Mark Twain once noted that it takes two people to slander you: your enemy who actually does the slandering, and your friend who gets to tell you about it.
This is even more true in current Hudson County politics, where backstabbing and mudslinging have reached new heights.
The problem is when you slander someone here, they don’t go away, they just get even.
Hudson County Democrats are in the middle of a nasty family feud that promises to leave lingering bad feelings for years.
Sorting through these political machinations could take a Rosetta Stone, although some of the most bitter battles are also the most public.
Assemblyman and West New York Mayor Sal Vega has been harping on the fact that U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie subpoenaed state Assemblyman and Union City Mayor Brian Stack.
The mantra in the Vega camp is that Stack belongs in “the big house, not the State House.”
Putting aside the prospect that Christie’s pursuit of Democrats in New Jersey may soon come under the scrutiny of Congress as to whether or not he and other Republican appointed U.S. Attorneys across the nation have been acting on political orders from the White House, the logic against Stack is itself flawed.
Stack was not subpoenaed personally, his office was – just as Stack’s wife’s daycare center was subpoenaed, not Stack’s wife personally.
The U.S. Attorney’s office is seeking information to determine if end-of-the-year distribution of public funds to special projects (“Christmas Tree” funds) broke the law. Information gathering is not unusual, even if Christie is on a Republican fishing trip looking for big Democratic fish to catch.
Attacking Stack, who is not likely to be charged with any crime, may be protected under the wacky election laws, but it is a risky thing to do.
Despite all that Vega does, Stack is very likely to emerge as the Democratic nominee for the 33 rd District Senate seat after the June 5 primary, and the rest of the county will have to live with that fact.
This may explain why some prominent Democrats on Vega’s side such as Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy are distancing themselves from Vega. They don’t want to get caught up in the deadly political whirlpool that Vega’s primary loss will bring. Vega and those closest to him may drown in a flood of their own ill-advised rhetoric, but not everyone needs to drown with him.
Will the real HCDO please stand up?
Many people on the Stack side are equally unwise in predicting the end of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO).
The real battle in this primary will be over who will control the destiny of the Democratic party in Hudson County – the HCDO, or Stack’s newer group of Dems.
HCDO people like to say they have 10 of the 12 Hudson County mayors on their side, while the Stack ticket claims it is the party of reform and will take away the mantle of power from Old Guard.
In truth, both sides of this debate are loose coalitions, filled with fragile egos that could tear apart both groups if the wrong word is said. While the Stack camp points to Healy as a master manipulator whose sole concern is to eliminate possible competitors for 2009 Jersey City mayoral race, elements of Stack’s camp show the same Machiavellian tendencies when manipulating behind the scenes.
For example, Healy drove Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria out of the state Senate in the 31st District by flatly refusing to allow Doria to run with two candidates who would guarantee a victory: Assemblyman Louis Manzo and former Jersey City Council President L. Harvey Smith. Manzo and Smith are expected to run against Healy for mayor in 2009.
Saddled with the prospect of running with two unknowns, Doria dropped out. Healy then embraced Sandra Cunningham as the HCDO candidate, along with Smith, who is now her runningmate. While Cunningham and Smith are also expected to run against Healy for mayor in 2009, they will vie for much of the same voter base, allowing Healy to round up votes from the rest of the city.
But Manzo, apparently in a panic to build a stronger ticket, has been seeking to replace one of his runningmates, Sheila Newton-Moses with the more politically familiar Freeholder Jeff Dublin. Manzo once was dead set against running with Dublin.
Manzo, however, was given a gift from the HDCO this week when contenders discovered Sandra Cunningham had filed the wrong petitions, and may not be able to run in the primary at all. This will have a huge impact on the county races and puts the HCDO’s hold on county office such as the sheriff, clerk and county executive.
While it may be too early to call Manzo, a state senator, he may well be on his way.
Gerry Lange’s apparent withdrawal as the Freeholder canididate from West New York is no surprise – although inside reports claim he was presured to do so. At a recent candidate event, Lange showed up only to find his seat on the podium occupied by his replacement Alberto Cabrera, a rude awakening since no one had bothered to warn Lange he was being replaced. A recent domesticate violence charge against Lange made him too risky a candidate for the HCDO – despite his being staunchly loyal to Vega prior to this. Lange, however, said he intends to run as an independent if not given the line.
Hoboken must choose sides
The county-level battles have huge implications for the Hoboken City Council races in May. All candidates are expected to pick a side.
In fact, in some ways, local municipal races of the past are being played out on the larger stage. Former Councilwoman Carol Marsh, for instance, has become the Assembly candidate on the Vega ticket, while Councilman Rubin Ramos has become the Assembly candidate on the Stack ticket.
In a twist of fate that defies logic, Ramos, who was perceived in the past as one of the upcoming rising stars of the HCDO, is suddenly running as a reformer, while Marsh, who has been one of the centerpieces of the reform movement, is running with the HCDO.
However, this is a gross oversimplification, since the Stack ticket looks more like the old HCDO than the new HCDO does, and the HCDO has made significant concessions in promised reforms that allowed Marsh to run with them.
Factions and more factions
Yet, Hoboken is fractured going into its municipal elections as well, and only partly because of the primary.
The City Council decided to put up its own slate – all of the incumbents – in reaction to the Macbeth-like indecision of Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts.
This is only marginally exaggerated, since the City Council is divided in ways that only a master puzzle-maker could properly appreciate, with Frank Raia leading one group, Councilman Michael Russo another, and Ramos and Councilman Chris Campos yet another.
Meanwhile, you have reformers trying to wedge themselves back onto the council after the loss of Marsh two years ago in her bid for mayor and after the defeat of former Councilman Tony Soares.
Soares and Michael Lenz, have thrown their support behind two strong candidates: Peter Cunningham in the 5th Ward and Dawn Zimmer in the 4th.
Meanwhile, as if Hoboken was fractured enough, Beth Mason seems to be leading yet another group of reformers with hope of getting that faction a seat on the council as well.
Now, for another question. Who will run Hoboken’s Democratic party? Mayor Roberts only managed to submit committee petitions for slightly over 20 candidates in the Democratic primary, so he will cease to retain his position as Democratic municipal chairman in Hoboken as of June 5.