The Hudson County Board of Freeholders is kicking off the political year with the first battle of the New Year.
The nine member board must decide who will lead them in the coming year as their chairman, replacing Sal Vega, who recently graduated to the state Assembly and the mayor’s post in West New York.
Jersey City Freeholder Bill O’Dea has been lobbying hard for the post, hoping apparently to use it to launch a planned offensive later this year in an apparently attempt to take the County Executive seat in the June primary. He could have as many as four votes lined up for his reelection, although some other freeholders may be backing North Bergen Freeholder Tom Liggio. A compromise candidate might be Jersey City Freeholder Jeff Dublin, although reports suggest he might be considered for a spot for state Assembly in the 31st District.
Oddly enough, the deciding vote could come from Bayonne Freeholder Doreen DiDomenico, who is reportedly a close friend of the O’Dea family. While DiDomenico was supported by State Senator and Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria for her post, she has a reputation for speaking and voting her own mind, and in the end, could decide to go against Doria’s choice – if he has one – for O’Dea.
The battle for control of the Freeholders has some strange twists. Those close to state Senator and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco claim he has not expressed a specific interest in having the chairmanship come to Liggio.
“If Nick wanted it, he would get it,” one sources said.
Liggio, however, has served as vice chairman during the last year and has served as acting chair since Vega was sworn in as Assemblyman and West New York Mayor in November. These posts make him the logical candidate to move up to the chair for 2007. But he seems to be someone backed by the “anybody but O’Dea” crowd.
Dublin, an ally of O’Dea, is well known as a competent legislator, someone who has deep roots in his community, and someone who can work well with the various factions that make up the freeholder board. Most believe that if he gets the nod for Freeholder chairman, he will forego the state Assembly.
Prior to the reorganization meeting where the fate of the chairmanship will be decided early this month, the line up most people believe would be four to four with Bayonne the deciding vote.
Smith a likely candidate for Assembly
L. Harvey Smith is expected to run for state Assembly in the 31st Dist. the June Democratic Primary along with Assemblyman Louis Manzo and Senator Doria in the likelihood Dublin does not.
According to two sources, Smith got the blessing of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who in the past was fearful of giving Smith and Manzo platforms from which to lunch mayoral challenges against Healy in 2009. Does this mean Healy will refrain from his own reelection bid? Healy has told several people in the past that he intended to run for reelection, but several key political observers wonder lately if he has changed his mind. Key county people behind County Executive Tom DeGise believe Healy will run anyway with DeGise’s support.
No revenge list?
Although U.S. Senator Robert Menendez has publicly stated he intends to withdraw from active participation in Hudson County politics, most people don’t believe it, saying he has a web work of personal connections throughout the county that will allow him to play a role through surrogates.
Several people close to Menendez dispute also the report of “a revenge list” of people Menendez may seen to get even with for apparent slights during his U.S. Senate election.
But several supporters of Menendez claim that several people are on the block and that the June primary may see a Democratic civil war despite the best efforts of many mayors and other political people to avoid one.
According to this group of Menendez supporters, the county administration gave Republican Tom Kean Jr. ammunition to run against Menendez, based on a lawsuit filed by the county against key corruption officials. Information filed in a counter suit against Hudson County became the fodder of Kean’s campaign ads.
Donald Scarinci, long time Menendez ally and the target of some of these Republican attacks, said no list existed.
Fantasy politics?
The most curious fantasy run will have state Senator Bernard Kenny challenging DeGise for County Executive. Also named in the running in the soon-to-be-dumped Sheriff, Joe Cassidy.
Kenny, of course, will be leaving his state Senate post this year, pushed out by an ever politically ambitious state Assemblyman and Union City Mayor Brian Stack.
The question is, who will replace Kenny in his other key role as Chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization? While Healy has been suggested, and even several other people throughout the county, most likely the choice will go to Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner.
While numerous people have been jockeying for the position of Hudson County Clerk, the position may not be vacated by the current clerk, Javier Inclan, even though he was expected to start a job with the Gov. Jon Corzine administration.
The year also began with the swearing-in of new council members in Secaucus.
The overwhelming victory of Michael Gonnelli has sent a message of change through the Secaucus political community. While some claim newly elected Councilman John Shinnick may someday become the mayor of Secaucus, this is unlikely if Gonnelli decides to run in three years.
Meanwhile the Secaucus Board of Education becomes a political quagmire after recent meeting minutes failed to show the admission by Board Member Susan Piro that she had signed a political flyer for another board member. Board Member Tom Troyer was particularly upset by the missing information, saying the information should have been included in the official documentation. Troyer, however, has been reluctant to file an ethic complaint against Piro with the state Department of Education.