Brian Stack

It was a coronation in a divided Kingdom.

Tonight Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy officially took the throne – or podium, as it were -- as Chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.

“I want to thank all the mayors who ran behind me and all the candidates who ran last Tuesday, because without their help, I certainly wouldn’t be here,’ said Healy.

The Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) anticipates electing Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy to the office of chairman at its post-primary election powwow Wednesday.

The question is what will Assemblyman (and Union City Mayor) Brian Stack do to avoid proving wrong the old "No man is an island" tag?

It hurts. It hurts to go through it and it hurts to sit there and look at it when it goes down.

But there they were in Trenton, the lately vanquished making an effort in that stately chamber to appear at the office as usual.

Come New Year they’d be out the door.

There was Assemblyman Sal Vega, beaten by Assemblyman Brian Stack at the polls, sitting next to none other than Stack, who mostly stayed occupied on a cell-phone in the lead up Monday’s session.

"I was here working last Thursday, right after the election," said Vega

Brian P. Stack won 77% of the vote in his bid to succeed Bernard Kenny in the State Senate
Three Hudson County mayors won last night, one of them posthumously.

And in the minds of voters, the legacy of the late Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham abides, with his wife triumphing in her district 31 State Senate contest.

Congressman Albio Sires was a big winner in Tuesday's Democratic primary in Hudson County and the threat of a primary challenge in 2008 is likely over: his West New York hometown political rival, Sal Vega, was trounced by Sires' candidate, Brian Stack.  Vega -- with the backing of the Hudson County Democratic Organization -- won just 23% of the vote and lost every town in his district, including West New York.  Sires played a strong and very public role in support of Stack, and now sees his longtime staffer, Caridad Rodriguez, take Vega's seat in the State Assembly.

Brian Stack, Sandra Cunningham, Kevin O'Toole and Steven Oroho won hotly contested primaries for open State Senate seats and are now the strong favorites to win election to the Senate in November.

Two incumbents, Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo and Assemblywoman Oadline Truitt, lost their bids for re-election. A third incumbent, Assemblyman Craig Stanley, trails Cleopatra Tucker by 110 votes with 99.3% of the vote (142 of 143 districts) counted.

State Sen. Ronald Rice narrowly held off a tough primary challenge, defeating Essex County Freeholder Bilal Beasley by a 52%-48% margin. Beasley's running mate, Essex County Freeholder Ralph Caputo, defeated Truitt.

The primaries proved to be a draw for Democrats in Hudson and Essex: the Hudson County Democratic Organization backed Cunningham, but opposed Stack. The Essex County Democratic Committee and Newark Mayor Cory Booker ousted Caraballo and Truitt, but lost their bid to defeat Rice by less than 500 votes. Caraballo lost by nearly 5,000 vote to former Assemblyman Albert Coutinho and former Booker Deputy Campaign Manager Grace Spencer.

Stack won in a landslide -- 77% over Sal Vega, while Cunningham defeated Assemblyman Louis Manzo by a 55%-45% margin in two especially bitter battles. Cunningham defeated Assemblyman Louis Manzo by a 55%-45% margin.Stack won every town in his district, including West New York, where Vega is Mayor. He took 90% in Union City, winning 9,905 to 978.

Assembly candidates running with Cunningham and Stack also won, making former Jersey City Mayor L. Harvey Smith, former Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, Hoboken Councilman Ruben Ramos, and Caridad Rodriguez, an aide to Rep. Albio Sires, the strong favorites to win Assembly seat in November.

Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise easily won renomination. HCDO candidates for County Clerk and Sheriff also won: Barbara Netchert defeated Acting County Clerk Mary Jane Desmond, 52%-45%; and Juan Perez ousted incumbent Sheriff Joseph Cassidy, 50%-47%.

But the HCDO candidate for Hudson County Freeholder, Alberto Cabrera, lost to Jose Munoz, who had Stack's support.

Assemblyman David Russo won renomination, even though he had been dumped from the Bergen County Republican Organization line. He ran with O'Toole and Wayne Mayor Scott Rumana.

In the 26th district, attorney Jay Webber defeated former Kinnelon Council President Larry Casha by about 600 votes to win the GOP nomination. Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce won. In District 24, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose won , along with her running mate, Sussex County Freeholder Gary Chiusano.

