On Tuesday night, voters throughout predominantly Democratic Hudson County cheered when Illinois Sen. Barack Obama became the first African-American president elected to lead the United States.
Seventy-two present of voters in Hudson County, or 141,557, voted for Obama on Election Day, while 26 percent, or 51,478, voted for Republican Sen. John McCain.
Nationwide, Obama grabbed 64 million of the country’s 120 million votes, and McCain amassed 56 million votes. Obama also captured the needed 270 electoral votes nationwide, including New Jersey’s 15 electoral votes.
On the local level, there were few surprises in the Congressional and freeholder races, where Democrats emerged victorious (see sidebar).
Tears and cheers erupted Tuesday night at the Liberty House Restaurant in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, where over 400 Obama supporters had gathered to see the results on two giant TV screens.
Among them was Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who was one of Obama’s earliest local backers.
“I think he is the absolute perfect person for this job, at this time, in this world,” Healy said, “and he can restore America to its rightful place in the free world.”
Also present were Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Hudson County Freeholder Jeffrey Dublin, and Hoboken City Councilman Michael Russo.
“He had a focus, he had a vision, and his vision that helped him to become president of the United States,” said Russo, who had come out for Obama early, while other prominent Hobokenites had supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.
“And I strive to have that same focus and vision when I run for office in the future,” added the young councilman, who is a rumored mayoral candidate in Hoboken this coming May.The people speak out
Maisha Taylor, a Jersey City real estate agent, came with her father to watch and rejoice.
“I have never been interested in politics much until [Obama] came along, but he taught me a lot, and that’s what I needed in my life,” Taylor said.
Kalimah Ahmad is a Jersey City native who works as an attorney in Newark as well as chief of staff for the Hudson County Board of Freeholders. “I hope Obama winning, especially with the support of the younger generation, will inspire more young people to run for office,” Ahmad said.
The day after the victory, Santos Murillo, who works with the area’s poorest residents through two different local organizations, noted that the president has a big job ahead of him. Murillo is the director of the Sharing Place food pantry at the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Jersey City, where people come to get food when they are hungry. He is also the executive director of the Habitat for Humanity Hudson County.
“Obama will have to hold the public’s hand,” he said, “as this country is in terrible economic shape and trillions of dollars in debt.” Comments on this story can be sent to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com Sidebar The rest of Hudson County’s results
While the presidential election took center stage, local voters also chose a freeholder, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Congressman. The Democrats were heavily favored to win in all races, and they did.
In addition, Jersey City allowed voters to decide whether to keep an elected school board or have a board appointed by the mayor. The district is presently coming off of state control.
Here are the results as of press time last week:
Jersey City School Board Question – Jersey City voters overwhelmingly chose the elected school board option, with 18,039 “yes” votes as opposed to 2,645 for the mayor appointing the board.
U.S. Senator – Democrat Frank Lautenberg won statewide. In Hudson County, he amassed 115,203 votes to Republican Dick Zimmer’s 37,727. Guttenberg resident Jeff Boss got 791 votes as an independent candidate for senator. Countywide, he also pulled 87 votes for his simultaneous run for U.S President.
House of Representatives – In the 13th District, which includes most of Hudson County, Rep. Albio Sires won easily with 75,450 votes to second place finisher Joseph Turula’s 23,806. For the 9th Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Steve Rothman won with 23,306 votes in Hudson County while his opponent Vincent Micco got 8,582. In the 10th District, Donald Payne prevailed in a landslide with 14,222 votes while his opponent Michael Taber got 257 votes.
Hudson County Freeholders – Several of these races were unopposed. In the 1st District: Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico, 8,207 and Denis Wilbeck, 6,323; 2nd District: William O’Dea, 11,195; 3rd District: Jeffrey Dublin, 17,369; 4th District: Eliu Rivera, 12,774; 5th District: Anthony Romano, 15,767; 6th District: Tilo E. Rivas, 10,374; 7th District: Jose Munoz, 12,150; 8th District: Thomas F. Liggio, 14,095 and Michael Bartulovich, 4,919; in the 9th District: Albert J. Cifelli 10,226 and Jacob Hahn 4,425. – RK