Political cold war or hot war

By Al Sullivan
Reporter staff writer
03/20/2008

World War I, historians point out, started over a small country in Europe.

It was the alliances with other powerful nations that dragged everyone into war when the leader of this tiny country was assassinated.

In 2008, Hudson County faces a similar situation.

With the future of Mayor David Delle Donna in doubt as he faces federal charges, the tiny town of Guttenberg has a leadership vacuum. Traditionally, Guttenberg has largely been aligned with North Bergen. But last year's Democratic civil war between Union City Mayor (now also state Senator) Brian Stack and State Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco changed the landscape.

Stack's overwhelming personal victory in last year's June primary for his state Senate seat allowed his new party, Democrats for Hudson County (DFHC), to take nine of 12 Democratic committee seats in Guttenberg. When Stack won the Democratic primary, they won their own primaries in their committee districts.

The Democratic Committee has a significant amount of power in certain towns in that it helps select candidates for Board of Education, Town Council, and even mayor. Indeed, the DFHC has put a slate up for the Guttenberg Board of Education, and reports suggest that Stack will also seek to put together a ticket for council there in the future.

This is more than an empty threat against North Bergen. Guttenberg has a significant say in operations of public services such as the North Hudson Regional Fire Department, and it shares a Municipal Utilities Authority with North Bergen. Stack, through his surrogates, could cause Sacco trouble, especially in regard to the Board of Education election in April, since Guttenberg sends its students to North Bergen High School. Some political observers say Stack's supporters on the Guttenberg Board of Education might take issue with Sacco's salary as assistant superintendent of North Bergen schools, since Guttenberg taxpayers are paying a portion of it in addition to his mayor and state senator jobs.

"They could make life hell for Sacco," one observer said.

Although Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner has repeatedly claimed that the countywide Democratic civil war from last year is over, many expect it to heat up over Guttenberg.

Implications in all towns

Turner, of course, is apparently involved in a cold war of his own with Stack, even though both he and Stack are both members of the DFHC. Stack seems to believe that Turner's primary interest in peace, apparently, is to make sure that Rep. Albio Sires - who supported the DFHC during last year's civil war - retains the support of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), against which Stack labored so hard last June.

While open warfare has declined since the HCDO ran West New York Mayor Sal Vega against Stack in last June's primary for state Senator, tensions exist and are mounting daily, promising to lead county Democrats into open warfare again this June.

The only real beneficiary of the so-called peace treaty is Vega, who seems to have legitimately made peace - even going so far as to throw a fundraiser for Sires.

The turbulent undercurrents put a lot of pressure on Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who serves as chairman of the HCDO, and who is seeking to keep the peace. Healy seems to want to keep the status quo. In other words, he wants to support the current incumbent freeholders and to keep the current political boundaries. But with Stack's advances in Guttenberg, this might not be possible.

If war breaks out, Healy may be forced to defend county freeholder seats that the HCDO currently controls, and to put up a challenger against Sires for the House of Representatives seat. This may explain why Jersey City Councilman Bill Gaughan and his flock walked with Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop at the Hoboken St. Patrick's Day parade.

Healy might want to run Fulop for congress. Healy would benefit by removing Fulop as a potential candidate in 2009 for mayor or Jersey City.

Close supporters of Fulop deny he is running for Sires' seat. But political positions often change overnight in Hudson County, especially if rumors are true that former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler is dusting off his political spurs to make a run for mayor himself. Fulop and Schundler draw from a similar base, and this could influence Fulop to seek another seat, such as the one in which Sires happens to be sitting.

Apparently one of those seeking to run for freeholder in June is James Farina, who serves as city clerk for Hoboken and is on that city's Board of Education.

Farina, however, has come under fire as of late, failing to file proper ELEC reports on last year's school board election. However, he claimed his report for his run for the seat of county clerk last year was accurate and complete.

While Farina said his campaign treasurer apparently failed to file the proper paperwork for the school board run - a situation he has since corrected - Farina said he did not expend enough on his county clerk run to warrant a follow-up report on his run for Hudson County clerk.

"I spent $17 and got 1,400 votes in Hoboken," he said. "The ELEC asked if I expected to receive more than $300 in political donations. I didn't expect to get any, and didn't. So I didn't need to file another report."

ELEC never notified him of any violation for his school board run. Nevertheless, he issued a letter of apology to ELEC and rectified the matter, he said.