At the recent debate at Lincoln High School for candidates running to become the next Assembly members in the 31st District (serving Bayonne and Jersey City), Bruce Alston appeared to call out Nicholas Chiaravalloti.
While Chiaravalloti was wise enough to stay in his seat, Alston’s outrageous behavior came after Alston’s campaign stacked the audience with more than 40 students.
All of the students got a good lesson in how not to act during a debate.
Alston also stood up during his introduction to address the audience in a move that some have called “pulling a Mayor Smith.” (The others were sitting.) This refers to a similar move Bayonne Mark Smith made during a debate prior to his reelection loss in 2014.
Peter Franco of Bayonne complained about not being allowed to fully ask all the questions he had prepared as an audience member. Franco is among a handful of people trying to tie Chiaravalloti to bad land deals at the former Military Ocean Terminal.
The debate itself – while raising some valid issues – came across for the most part as an anti-Hudson County Democratic Organization witch hunt. Chiaravalloti and Angela McKnight are the HCDO-backed candidates, and McKnight took the brunt of these attacks. She was particularly vexed by the fact that her notes were taken away by the organizers before the debate. Then later, she was criticized for not being up on current issues.
This is one of the most hotly-contested Democratic primaries in years. Ironically enough, Chiraralloti was the anti-HCDO candidate during the last big primary contest in 2007.
Alston’s confrontational politics appear to be designed to rally his own troops against the usually superior HCDO.
An unholy mess in Hoboken
The dispute over who should become chairman of the Hoboken Democrats has the makings of a new political feud among opponents of Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
Some of the political power brokers are bound and determined to remove Jamie Cryan as chairman. Although these disaffected political figures claim they are doing it because they are unhappy with the job Cryan has done during his four years as chairman, some of the reason may go back to the last mayoral election in 2013 when Cryan was key to a third ticket (Tim Occhipinti for mayor) that split the anti-Zimmer vote by taking votes away from candidate Ruben Ramos, allowing Zimmer to get elected. The reasons for removing Cryan run something like this: “He’s done little or nothing to grow the party,” or “He’s raised no money,” or “He’s been in the seat four years, that should be enough.”
While Cryan seems to have one staunch defender in former Board of Education Trustee Frank Raia, who has money and thus influence, nearly every other faction of what is typically called “Old Hoboken” seems opposed to him.
The problem is the anti-Cryan people cannot agree on who should replace him. Councilwoman Beth Mason wants to chair in order to expand her own political profile to a national level as a local supporter of Hillary Clinton for president.
At this point, the likely replacement for Cryan, if he is removed at the official committee meeting in June, will either be Councilman Michael Russo or Freeholder Anthony Romano. Russo sometimes votes with and sometimes against Zimmer.
Meanwhile, the feud already threatens to spill over into the election for six Hoboken City Council seats in May. Talk around town suggests that Ramos, a former assemblyman, is not merely planning to run against Councilman Tim Occhipinti for 4th Ward council, but may also be putting together a slate of candidates in most if not all six wards. This could result in a repeat of the 2013 municipal election that will allow Zimmer candidates to steal additional seats. Zimmer already has a one-vote majority on the council. The gain of another seat would give her a super majority and would allow her to pass bonding and other such legislation without having to broker for the necessary sixth vote.
Looking for another candidate to run against Sacco in four years
It will be four years until the next North Bergen municipal election and opponents of Mayor Nicholas Sacco are already looking for a candidate to run against him.
The one name floated was a member of the family of Joe Mocco, arch rival of Sacco. Sacco’s reaction to the rumor was to disparage the person. This immediately got a knee jerk reaction from Larry Wainstein (who Sacco defeated in May) who took the side of the Mocco family member in question. The problem is, no one actually asked the family member if she is actually considering running before throwing her into the middle of the political dispute.
Peace in North Hudson – but for how long?
Everybody is questioning how long peace will last in North Hudson now that the municipal elections in West New York and North Bergen are over.
The friendship between North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco and Union City Mayor Brian Stack seems to be real. Some observers said Sacco and Stack are often huddled together before joint events, suggesting some level of mutual respect.
Former North Bergen Board of Education President Julio Marenco, who ran successfully for commissioner on a slate headed by Sacco, has been tapped to serve as commissioner of finance. While Marenco filled the commissioner seat of Theresa Ferraro who oversaw the police, public safety has been assigned to Allen Pascual, who previously oversaw finance.
Troyer makes a comeback
In Secaucus, things are so peaceful politically that the rare appearance of activist and former Board of Education member Tom Troyer gets attention. Troyer has become the most outspoken (if perhaps the only) critic of Mayor Michael Gonnelli. Their feud goes back almost a decade to when Gonnelli first ran for the Town Council in the 2nd Ward against a candidate backed by then-Mayor Dennis Elwell. Troyer leaped into the race as a third candidate and incurred the wrath of Gonnelli supporters. Gonnelli later led a move to unseat Troyer from the school board. The war has been ongoing every since.
Troyer, who was again defeated this year for his bid to get his seat back on the Board of Education, has already announced his intention to run again.
Guttenberg draws a crowd
Tiny Guttenberg got its bit of political attention last week as political figures from throughout Hudson County made their way north to help celebrate the grand opening of the Anna L. Klein School addition. Sacco, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, and a host of others came out for the event. With Guttenberg competing with East Newark for the privilege of being the smallest community in Hudson County, you have to wonder if they had a room big enough to fit all of the political egos.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.