Many of the people in downtown Jersey City hadn’t voted by 1 p.m. and few would hazard a guess who would get the Hudson Democratic Party’s nod for 31st District state senator. However, one resident seemed to have the gift of prophecy.
"It looks like Glenn Cunningham to me," said Mark DeWalt, a construction worker who was helping put the finishing touches on the Exchange Place PATH station, scheduled to open at the end of the month.
By 9:45 p.m that evening, the guess became a reality, when Jersey City Council President L. Harvey Smith, running against Mayor Glenn Cunningham for the Democratic nomination, conceded his defeat. By that time, Cunningham had already arrived at a gathering of party supporters at Puccini’s Restaurant on West Side Avenue and was greeted with cheers.
"I am still going to be mayor," said Cunningham as he was mobbed by supporters as he entered through the rear door of the restaurant’s main dining room. "Being a senator will make me be a better representative for the people of Jersey City and Bayonne."
For the last three months, Cunningham has been in a three-way race with Smith and Bayonne attorney and former prosecutor Vincent Militello for the Democratic nomination for State Senator in the 31st District. The 31st District comprises all of Bayonne and most of Jersey City, with the exception of the Heights section. Smith was the official choice of the Hudson County Democratic Party, having received the endorsement of Gov. James McGreevey.
Militello ran as a third candidate, employing such attention-grabbing stunts as having a person in a chicken suit confront the candidates who declined to debate him on television.
Numbers from the Hudson County Clerk’s Office revealed that Cunningham garnered 9,644 votes compared to Smith’s 8,121 votes. Militello received, according the county, 2,952 votes.
Former Freeholder Louis Manzo ran on the Cunningham ticket for the district’s Assembly seat against incumbent Assemblyman Joseph Doria. Doria is the mayor of Bayonne and at one time served as the Speaker of the Assembly. As of Friday afternoon, the county had not finished counting votes in the Manzo-Doria contest. The Hudson County clerk’s office stated that a number of voting machines had not been opened and the county was not prepared to certify the results However, county officials said that as of election night, Manzo had 9,967 votes, contrasted to Doria’s tentative lead of 9,978 votes.
On Tuesday night, Manzoi was confident and spoke favorably of the Cunningham win.
"This is a victory for the neighborhoods of Jersey City and Bayonne," said Manzo as rain soaked him as he entered the West Side Avenue eatery. "We have defeated the most tyrannical version of the Democratic party in Hudson County history."
Manzo was referring to the ongoing political feud between Cunningham and Rep. Bob Menendez, the leader of the Democratic Party in Hudson County. Cunningham became mayor of Jersey City slightly less than two years ago with the support of Menendez, but later the two disagreed over which candidate for county executive the Democratic party would support in the election to replace Robert Janiszewski, who resigned amid charges of corruption.
The two factions of the Hudson County Democratic Party have, since that point, battled for control of Hudson County. The Jersey City Council, with the exception of Councilperson Viola Richardson, has sided with Menendez in the struggle with Cunningham. For the last year, council meetings have been contentious matches between the council and the mayor’s supporters.
Many have speculated that if Cunningham wins the 31st District senate seat in the November elections, his reach will extend beyond Jersey City to the entire state, forcing the main-line Democrats to pay more attention to Jersey City.
Other winners
Cunningham’s running mate for Assembly, Anthony Chiappone, beat first-term Assembly member Elba Perez-Cinciarelli, with Chiappone garnering 10,650 votes compared with Cinciarelli’s 9,139.
In the race for County Executive, incumbent Tom DeGise easily defeated rivals Melba Walsh on the Cunningham slate and former Jersey City Councilman Jaime Vasquez, winning a total of 31,204 votes county wide.
"I am very anxious to get on with the government part of my job," DeGise commented on Wednesday. "Politics has played too large a part of what I’ve been doing for too long."
DeGise will now be Hudson County Executive for the next four years. He stated he would like to move forward with county plans to acquire and develop green space. DeGise said the county freeholders would vote on legislation soon imposing a 1 cent addition to the property tax on every assessed $1,000. DeGise estimated this would generate $2.9 million for green space development.
According to the County Clerk’s Office, there are 119,874 registered voters in the county. Out of that number, county officials stated, only 35,874 participated in the primary elections.
Cindy Trunell of the Hamilton Park section of Jersey City said late on Tuesday afternoon she was planning to vote, but had not done so yet.
"If you want to have the benefits of the democratic system, you have to participate on every level," said Trunell, walking her Australian Shepherd Kylie in the park. "I’m going to vote."