Behind-the-scenes politics hasn’t changed as much over the last century as people like to pretend – and the selection of a new chairman of the Hoboken Democratic Organization this past Monday showed as much.
While cigar-smoking political bosses now have to go outside to puff, same claim e the same old threats and intimidation appear to have taken place, as factions from an almost evenly split Democratic party struggled to find a new chairperson.
At least, that’s what one side claims. Each side says that the grumbling and cursing at the meeting came from the other side.
A group calling themselves Real Democrats of Hoboken pushed to get Ines Garcia Keim (a close ally of 2nd Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason) named to the powerful top post, while in the end, Councilman Ravi Bhalla (a close ally of Mayor Dawn Zimmer) was named chairman.
The Real Democrats claimed last week that the Bhalla victory was less a win for Mayor Zimmer than a fumble by outgoing chairman and State Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr. Keim’s supporters say the committee members called for a second vote on the original ballot because it came out a tie. Thus, instead of serving as the tie-breaking vote to decide the chairmanship, Ramos called for a pubic new vote, putting a few of the city workers on the spot: if they voted openly for Keim, they risked the wrath of Zimmer, who was backing Bhalla.
However, the other side says that the truth was less odious, since the original vote was not for chairman but a show of hands to determine if there should be a secret ballot or not, and a second vote was taken to make it a voice vote instead. Ultimately, Bhalla came out ahead.
Despite the fact that neither candidate for the top spot was a born-and-raised Hobokenite, Old Hoboken can take comfort in the fact that they still have a significant amount of clout in town, since the vote for a chairman was split.
This could bode badly for Councilman Michael Lenz, who is running against Tim Occhipinti in a special election in November for the 4th Ward seat. Lenz is not well-loved by Old Hoboken, who would rather pin their hopes on Occhipinti than support Lenz, who they do not see representing their interests.
“The [split] committee vote shows that Old Hoboken is getting its act together,” one source said. But it also shows the Bhalla can expect a rough ride during his tenure as chairman. While he may be able to help steer Democratic resources to favored candidates, and determine who will get ballot positions in partisan races, Bhalla may get a lot of grief as a result. But he also may be able to broker this into higher office – perhaps even a future run for mayor.
HCDO chairman chosen
Bhalla’s ally, Councilman Lenz, Tweeted his congratulations after Bhalla’s win, but got it slightly wrong, calling him chairman of the “Hudson County Democratic Organization,” instead. Wishful thinking on his part. However, that organization’s chairman is now Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith, who was chosen Wednesday night and now will have a heavy task of rebuilding the organization.
The question is, however: Will Smith keep Craig Guy, the current executive director, or replace Guy with someone out of the Bayonne political machine? Bets are that he will keep Guy, but replace his deputy, James Madden, with Jenny Davis – sometimes called Old Ironsides for her tough demeanor running Smith’s campaign headquarters this last election.
Republicans in Jersey City also had a contested race for chairman of their Democratic committee. Some people wanted to see Sean Connolly named, but feared he might get too much power and named Russell Maffei instead.
Bum deal for Beldini?
Leona Beldini, a former Jersey City deputy mayor, said – even after being sentenced Monday to three years in federal prison – that she is innocent of bribery in connection to last summer’s sweeping FBI sting.
Many people agree she got a bum deal since the federal government did its best to void many of the legal protections set in place against entrapment when they went after her and a number of other high-profile political figures in Hudson County. But a jury bought the case brought against her, and in America, she got the only legal guarantee possible: a jury of her peers.
“The feds are making their own laws with these cases,” said one prominent Jersey City attorney who is not involved with the case. “They are going where no one has gone before and getting away it.”
Well, almost.
Former Assemblyman and Hudson County Freeholder Louis Manzo, who managed to get several charges thrown out against him, might still prove the thorn in the side of these cases, because if he prevails in proving the U.S. Attorney’s actions were politically engineered to help Christopher Christie get elected as governor, the feds may see some of these convictions reversed.
While it isn’t likely, Manzo has little to lose – except that if he loses his case, you can bet the feds will throw the book at him.
Meanwhile, former Hoboken Councilman Michael Schaffer, who was nabbed in that same sting operation, clearly isn’t willing to take the chance, pleading guilty this week to accepting unlawful cash contributions totaling $15,000 for the campaign of then mayoral candidate Peter Cammarano.
Schaffer admitted that the $25,000 in cash payments were in exchange for Cammarano’s future official assistance, action, and influence in Hoboken government matters pertaining to anticipated real estate development projects. Schaffer also admitted that he wrote checks to Cammarano’s campaign fund in order to conceal the origin of the cash.
Although Cammarano eventually was elected mayor of Hoboken, he was arrested three weeks after taking office, and resigned a week after that.
Also arrested in that sting and still awaiting trial is former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, who has close ties to Louis and his brother Ron Manzo (also charged) and may stay the course long enough to see what fate has in store for them before he makes his own deal.
The political impact of Elwell’s arrest was felt again this month as Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, Elwell’s replacement chairman on the Secaucus Democratic Organization, took bold steps to steer his council ticket for the November election away from those previously associated with Elwell. But a revolt among committee people allowed many of the old guard to retain their committee seats. Some say that the Democratic organization under Prieto was in such disarray that locals had to reach out to people in the North Bergen organization to straighten things out.