Eleven candidates are running for five commissioner seats in the North Bergen municipal election on May 12. Two full tickets of five individuals are running – one led by incumbent Mayor Nicholas “Nick” Sacco, the other by Lawrence “Larry” Wainstein. Off to the side, Enrique “Henry” Marrero is running independently.
In North Bergen’s form of government, voters elect five part-time commissioners, who oversee aspects of town government and choose a mayor from among themselves.
The polls will be open from 6 a.m to 8 p.m. Polling locations can be found on the town website at www.northbergen.org/departments/clerk.
War of words
The two tickets have been engaged in an escalating war of ads and press releases.
Sacco’s camp has repeatedly hammered home the notion that Wainstein has a house in the suburbs, where his children attend school (see related cover story at left). The campaign has also alleged that one of Wainstein’s businesses, a Laundromat in Union City, is operating illegally with expired documentation and in violation of city codes. The Sacco team released documentation from Union City stating that Wainstein “failed to obtain required certificate of occupancy for commercial space” as well as residential space. Wainstein responded that he got a new certificate of occupancy this past week and was in full compliance.
In addition, the Sacco team linked Wainstein’s campaign with former political power broker Joe Mocco, who was arrested for racketeering in 1986 and banned by the parole board from engaging in any activity related to the Township of North Bergen election process. Wainstein has stated that he has spoken with Mocco but that Mocco is not involved in the campaign.
Wainstein, meanwhile, has long been a harsh and vocal critic of the Sacco administration, accusing it of corruption and nepotism. Recently he filed a complaint with the state Department of Education alleging that Sacco used his political influence to get several family members jobs in the Board of Education. Sacco has responded that he has two relatives currently working in the district, and that’s it.
Two full tickets and one independent candidate are competing for five commissioner seats in the May 12 election.
____________
The North Bergen Reporter spoke with Sacco, Wainstein, and Marrero in the days before the election.
The incumbent ticket: Nicholas Sacco
Nicholas Sacco has been the mayor of North Bergen since 1991 and a town commissioner since 1985. He has been a state senator since 1994. He also serves full-time as director of elementary and secondary education in the district.
“This has been one of the most mean-spirited campaigns I’ve ever been in,” he said last week. “I think people are starting to realize [the Wainstein team] are just nihilists – everything is wrong, so negative. There’s always some twisting of the truth but in this campaign there’s blatant lying about people in my campaign, insulting them.”
He took particular exception to the accusation that he had relatives on the payroll.
“Friends, yes,” he said. “I know just about everyone on the payroll. I may not know them well but I make it my business to know people. Family, it’s a blatant lie. In the school system I have my son [working], a graduate of North Bergen High School and a National Honor Society student, all state football, went to college, worked in Jersey City for three years and came back. He lives in town and has never not lived in North Bergen. Should he be discriminated against because he’s my son?”
Other than that, he said he has only one other relative in the school system. “Two people in the entire township in the school system related to me. Nobody in Town Hall is related to me, or in any other agencies.”
As part of his campaign, Sacco has been on the streets each weeknight for the past two months, meeting his constituents.
Many of the issues he has encountered are small, quality of life items like broken sidewalks and potholes.
“I’ve gotten some really wonderful responses,” he said.
Sacco is running alongside his current team of commissioners: Hugo Cabera, Frank Gargiulo, and Allen Pascual. Joining them on the ticket is current Board of Education President Julio Marenco, replacing Commissioner Theresa Ferraro, who passed away earlier this year.
“North Bergen is a model of efficient, effective local government with stable property taxes, excellent municipal services, the best public schools in the area and so much more that we do for our residents,” Sacco said. “I am running for re-election on May 12 along with my team so that we can continue to deliver what North Bergen residents expect and deserve – stable taxes, stable neighborhoods and an honest, caring government that puts them first.”
With 11 candidates running, there is always the potential for members of two different camps to win seats on May 12.
“Not going to happen,” Sacco said. “I haven’t seen it happen since West New York about 1957. A split ticket won. I don’t recall it happening in North Bergen at all.”
The rival ticket: Larry Wainstein
“I’m a businessman, I’m not a politician,” said Larry Wainstein in a half-hour interview with the Reporter. Born in Jersey City in 1971, he was schooled in Argentina, where his parents were born, before returning to Hudson County as a teenager.
“I know the needs of the community,” he said of his experience growing up in a transplanted culture. “North Bergen is a large melting pot of people from all parts of world and we have a strong Latino community. I’m able to communicate with them. I know what they’re going through.”
Asked how he chose his running mates, Wainstein said, “I’ve met with hundreds of people and I interviewed them and I found a group of four other individuals that I thought would be an excellent representation for the people of North Bergen. They’re all special and unique, with different backgrounds and education. They all experienced struggle coming from different countries, except Eduardo Cespedes, who was born here. They all understand the challenge of new immigrants coming into the country, coming to North Bergen.”
