize that his is a David and Goliath fight. Coming close to Sacco or any of his running mates could be taken as a political victory. If Wainstein or one of his candidates manages to get one of the five commissioner’s seats, North Bergen will never be the same.

Can Roque pull another election out of his hat?

Although people from West New York Mayor Felix Roque’s campaign believe they can pull the rabbit out of the magic hat and get all five of their commissioners elected, political tea leaves suggest that they risk losing one or more seats to the numerous political candidates running in the municipal election on May 12.
Some candidates have already dropped out from the anti-Roque tickets, but enough remain to make it competitive. The Roque campaign hopes to repeat the success it had in the November school board election when it managed to get three of its candidates elected in an equally-crowded field.
This is also not the same Roque ticket that ran in 2011, and many of original commissioners have been replaced by candidates with their own solid political bases in the community.
In some cases, Roque is running with candidates – such as Cosmo Cirillo – who previously opposed him.
Just in time for the election, the State Ethics Commission ruled that some complaints filed against two key Roque members of the Board of Education warranted a hearing as to whether they violated state ethics laws. Some of this is based on a state report done in 2013. While it may not prove anything, it adds ammunition to the anti-Roque forces.
While Roque was found not guilty on a federal charge of conspiring to hack into the political website of his enemy Jose Munoz in 2012, the issue remains fodder for his enemies. Roque – largely due to the management of town counsel Donald Scarinci – has restructured many problematic areas of government. But political enemies are running campaigns suggesting that these charges are superficial and cannot be trusted.
With so many factions seeking to get some of the five available commissioner’s seats, it is conceivable that West New York might see a split decision. In West New York, voters select commissioners, and they in turn select one of their own to become mayor. If Roque’s ticket fails to win three of the five seats, he might have to deal with one of the other factions for the deciding mayoral vote.

Incumbents have advantages in 31st District

The wide open race for Assembly in the 31st District has narrowed. Most recently, independent candidate Dejon Morris has withdrawn and thrown his support to Nicholas Chiaravalloti and Angela V. McKnight, the candidates supported by the Hudson County Democratic Organization.
Chiaravalloti and McKnight are being challenged by two sets of alternative candidates, Bruce Alston and Washington Flores, and Joe Conte and Ray Regalado.
Typically in a primary, the organization candidates have an advantage. Chiaravalloti and McKnight have racked up political endorsements suggesting that they enjoy wide range of support.

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

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