Bayonne

Bayonne Democratic Committee Chairman Jason O'Donnell

Solomon Dwek mostly talked about his five kids when Bayonne Democratic Party Chairman Jason O'Donnell met with him last year in the lead-up to the Bayonne mayor's race, O'Donnell recalled.

But Dwek also mentioned his interest in building two towers in Bayonne, said O'Donnell, who at the time was working as the campaign manager for eventual winner Mark Smith.

When they later went out to the parking lot of the restaurant where they met, Dwek offered O'Donnell $5,000, according to the chairman.

"I obviously told him to go take a walk," O'Donnell said.

Until Thursday, when Dwek's name leaked as the confidential witness who helped the feds nail 44 public officials, rabbis and political operatives as part of a corruption and money laundering bust, "I never thought of it again - I just thought it was a fast and loose play from Manhattan," added the chairman.

Assemblyman Tony Chiappone (D-Bayonne)

BAYONNE - Assemblyman Tony Chiappone (D-Bayonne) confirmed that he's the state assemblyman identified in the federal complaint against Lou and Ronald Manzo who JC Official #1 describes inadvertently running into as he and Ronald Manzo met confidential witness Solomon Dwek in the parking lot of the Lighthouse Restaurant. 

According to the Manzo complaint, "On or about April 23, 2009, at approximately 4:26 a.m., FBI agents intercepted an incoming call to the consultant's cellphone from JC Official #1. During that call, JC Official #1 said, 'Hey, you now after we left the Bayonne meeting, me, me, Ronald Manzo and the CW was in the uh, uh, parking lot... guess who we run into?'"

The complaint puts the words "state assemblyman" in brackets.

"I didn't want nothing to do with the guy," JC Official #1 says, according to the feds. "I didn't even want him to see me."

Judge Patrick Conaghan with Bayonne voters Terrance and Laura McLaughlin: Politicker photo 

BAYONNE - In a tie decorated with the faces of American politicians, mayoral candidate Pat Conaghan, lawyer, retired municipal judge, walks up the street in Bayonne’s third ward.

With him walks Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, campaign manager Denis F. Wilbeck and other allies lugging yellow campaign signs, intent on electing Conaghan in a Nov. 4th special election.

Conaghan’s going against Deputy Police Chief Mark Smith.

"He seems like an energetic guy," Conaghan says of his opponent, "but he’s a cop. I’ve been on the Board of Directors of two banks, and spent 40 years as a practicing attorney. The most significant thing the next mayor is going to have to do is to wrestle with serious financial issues."

The Conaghan forces contend that former Mayor Joseph Doria blew it on the redevelopment of Bayonne’s Military Ocean Terminal. It should have been a job creator, not a mixed use plan with an emphasis on residential development.

Now Doria’s gone, the town faces a $22 million deficit, and there’s little way to muster property taxes.

"We need some good industry to bring in jobs," says John Budnick, who peddles his bicycle among the Conaghan forces.

Acting Police Director Mark Smith makes his announcement today in Bayonne County Park 

BAYONNE - Good feeling in Bayonne County Park for a vibrant native son who wants to be mayor, belied the fact that they’re gearing up for political war here in this fiscally troubled city.

A hero cop who followed his father into police work and served 25 years on the force, acting Police Director Mark Smith announced his candidacy today, surrounded by family and Hudson County Democratic Organization diehards.

DORIA-GILL BILL URGES INSURERS TO SETTLE WORLD TRADE CENTER CLAIMS

TRENTON - A resolution sponsored by Senators Joseph V. Doria and Nia H. Gill which would urge the insurance industry to quickly and fairly settle any outstanding insurance claims stemming from the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 was approved today by the Senate Commerce Committee by a vote of 4-0.

"While I understand that the September 11 terrorist attacks were a traumatic, unforeseen, world-changing event, Americans are trying to pick up the pieces and adapt to our new world," said Senator Doria, D-Hudson. "In Bayonne, where I serve as Mayor, we never could have imagined a New York skyline without the Twin Towers. More than five years later, the tragedy isn't lessened one bit, but the people of the region are resilient, and we need to return to whatever sense of normalcy can be achieved."