Warren County Acting Clerk Patricia Kolb defeated Chad Chamberlain, the son of a Warren County Freeholder by a 4-1 margin.

Morris County Freeholder John Inglesino lost his bid for re-election to James Murray, a retired county engineer.

In Hunterdon County, incumbent George Melick and deoderant heir Will Mennen won a contested primary for Freeholder. Mennen led former Tewksbury Mayor Shaun Van Doren by 246 votes. Former Freeholder Frank Fuzo trailed far behind.

In local races, a slate of candidates backed by Assemblyman James Whelan easily won contests for the Atlantic City Council against a slate backed by supporters of the Callaway organization, and a slate of Council candidates backed by Edison Mayor Jun Choi won. Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman and Highland Park Mayor Meryl Frank, both Democrats, survived primary challenges, but Florham Park Mayor Frank Tinari, a Republican, did not.

Bergen County Democratic Organization candidates in Englewood and Bergenfield lost.

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari easily defeated Bill Campbell in the 22nd district. There are unconfirmed reports that former Somerset County Freeholder Rose McConnell won the GOP nomination as a write-in candidate.

There are also unconfirmed reports that Michael Guarino, who was tossed from the ballot after failing to obtain 100 signatures on his petition, won the GOP Senate nomination in District 36 as a write-in candidate.

State Sen. Nicholas Sacco has defeated Sean Connors, a Jersey City police officer, by a wide margin. His 32nd district running mates, Assemblywoman Joan Quigley and Assemblyman Vincent Prieto, have also won renomination.

In District 9, Pine Beach Mayor Russell Corby has won the Democratic State Senate nomination, defeating James LeTellier, a police officer. Corby will face Assemblyman Christopher Connors in the general election.

Incumbent Peter Biondi won renomination to the State Assembly in the 16th district, along with Somerset County Freeholder Denise Coyle. They defeated Stanley Serafin.

In District 1, GOP organization candidates Norris Clark and Michael Donohue defeated George Cecola to win the nomination for State Assembly. In the 18th district, Daniel Brown defeated Andrew Tidd for the GOP Senate nomination by a 2-1 margin.

The beer wasn’t free at Brian Stack’s victory celebration, but the crowd loved it anyway.

Several hundred people turned up at Fomento Hall to see Stack give his victory speech, and were treated to the first minute or so of Queen’s classic song “We Will Rock You,” loudly looped over and over again for a good half an hour.  Leading up to Stack’s appearance, the audience grew so antsy that a cheer rose up when a balloon popped.

Stack had just trounced his opponent, Sal Vega, getting 77% of the vote.  He even beat Vega in his home town of West New York, where he’s mayor.  The two assembly candidates on his slate, Ruben Ramos, Jr. and Caridad Rodriguez, also won.

While their tickets wage war, Hudson County Clerk candidates Mary Jane Desmond and Barbara Netchert are unfailingly polite to each other.

“I ran into (Netchert). I went right up to her when she was coming up the steps and said ‘this may be awkward over the next couple months but I prefer that it not be,” said Acting County Clerk Mary Jane Desmond, a former Bayonne City Councilwoman and one time Republican . “I sat at her table for 20 minutes talking to her. This is not personal.”

Two New Jersey Congressmen are potentially vulnerable if they seek re-election in 2008 -- both in Democratic primaries.  Albio Sires, a former Assembly Speaker who took Bob Menendez's 13th district House seat last year, is knee-deep in an epic Hudson County Civil War; the freshman Congressman is actively backing his former running mate, Brian Stack, for the Democratic State Senate nomination in the 33rd district. Stack is running off the line against the Hudson County Democratic Organization against Sal Vega, his handpicked successor as Mayor of West New York and as an Assemblyman. He's also backing Assemblyman Louis Manzo for State Senate against the HCDO candidate, Sandra Bolden Cunningham.

Hoboken Councilman Ruben Ramos marches in Union City with running mate Cary Rodriguez of West New York.
In the race to represent Hoboken in the State Legislature, one-time political allies Carol Marsh and Ruben Ramos must resign themselves to what happens at the top of their respective tickets.

That has not happened in almost 15 years, or ever since Bernard “Bernie” Kenny began his service as district 33 state Senator, where his steady consolidation of power in Hudson County as chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) assured Hoboken of prominence.

Now Kenny’s retiring, and the power is shifting.