Charles Dickens could hardly have described the difference in mood between the post-election gathering of Democrats at the Catholic War Veterans building on 23rd Street in Bayonne and the gathering of another group of Democrats for Reform at Kapps Tavern on 27th Street.
A Hudson County Democratic-backed ticket that included Incumbent Assemblyman Louis Manzo and Jersey City Schools Superintendent Charles Epps beat Democrats for Reform-backed candidates incumbent Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone and former Jersey City Chief of Staff Bill Ayala by a two to one margin in the primary Tuesday. HCDO-backed candidate for the 1st Freeholder District Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico also beat Democrats for Reform candidate Ed Mezzo by a similar margin.
Even before all the polls had closed, Chiappone and his glum entourage arrived at Kapps Tavern to no beeping horns, no shouts of joy, but rather a somber reflection. The 31st district is made up of 51 voting districts in Bayonne and three in Jersey City.
“We needed to take all of Bayonne, and we didn’t,” Chiappone said dourly, his usually defiant expression replaced by a stunned look. “We did well in some, close in others, but it wasn’t enough.”
The final talent showed Manzo leading vote-getters with 9,273, Epps, 8,986, Chiappone with 3,238, Ayala, 2,756 and independent Democratic candidate Christine Petersen, 865.
Manzo and Epps will go on to face Republican challengers Rita Howard and Andrew Wirtz in November.
For supporters of Chiappone’s ticket that included Ayala as an Assembly candidate and Mezzo as freeholder, there seemed no silver lining to the dark cloud floating over the aftermath of the election.
HDCO backed Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico swamped Mezzo 3,641 to 1,708 and will face Republican David Solari in November.
31st District was battleground
As the numbers rolled in, and cheers filled the hall of the Catholic War Vets Post a few blocks away, Chiappone and his staff knew they had been beaten. The defeat meant that future plans, such as a Chiappone run for mayor against incumbent Joseph Doria next year, may be put off.
“We thought we would do better than this,” Chiappone said. “And this will change my plans.”
According to HCDO Chairman, State Sen. Bernard Kenny, the HCDO concentrated its efforts in the 31st District in order to make sure its candidates got elected.
“We focused on the 31st District because that’s where the fight was,” he said.
Tuesday night, the HCDO candidates were not disappointed. Within a half hour of the polls closing, dignitaries arrived, current and former public officials, key party organizers, and others who had been part of the massive team effort in Bayonne and portions of Jersey City.
Mayor Joseph Doria, in a crowd-rousing speech, called this a great victory.
“It is a great victory for all of you, but it is also a great victory for positive campaigning,” he shouted. “We did not go negative. The other side did. We talked about issues. The other side did not.”
As state senator, Doria said he is looking forward to working with the new team of Epps and Manzo in Trenton.
“While we have to win in November, I’m sure we will,” he said.
Manzo received a tremendous reception when he rose to speak, telling the crowd, “It is so good to have a victory in Bayonne, believe me.”
Bayonne Council President Vincent Lo Re said elections aren’t only won on election night.
“It takes a long time from election to election to build a positive record, to build accomplishments,” he said, crediting all of the supporters who do much of the work.
Epps, who is also the superintendent of schools in Jersey City, declined to comment to the press in the weeks before the election, yet sailed to victory nevertheless.
DiDomenico may become first woman freeholder from Bayonne
DiDomenico primary victory positions her as potentially the first woman freeholder from Bayonne in history.
Retiring Bayonne Freeholder Barry Dugan said he was concerned when he stepped down that the organization might have a problem. So he kept secret the fact that he stepped down as freeholder, allowing only key people like the mayor to know.
“This gave us time to select an excellent candidate in Doreen,” he said.
Doria said DiDomenico has just had her first “baptism of fire” but not her last with the primary victory.
“I’m sure she’ll around for many years working for the people of this community and this county,” Doria said. “She will do a great job on the Board of Freeholders.” But Doria reminded supporters that she still faces another election in November.
She said that during the campaign, she always had a lot to say, with her fellow campaigners often having to pull her away.
“Now that I’m up here, I’m not really prepared to say anything, and I’m a lot more shaky than normal,” she said, thanking those who helped make her victory possible.
After her appearance later at the Casino in the Park, DiDomenico said she was still surprised that she won, but looked forward to being an advocate for Bayonne and to working on open space as an first term freeholder.
“I guess that the two things that come most to mind are taxes are a huge issue for everybody in the state of New Jersey, but in Bayonne it’s a very big issue,” she said. “To know that taxes that are going to county government are well spent and that Bayonne gets back what it needs from county government, and also open spaces. We all live in urban environments, but we [need to] preserve open spaces and we keep areas beautiful and open.”
Manzo said she had campaigned side by side with him throughout the primary.
Charles Epps was greeted with a deafening cheer, waving at the crowd as he entered the room.
“I’m so ecstatic,” he said, noting that an early light turnout had made him wonder if he had done the right thing. “I said, ‘What am I doing?'”
But by the end of the night, he knew the district had come out in his support.
“I love Bayonne!” he shouted several times to increasing cheers. “I can’t believe I’m the Assembly candidate.”
In an appearance later in Casino in the Park in Jersey City, Epps answered critics during the campaign.
“People kept asking me, can I do two jobs?” he said, referring to his role in the schools as well as to the Assembly seat. “Of course I can, and I’m going to do the best for the citizens of Jersey City and the 31st District with both jobs.”
Casino in the Park
Later, the Democratic road show moved onto Casino in the Park in Jersey City, where State Sen. Bernard Kenny celebrated the countywide victory, noting that after several years of conflict, the Democratic Party is united and at peace.
“This is the most united this party has been in 30 years, all 12 mayors, three congressmen, all the freeholders,” he said. “It is all because we worked together for the good of the people in this county. We put the hard stuff aside. We decided to come together after several tough years. That’s why we had victories [in the primary]. All of us now realize what we can accomplish when we do things together.”
“The fighting hurt the people of Jersey City and Hudson County,” said Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.
Manzo echoed this sentiment: “We have the greatest county chairman in the state of New Jersey, and he doesn’t get his due.”
County Executive Tom DeGise credited Kenny’s leadership in uniting the Democratic Party.
Healy sang the praise of Democratic unity and the role he has played in making it happen.
“I said I’m here to work with people not fight with people, and the fighting is over when I got elected in November,” he said. “When we speak with one voice, it is a powerful voice. Now we have to work to get our Hudson County resident, Jon Corzine elected governor in November. He is going to be the best governor we’ve had in decades.”
Ricardo Kaulessar contributed to this story.
Al Sullivan can be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.