http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/nyregion/05primary.html

Old Friends Become Rivals in Hudson County Primary

Published: June 5, 2007
By DAVID W. CHEN and JONATHAN MILLER
The New York Times

JERSEY CITY, June 4 ? To some veteran political hands in Hudson County, Tuesday?s Democratic primary evokes the alternate universe of the Superman comic planet Bizarro World.

In one State Senate race, the widow of a charismatic mayor who railed against the establishment is making her debut as a candidate. So what does she do? Join the establishment, allying herself with a former political rival who had been barred from her husband?s funeral, and opposing her husband?s handpicked running mate.

In another Senate race, one candidate is a mayor who doubles as a state assemblyman. His opponent ? a supporter four months ago ? is a mayor who doubles as a state assemblyman, forcing fellow mayors and the local congressman to choose sides.

By all accounts, it is Hudson County?s first such all-out political war in 20 years, a nasty and unpredictable campaign in which opponents are now allies, and machine politicians are suddenly outsiders. But the Democrats have not been battling over an issue like taxes or crime; instead, personal vendettas have played a prominent part in the campaign.

With nine legislative seats up for grabs in three Hudson districts, as well as the county executive?s chair, the future of the Hudson County Democratic Organization is at stake as its candidates face challenges from a younger contingent. The 2009 election for mayor of Jersey City, the state?s second-largest city, could be significantly affected.

?This is all about local rivalries and hatreds,? said Nicholas Acocella, the editor and publisher of the newsletter Politifax, and a longtime resident of Hoboken. ?At one point, one candidate even asked me what was happening because nobody knew what was going on, and that made me think that this is like ?Seinfeld,? because it?s not about anything.?

Beyond Hudson County, the most competitive races in New Jersey?s primaries Tuesday are expected in Essex County, where Mayor Cory A. Booker of Newark is trying to install candidates loyal to him, and in Bergen and Sussex Counties, where prominent Republicans are competing against each other. Since many New Jersey communities tilt strongly to one party or the other, Tuesday?s winners will be overwhelmingly favored in November.

Here in Jersey City, the battle in the 31st District to succeed State Senator Joseph V. Doria Jr., who is retiring, has Sandra A. Bolden Cunningham running against Assemblyman Louis M. Manzo. Mrs. Cunningham?s husband, Glenn D. Cunningham, was both mayor of Jersey City and a state senator when he died of a heart attack in 2004; Mr. Manzo shared a slate with him.

Now, Mrs. Cunningham is running on the Democratic organization slate with L. Harvey Smith, an Assembly candidate who clashed with her husband and after his death took a plaque with Mr. Cunningham?s name down during the dedication of a park. ?In life, you work out things with people,? she said after an appearance Friday evening at a center for the elderly in Bayonne.

Mrs. Cunningham said that she planned to focus on crime, housing and jobs, and she told her audience, ?I am not going to be called a politician; I am going to Trenton to be your public servant.?

But she has been hurt, political analysts say, by news articles questioning spending on overhead by her charitable foundation, as well as by reports about Russell Wallace, who collected petition signatures on her behalf. A former member of the Jersey City ethics board, Mr. Wallace was convicted in 1999 of raping a 13-year-old girl; Mrs. Cunningham said she believes he is innocent. He has since quit the campaign.

As Mrs. Cunningham tried to capitalize on the legacy of her husband, who, as the city?s first African-American mayor, is still revered in many neighborhoods, Mr. Manzo showcased his experience, having served in the Assembly since 2004 and as a county freeholder for several years before that. He claimed to be the true heir to Mr. Cunningham?s political legacy. ?He picked her to be his wife, and he picked me to be a legislator,? he said in an interview.

He said his top priorities were revamping the property tax system, curbing gang violence and improving access to health care. Mr. Manzo is hardly an electric speaker; at a lunch Friday at a residence for the elderly in Jersey City where his grandmother used to live, he sounded as if he were on the floor of the Assembly, talking about health care legislation.

Farther north along Kennedy Boulevard, in the 33rd District, the Senate race is between two former allies who are both mayors and assemblymen: Brian P. Stack of Union City and Silverio A. Vega of West New York. They offered similar views on the issues, like increased financing for schools and housing.

But they both had baggage, too: Mr. Stack was subpoenaed by federal prosecutors investigating a state grant that went to a day care center run by his estranged wife, while Mr. Vega tried to prevent a Cuban parade from snaking through his town, because, according to the parade organizer and other critics of the move, he did not want to be in the same picture frame as Mr. Stack. (Mr. Vega said the reason he opposed the parade was that it did not adequately reflect the suffering of the Cuban people. A judge ruled last week that a parade permit could not be denied for that reason.)

Mr. Vega was the subject of embarrassing television commercials by his opponent, in which he could be seen telling a crowd in February: ?I know Brian Stack, and Brian Stack is my friend, and today I say, ?Brian Stack, the next senator of the State of New Jersey!? ?

Mr. Vega, the organization?s candidate, explained that he endorsed Mr. Stack ?before I found out about all these charges against him,? and before it was apparent that Mr. Stack had helped push Bernard F. Kenny Jr., who is Senate majority leader and chairman of the budget committee, into early retirement.

Mr. Vega also pointed to claims by former Union City workers that Mr. Stack harassed them into giving donations to his campaigns.

Mr. Stack dismissed those accusations as baseless ? and offered some of his own.

?This is an individual who?s small-minded and controlled by the Hudson County political machine,? he said of his old friend Mr. Vega. ?He?s an ideal candidate because he doesn?t have an opinion of his own.?

'VOTE FOR ME!'
Candidates wrap it up

Tuesday, June 05, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Sandy versus Lou. Stack versus Vega - and the "machine."

It all wraps up today following a furious bit of last-minute campaigning.

Sandra Bolden Cunningham, running for the Democratic nomination for state Senate in the 31st District against Assemblyman Louis Manzo, rolled out a big gun yesterday.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker joined her and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy at a senior citizens center and then strolled the neighborhood.

"I've known Sandy Cunningham for years through her husband," said Booker, referring to the late Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham. "I know where her heart is, but more importantly where her head is."

Booker said Mayor Cunningham mentored him when he challenged incumbent Sharpe James for Newark's top job.

Booker also said he didn't know Manzo, which caught the four-year assemblyman by surprise as he handed out palm cards in front of the Pathmark on Route 440.

"I supported him (Booker) in his last run, so I guess he forgot me," Manzo quipped.

About his campaign, Manzo added: "I feel great .I feel my record for the last four years has resonated with the electorate."

Manzo and Bolden Cunningham - like a bevy of other candidates - are players in a larger struggle among Hudson Democrats.

Union City Mayor and Assemblyman Brian Stack is running for the 33rd District Senate nomination, leading a slate that is opposing the Hudson County Democratic Organization. His opponent is West New York Mayor and fellow Assemblyman Silverio "Sal" Vega.

In the Manzo/Bolden Cunningham scrum, Stack supports Manzo and the HCDO backs Bolden Cunningham.

Stack spent part of his day yesterday at the Grand View Terrace Apartments in Jersey City campaigning with Sheriff Joseph Cassidy. About 80 seniors attended the meet-and-greet, organized by former Jersey City Council candidate Jimmy King.

"We can send a clear message to the machine of Hudson County," Stack told the seniors. "The people must come first."

Vega spent the day concentrating on home base. The key to the election, in his opinion, is "a great voter turnout in West New York."

"This race started out one-sided three months ago, now it's very close," he said.