On Tuesday, June 2, besides voting in the primary elections for state Assembly and county executive, Hoboken residents can pick a male and female representative for their tiny election district in either the Democratic or Republican Party, if they are registered with that party. A fight may be brewing among the Democrats over who will become their chairperson after the 80-member Democratic committee is elected on Tuesday.
The biggest battle isn’t in the 40 small districts themselves. Only two of those elections have significant contests, according to current Hoboken Democratic Party chairman Jamie Cryan.
But the week after they are elected, the full committee meets to choose their chairperson, vice-chairperson, and other leaders for the next two years.
Jamie Cryan, the incumbent chairman, plans to run again, but he is expected to face a serious challenger bid, with City Council members Beth Mason and Michael Russo and Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano all bandied about as potential alternate candidates. The controversy doesn’t just stem from the raft of rumored candidates, but the fact that each is a political opponent of Mayor Dawn Zimmer, and a victory by any of them could mean an end to the deference that the Hoboken Democratic Party has given Zimmer in terms of endorsing candidates at the county and local level in recent elections.
“I’m just trying to keep it as non-contentious as possible.” – Jamie Cryan
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Romano could be compromise candidate
Cryan is hardly a partisan of the Zimmer camp — according to state Election Law Enforcement Commission filings, he helped run Councilman Tim Occhipinti’s mayoral campaign against Zimmer in 2013. But Cryan has kept the peace between the pro- and anti-Zimmer factions since taking over as party chairman in 2011.
Four years is a long time for a Hoboken party chairman, and both Romano and Russo said they do not expect Cryan to be re-elected. That could leave an opening for Mason, who sources said would like the position and the status it would bring as a leader and organizer of the Hoboken Democratic grassroots movement in the upcoming presidential and gubernatorial elections in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Mason is a major financial contributor to Democratic causes locally and nationwide. However, she has a notoriously icy rapport with Zimmer and her allies, and ran against Zimmer for mayor in 2009.
Romano and Russo both said they aren’t actively seeking the Hoboken chairmanship, but Romano said he could see himself stepping in as a compromise candidate if needed.
Romano said Russo and Theresa Castellano, cousins who represent Hoboken’s 3rd and 1st Wards respectively on the City Council, may have influence with the largest number of Democratic committee members, meaning they could be decisive in who becomes party chairperson.
“Hopefully they can merge and calm the situation down,” said Romano. “It’s not healthy the way it is.”
Russo disputed some of the rumors swirling around the election. He suggested that talk of a bitter fight between himself and Mason for the chairmanship had been generated by mutual opponents trying to suggest that the anti-Zimmer crowd is not united heading into the November council elections, in which six of the nine seats on the City Council will be up for grabs, including his own.
He said, “I will be supporting our freeholder, Anthony Romano. I don’t think anyone else is seeking to be president of the committee, as far as I know.” He said that while Mason may have said she’s interested when asked, many people are interested and as far as he knows, Romano is the only one who has openly expressed a desire for the spot.
He said that the president can be someone from within the committee, or the committee can choose an outsider.
What does the committee actually do?
Cryan similarly downplayed the talk of a fiery fight over his chairmanship. “The people who are discussed [as candidates for the chair] are good people and their interest is very welcome,” said Cryan. “I’m just trying to keep it as non-contentious as possible.”
Cryan emphasized how limited his role as Hoboken Democratic chairman really is, saying that his position is much more about building relationships than consolidating power and currying favor.
The local party does not possess a war chest to deploy at the behest of its favored candidates – its most recent ELEC report lists just over $4,000 in total assets – and Cryan said he can only legally donate up to $250 to any individual campaign. Still, the Hoboken party chairman is more than a mere figurehead.
“We get to weigh in on who is chosen for elected offices in Hudson County,” said Cryan.
For example, Hudson County Democratic Organization Chairman Vincent Prieto, who also serves as the speaker of the New Jersey Assembly, delegated the right to name who would run on the party line for each of the 80 committee district seats up on Tuesday to Cryan.
That would appear to have some weight in Hoboken. In the 2015 primary, only five candidates are running off the line for committee seats. In district 2-2, Kenneth Nilsen and Katherine Prusack are challenging Susan Costomiris and Dylan Archuleta, the candidates on the line, and in district 5-3, Phil Cohen and Melissa Abernathy are running off the line against Vincent Rossi and Melissa Blanco, who have the official party backing. Interestingly, Cohen was the Democratic Party-endorsed candidate for Hudson County freeholder last spring at the behest of Mayor Zimmer, losing out to Romano in the primary. In district 2-3, another candidate is running unopposed off the line.
Cohen declined to talk about any debate over the presidency. But he said that Cryan used the power of naming the party line this year to pick a unanimous citywide slate that was mostly made up of anti-Zimmer people, resulting in Cohen’s being left off the line. Cohen is currently the incumbent for district 5-3, and he decided to stay in the race because he wants to continue representing his district.
Zimmer did not respond to a call and e-mail request for comment.
In addition to setting the line in hyperlocal party elections, the Hoboken Democratic Party chairman can play a role in organizing support for Democrats running in state or national elections. That could explain the position’s appeal to Mason, who has ties with New Jersey Senate Pres. Stephen Sweeney, a likely candidate for governor in 2017. Mason has also already come out in support of Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid.
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.