Between them, they have virtually no experience in politics. “Government is not about politics. Government is about serving the community,” he said. “It’s about honesty and transparency, hiring professional, qualified people to run the administration.”
“I’ve been a business owner in North Bergen for over 15 years,” he continued. “I’ve worked very hard throughout my life and did well and now I want to dedicate my life to public service.”
Wainstein first got involved in North Bergen politics when he tried unsuccessfully to block the opening of a new liquor store in a mall along Tonnelle Avenue across the street from Tonnelle Wine & Liquors, which he owns. In the wake of that incident he founded the North Bergen Concerned Citizens Group (NBCCG). He has been a registered voter in North Bergen since March 2014, before which he was registered in Union City. While in Union City, Wainstein was chairman of the Urban Enterprise Zone for about 10 years, supporting citizens and merchants, especially along Bergenline Avenue. In that capacity he interacted regularly with Union City Mayor Brian Stack, who came out publicly to support Wainstein’s rival, Nicholas Sacco for mayor of North Bergen.
“I have tremendous respect for Brian. I consider him a close friend,” said Wainstein. “He’s done a wonderful job in Union City. He’s responsible for creating an open and transparent government. We’re planning to introduce a lot of his ideas and thoughts in North Bergen.”
Among the most prevalent accusations hurled at Wainstein is that his campaign is funded and/or run by Joe Mocco, the former town clerk who was indicted for racketeering, specifically for facilitating illegal garbage dumping in the Meadowlands.
“I’ve met the individual,” said Wainstein. “He spoke to me about North Bergen. He’s been part of the community for a long time and he explained to me about all the misdeeds that are currently being conducted within the Sacco administration.”
Mocco was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1986. He was paroled in 1999 with five special conditions imposed on him by the parole board to curtail his influence and activities in the political affairs of the township, prohibiting him from engaging in political organizing, fundraising, campaigning, or consulting.
“I meet hundreds and thousands of people in North Bergen,” said Wainstein. “When I shake somebody’s hand I don’t run a background check on them. I take them for face value.”
He stated that his campaign manager was Luis Gutierrez, not Joe Mocco. “The people within my campaign, we have five names. All wonderful people, all family individuals,” he said.
Running alongside Wainstein on the “Lower Taxes Vote for Change” ticket are Juan Almanzar, Veronica Castrillon, Eduardo Cespedes, and Alcides Siri.
The wild card: Henry Marrero
Henry Marrero is the outlier in the current election. Aligned with neither party, he is running solo and independent. He has largely steered clear of the vitriol that has flown back-and-forth between the two warring camps.
“While these two guys are mudslinging and wasting an abundant, crazy amount of money,” he said, “while they’re trying to put their picture everywhere and continually get their name out there, I’d rather connect to the people.”
A sergeant in the North Bergen Police Department, he ran last summer for District 8 Freeholder, accruing just under 20 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. He has opted to use social media to further his campaign, rather than the signs and billboards utilized by his opponents.
“I haven’t heard either of these two camps talk about fixing the issues,” he said. “What are we going to do to make it better?”
Marrero’s message is one of positive change. “Everything is not that bad,” he said, in response to Wainstein’s claims. “But I think things can be better. Schools can expand or get better. The rec program is nice; we can make it better. The pool is a big issue we can help and maybe adjust the cost a little so everybody has an opportunity to use the facilities.”
At one point Marrero was considered a part of Sacco’s inner circle. Then things changed. He filed a complaint in state Superior Court last year claiming to be the target of harassment by the Police Chief. Then, following his loss in the Democratic primary, he sued the township and the North Bergen Democratic Municipal Committee, claiming that he and his supporters were harassed.
In a lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court in New Jersey, he claimed that the defendants launched an internal affairs investigation of him based on trumped-up charges in order to destroy his professional career and political candidacy.
What sent him off on a solo path? “I felt I was time for me to move on. There are a lot of fake people in this organization; liars, backstabbers, people who are not real and genuinely for the people of this community. They’re only in it for themselves.”
He noted, “Loyalty and honesty are two of the most important things in my book. If you don’t have either/or, I could no longer stick around.”
Initial rumors suggested Marrero might mend fences and run on Sacco’s ticket, while conflicting rumors had him aligning with Wainstein.
“My intention has always been to be an independent voice,” he said. “The other candidates are all hiding. They don’t speak for themselves. I didn’t want to join any of these two factions because my voice would be diminished.”
“For 20 years I dedicated my life to the Township of North Bergen and will continue to do so for the rest of my career,” he concluded.
Poll locations can be found online at https://voter.njsvrs.com.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.