For the latter part of the 1990s, suspicious critics of former County Executive Robert Janiszewski could not believe in the rumor that Bobby J had – for a time – severed ties with his mentor, Union County State Sen. Ray Lesniak.
In the mid-1990s, Janiszewski broke with Lesniak over who should get the Democratic nod for governor: Lesniak supported Jim McGreevey; Janiszewski supported Rob Andrews.
But recently uncovered documents show that Lesniak may have been the real brains behind few political successes of the Janiszewski administration, and when Bobby J went off on his own, he generally did badly.
Janiszewski’s campaign reports from the 1980s and early 1990s show a pattern of support for Republican and Democratic candidates statewide backed by Lesniak’s state-level political machine. This same political machine orchestrated many of Janiszewski’s political successes such as the 1987 Hudson County executive race and later the 1992 statewide coordinated effort to get Bill Clinton elected president.
The corruption trial of former Freeholder Nidia Davila-Colon earlier this year and subsequent indictments have begun to expose some of the inner workings of Janiszewski’s political career, hinting that Janiszewski’s admitted bribe-taking may have been a sideshow to what he was usually doing, which was being politically directed by other people.
On Oct. 18, 1999 – three days after FBI agents videotaped Davila-Colon bringing him $5,000 – then County Executive Janiszewski was touted by then President Bill Clinton in a nostalgic get-together of Democrats in Newark.
Clinton had come to Ray Lesniak’s Newark residence for the New Jersey Democratic Assembly Dinner as part of his effort to garner support for Al Gore’s 2000 presidential bid.
This dinner saw the top political operatives in the state, which included Janiszewski, Lesniak, Rep. Bob Menendez, Newark Mayor Sharpe James, Jon Corzine, State Senator Richard Codey, and Essex County Democratic Chairman Tom Giblin.
During a speech now a part of the Clinton’s Presidential Archives, Clinton looked back fondly to 1991, when Bobby J. invited him to speak at the Hudson County Democratic Dinner in Secaucus.
“I was hoarse,” Clinton said. “I could barely talk. I thought, you know, I saw this guy and I didn’t know whether he was going to bounce me out of the room or put his arm around me, and as strong as he is, I might not survive either one. I wanted so badly to make a good impression I couldn’t even talk.”
Former Janiszewski friend and consultant Paul Byrne, during an interview this week, recalled 1991 as the glory days of the Janiszewski administration and the savvy ability of local Democrats to see that Clinton had the right stuff to become president.
Janiszewski was the New Jersey campaign manager for Clinton in 1992 and 1996.
“[1991] was back before Clinton announced he was even running for president,” Byrne said. “We started looking around for a candidate. I remember telling Bobby that Clinton’s got something. So we called the governor’s mansion in Little Rock and asked him to attend the event. Two hours later, [Clinton’s staff] called back and said yes.”
Clinton was so new to the campaign trail that he had no other events scheduled in the northeast, and the Janiszewski staff got local TV and newspapers to cover him.
“Mostly we hung out in the suite, we were telling him [Clinton] Hudson County stories and he was telling us stories about Arkansas politics,” Byrne said.
Lesniak played a part in the 1991 event, but according to Byrne, “it was mostly Bobby’s show.”
Yet in 1999, it was Lesniak Clinton thanked most for the successful presidential campaign eight years earlier.
“If Ray Lesniak asked me to empty my bank account – meager as it is – fly to Alaska to meet him tomorrow morning, I’d probably do it. I feel deeply indebted to him,” Clinton said.
Hudson Republicans regroup
Republican County Chairman Jose Arango said his organization will begin to regroup after its losses in the recent elections for state legislative offices. Republicans failed to do as well as many people expected before the election, particularly in North Hudson.
“We tried to give people in Hudson County a choice,” Arango said. “Now they have what they had before. The funny part is that a lot of people complained about corruption, mismanagement and waste of taxes, and yet they elected some of the same people who created those problems. I think Hudson County is the laughingstock of the state and that is a sad situation. Too many people stayed at home.”
Arango said the Republicans have to put the loss behind them and begin the arduous task of getting ready for the congressional and presidential elections next year…
Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell said he is not seeking the 32nd District Assembly seat, despite rumors that he would soon replace Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto.
“No one has offered it to me, and I’m not interested,” he said. “But if Tony Impreveduto should step down, I hope the seat would remain a Secaucus seat.”
Impreveduto just won re-election with Secaucus voters giving him 300 more votes than another candidate on the Secaucus ballot.
The rumor had Elwell moving up with Deputy Mayor John Reilly taking his seat as mayor…
Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler said he has not yet made up his mind about running for mayor in Jersey City in 2005.
“I have not made any decision yet,” he said. “But people have asked me to run.”
Schundler, who ran and lost against McGreevey for governor in 2001, said he had taken time off from politics to spend with his family. His fundraising events had been to pay off his campaign debts…
A legal challenge over the absentee ballots in the 3rd Ward Hoboken special election continued for another week. Both sides in the campaign presented their arguments in Superior Court. Michael Russo, son of the former Hoboken mayor, won the election by 48 votes on the machines, but supporters of Vincent Addeo have questioned the validity of 80 ballots.
Councilman Tony Soares, who has taken a pro-Russo stand, criticized Addeo’s biggest ally. “This challenge makes no sense,” Soares said. “Next thing Mayor Dave Roberts will want to do is count the hanging chads – when there aren’t any.”