Town Council votes Kickey to fill Elwell’s seat

In the hours leading up to his swearing in as the 2nd Ward councilman on Jan. 14, Robert Kickey was nervous. Although he had knocked on thousands of doors and talked to thousands of voters over the last decade in an effort to get his best friend, Dennis Elwell, elected as councilman or mayor, Kickey had never held a political position himself. “I never dreamed I would be filling Dennis’ seat after he became mayor,” he said at his swearing in Jan. 14, in part of a speech he had rehearsed for days. Earlier in the day, his political friends had pulled his leg a little. Aware of his nervousness, Mayor Elwell called Town Administrator Anthony Iacono and told him, “Call up Bob and tell him Channel 9 wants to come over and film his getting ready.” When the call came, Bob knew it was his friends teasing him – and yet couldn’t quite be sure. “This is a joke, right?” Kickey kept saying. “Dennis put you up to this.” Ultimately, laughter on the other end told him he was right. “They busted me all day,” Kickey said later, just minutes before the Town Council voted to make him the 2nd Ward councilman and he had to make his speech. If everything had gone the way it was supposed to, Kickey would not have had to make the late Friday public appearance, and would have taken his seat on Jan. 5 with everyone else. But until as late as Jan. 12, when the 26 members of the town’s Democratic Committee were scheduled to meet, everyone thought the Democrats would make the decision as to who would replace Elwell. According to that process, committee members would propose three names and the committee would vote on one. Assemblyman Democratic Chairman Anthony Impreveduto was supposed to offer James Clancy’s name and others were slated to name Bill Millevoi and, of course, Robert Kickey. An early count of committee members showed that Kickey had the lead in that expected election, but it was a vote that never took place. A last minute check of the law uncovered a provision that showed the choice was not in the hands of the Democratic Committee at all. While Elwell was elected to mayor as a Democrat, he had won his original council seat as an Independent. So, the Democrats would not be the ones to replace him. “If an incumbent whose office has become vacant was not a nominee of a political party, the governing body may within 30 days appoint a successor to fill the vacancy without regard to party,” state statute says, also noting that if the council had failed to act within that time, the seat would remain vacant until the next election. “Bob Kickey has worked hard for the community,” Mayor Elwell said in asking the council to nominate and vote on Kickey for the seat. “He’s attended town meetings regularly for a long time, he’s been a long time volunteer, and he has an awful lot to offer this body.” Kickey, 49, owns a service station in Secaucus as well as partnerships in other stations in the area. Democratic Councilman Michael Grecco, who rumors claim may be fighting to keep his own seat in next June’s Democratic primary, nominated Kickey. The motion was seconded by Deputy Mayor John Reilly, a certain show of support from the Democratic majority. The lone remaining Independent Councilman, John Reilly, was not present for the vote. In thanking friends and family for their support, Kickey recalled the tough political road he and Elwell had traveled to get to where they were today. “Ten years ago, Dennis came to me and said he wanted to run for office,” Kickey said. “He said he wanted to make a difference. Now, ten years later and 11 elections later and countless nights later, he won.” Yet Kickey said he never dreamed he would be taking Elwell’s 2nd Ward seat. He promised to work hard with Bueckner in the 2nd Ward and work hard with the council. He said as the town enters the new century, the council has issues it must face, like constructing a new state-of-the-art library, expanding overcrowded schools and purchasing the Old Mill property for open space. “Above all, stabilizing taxes will remain my top priority,” Kickey said. “I want to help keep Secaucus the safest and cleanest town in the state.” And if anyone doubted his commitment to the Democratic party after so many years as an independent, Kickey said that while he may have taken over a seat deemed as Independent, he would be running in the June primary as a Democrat.