The Jersey Journal Politicial Insider Column

Many deciders in Doria decision to bow out
Saturday, March 10, 2007

Bayonne Mayor and state Sen. Joseph Doria is the first pawn taken off the Hudson County Democratic Party chess game board.

Yesterday, Bayonne Mayor Joe Doria announced in a public statement that he will not seek re-election to the Senate in the 31st District.

"At this stage of my life, I would like to focus on things closer to home," Doria announced. "I want to spend more time with my wife and young daughter, and to concentrate on the important issues that I have to deal with as mayor of the City of Bayonne."

After speaking with Bayonne's chief executive yesterday, it seems he may genuinely feel this way after serving 28 years in the state Legislature and seeing nearly 300 of his bills become law, but his true take on why he is leaving state politics may be in another quotation in his release.

"In the present political atmosphere, it's difficult to deal with issues," Doria said in his release. "Politics seems to be taking priority over issues this year. Political dialogue needs to be more thoughtful and less contentious."

Yesterday's column had the Hudson County Democratic Organization leaders trying to develop an exit strategy in trying to unite the warring factions of the party - at least that is what they told everyone.

The truth was that they had been planning the political assassination of Doria - one of their own - for most of this strategic battle against Union City Mayor and Assemblyman Brian P. Stack, a candidate for the Senate in the 33rd District. Doria was willing to run with Stack, who wants the seat of Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny of Hoboken.

The group that met included the usual suspects, County Executive Tom DeGise, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy (apparently during the half-time of a basketball game), West New York Mayor and Assemblyman Sal Vega, North Bergen Mayor and Sen. Nick Sacco, Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts, Kenny and Doria.

Now say hello to Sandra Bolden Cunningham, widow of Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham, and the person who is expected to be named - possibly as early as Monday - by the HCDO as the party's candidate for the Senate in the 31st District.

The Cunningham play has been in the work for many weeks. Let us just say this whole scenario has more to do with protecting Healy than protecting the HCDO.

The HCDO gang took a little jaunt out to Washington several weeks ago ostensibly to discuss some federal grants - that could have easily been done by phone. They did stop at the Senate office building. DeGise acknowledged meeting Menendez as well as other federal legislators.

The county executive said Menendez joked about having been gone from Hudson County only a short while and already things were falling apart. More than likely, there were other discussions.

Menendez's right-hand man and political operative, attorney Donald Scarinci, has been telling everyone that he was staying out of the Hudson Dems' civil war. Yet Scarinci is very much invested in Cunningham's success. He has been a big contributor to the Cunningham foundation and has influenced others to donate. The partner of the politically connected law firm Scarinci & Hollenbeck of Lyndhurst has indicated that supporting Cunningham's future political aspirations was "the right thing to do."

The question is why would Healy want a potential mayoral rival as part of the HCDO ticket?

The answer is that by eliminating Doria, he believes he also gets rid of his biggest headache, state Assemblyman Louis Manzo, a Doria running mate and friend of Stack. Down the line, Healy also expects to get Freeholder Jeff Dublin as an Assembly candidate to run with Cunningham.

To placate Doria, the HCDO may give the Bayonne mayor the chance to select the other Assembly candidate, and this means Cunningham's choice, Bayonne Councilman Anthony Chiappone, is the odd man out.

Jersey City sources say Healy believes he has a deal with Cunningham, a promise that there will be support from the black community for the incumbent mayor's re-election bid. In return, Healy will throw his support to Cunningham for mayor after completing his own second term in office.

Someone had better read the fable of "The Scorpion and the Frog" to the mayor. The betting here is that the widow Cunningham runs for mayor before her term in the Senate ends.

Advisors close to Stack and Manzo say they will go ahead and run in the June primary outside the HCDO line and, for the moment, incumbent Vega will not be an Assembly candidate with Stack, a heavy favorite to carry the 33rd District. Hoboken City Councilman Ruben Ramos will remain on the Stack line as an Assembly candidate, an awkward situation since Kenny has told his fellow HCDO members at the "exit strategy" meeting that he is still running.