After nearly six months of elevated rhetoric among some candidates in the 31st Assembly District, voters will finally get to choose which two of six they want to serve for the next two years.
Nicholas Chiaravalloti, of Bayonne, is running with Angela McKnight, of Jersey City, on the Democratic ticket.
Matthew Kopko is running with Herminio Mendoza on the Republican ticket. Anthony Zanowic is running with Alejandro Rodriguez on an independent ticket
The 31st district includes all of Bayonne and nearly half of Jersey City. Chiaravalloti and McKnight have the endorsement of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis.
Kopko has received several endorsements, including one from former Bayonne Mayor Richard Ratkowski.
Democrats support party platform
Born and raised in Jersey City, Angela McKnight has a degree in Business Management from University of Phoenix.
As a result of her need to take care of an ailing grandmother, McKnight founded AngelaCares, a not-for-profit organization that offers a variety of services to both senior citizens and young people.
“I’m not a career politician. I’m here to better the community.” — Herminio Mendoza
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Her running mate, Chiaravalloti, meanwhile, has significant political experience, as a former aide to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and former Bayonne Mayor and State Sen. Joseph Doria.
Born and raised in Bayonne, Chiaravalloti attended The Catholic University of America, and later earned his J.D. from Rutgers-Newark School of Law. Shortly after, in 1998, he became a member of the New Jersey Bar Association.
His role as executive director of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority has become one of the issues of the campaign, in particular, regarding the former Military Ocean Terminal. He helped negotiate the city’s takeover of the 432-acre property in 2000 before leaving the BLRA. He later became a consultant for some of the firms hoping to redevelop the property.
He brings to the district his experience in development as well as a vision for rebuilding and expanding the transportation infrastructure. Like other Democrats, he is at odds with some of the GOP policies that have left urban areas in decay.
While his running mate, McKnight, is on the board of a charter school, Chiaravalloti said there is a role for charter schools in the district, but they must get away from the corporate model that some currently embrace.
Republicans have a full agenda
Matthew Kopko, a real estate lawyer, has run a high-profile anti-corruption campaign, but has also offered a platform that includes education reform and crime prevention. Many of his platforms have been described by others as “moderate” Republican, and in some cases, “Democratic.”
He has been very critical of Chiaravalloti since winning the Republican primary.
Kopko has also been critical of “big developers,” and is a proponent of mixed-use development and affordable housing.
He has been critical of Jersey City’s plan to build a casino near Liberty State Park, and said the city should be developing the area for high-tech firms.
Herminio Mendoza, who is seen as a Hudson County Republican Organization candidate, lives in Jersey City since emigrating from the Dominican Republic in 1992. A graduate of Hudson County Schools of Technology, he is a former employee of the Jersey City’s Division of Engineering. He currently owns a small-signs and awning business that he started in 2011.
“I’m not a career politician,” he said. “I’m here to better the community.”
He supports small businesses, and has been campaigning against the awarding of contracts and tax breaks to politically connected firms.
An independent ticket
Anthony Zanowic, manager of Hudson Lanes, has run for office in the past, including for mayor of Bayonne in 2014.
Although he has run a low-profile campaign since declaring last June, he has a platform that includes promoting vocational education, and opposition to the federal Common Core educational standards.
Although running as an independent, some of Zanowic’s beliefs align with Republican or libertarian views, such as supporting laws that would allow people to carry concealed firearms, and opposition to allowing citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Alejandro Rodriquez is a real estate agent but also a respected baseball coach, whose views fall in line with those of Zanowic on support of local teachers, need for drug awareness, and steps to curb violence in the community.
Both men appear to believe they can make a difference in these areas by serving in the state legislature.
“We very much believe in the same things,” Zanowic told the Hudson Reporter during an interview earlier this year.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.