"The insurance industry was impacted by the events of September 11, but so was the rest of the nation," said Senator Gill, D-Essex and Passaic, the Chair of the Commerce Committee. "My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones in the horrific terrorist attacks, and it is totally unacceptable to subject the families to an extended delay in uncertainty of whether their insurance providers will settle claims. We can never bring closure, but we can ensure that insurance companies live up to their commitments."

DORIA PUSHES GANG LEGISLATION TO STEM TIDE OF VIOLENCE IN JERSEY CITY

JERSEY CITY - State Senator Joseph V. Doria is pushing for swift Senate action on a package of bills intended to curb escalating gang violence in New Jersey's urban areas, including Jersey City in his district.

"Gangs are running rampant on the streets of Jersey City and other urban centers in New Jersey, and kids are forced to either enter gang life, or face the consequences," said Senator Doria, D-Bayonne. "While I think we've been successful in putting a focus on this problem, we need to do more to discourage gang violence, and give kids a positive alternative."

UFO enthusiast/Ghost Tracker/Conspiracy Theorist David Longenhagen says he will seek the Democratic nomination for State Assembly in the 31st district. He says he "would not have a problem working with the current legislators within Hudson County, most importantly State Senator Joseph V. Doria, Jr.," and he pledges to donate half of his legislative salary to "such worthy organizations as the PAL and the Boys & Girls Club." Longenhagen was the Republican candidate for State Assembly in the 19th district in 2005, losing to Democratic incumbents John Wisniewski and Joseph Vas, and ran unsuccessfully for Bayonne City Councilman in 2006.

Editor's Note: Either the Bayonne City Clerk failed to enforce the residency requirement for local candidates, since Longenhagen had not lived in Bayonne for one year before he ran for the Council, or Longenhagen moved out of Middlesex County before the end of his '05 Assembly race.

Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria is viewed as the favorite in the June 13 Runoff Election against former Municipal Court Judge Patrick Conaghan, but his failure to achieve the 50% needed to avoid a run-off last night could spell trouble for him next year if he chooses to seek re-election to his State Senate seat. The Hudson County Democratic Organization awarded the seat to Doria in 2004 after the death of Jersey City Mayor/State Senator Glenn Cunningham, whose slate defeated Doria -- then an 11-term incumbent and former Assembly Speaker -- for re-election to the Assembly seat in 2003.

Doria now faces a dilemma if he runs for re-election next year against his likely opponent, Sandra Bolden Cunningham, the former mayor's widow. Doria's local archnemesis, former Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, who was the high vote getter in Bayonne yesterday, was on the Cunningham slate in 2003 that deprived Doria of his Assembly seat. Chiappone lost his re-election bid last year after the Hudson County Democratic Organization supported Jersey City School Superintendent Charles Epps for his seat. If Chiappone were to run for his old Assembly seat on the Cunningham slate next year, he can harness his support in Bayonne to deliver a victory to Cunningham, who could do well in the heavily African-American Jersey City portion of the district.

Doria wanted out of Trenton last year, when then-Governor Richard Codey sought to secure his appointment as President of Ramapo College. This morning, some Democrats are wondering whether he (or his friends) really wants another fight next year.

DORIA ANNOUNCES SCHOOL BUS RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT

State Commission Finds Changes Needed for Safety, Business Viability

TRENTON - At a news conference at the Statehouse today, Senator Joseph V. Doria, Jr., the Chairman of the New Jersey Commission on Business Efficiency of the Public Schools, unveiled a report from the Commission's Transportation Task Force focusing on the effectiveness and safety of school busing in the Garden State.

"We need to push efficiency in our public schools, to stem rising property taxes, and ensure taxpayers get the most for their money," said Senator Doria, D-Hudson. "As the mayor of Bayonne, I know that property taxes are the number one concern of my local residents. We've reached critical mass on the property tax boom, and unless we take cost-saving measures to lower the pressure on overburdened taxpayers, New Jersey will be economically uninhabitable to all but the extremely wealthy."