Brian Stack

Brian Stack has got to appreciate the guy with the video camera who captured his Sal Vega, his opponent in the June Democratic State Senate primary, saying this last January: "I know Brian Stack. Brian Stack is my friend. And today I say - Brian Stack, the next Senator from the State of New Jersey."

While gut-wrenching political squabbles like the 33rd District senate race can turn the average observer’s stomach, at least one former Hudson County politician sees it as a breath of fresh air.

“It’s always good to see something going on and you hope some good comes out of it, rather than just the normal thing of everyone falling into line,” said Thomas F. Cowan, a Jersey City Democrat who represented the neighboring 32nd district in the State Senate between 1984 and 1994.  “You always hope that when there is some difference in opinion, some good can come out of it.”

By MAX PIZARRO
PoliticsNJ.com

UNION CITY - Those who celebrate Union City Mayor (and Assemblyman) Brian P. Stack liken him to Emiliano Zapata or Juan Peron -- system-bucking heroes who were as good in a fight as they were at revealing a tender side for the poor.

But Stack’s detractors say the more apt metaphor involves making that dreadful trek back to the Soviet Union. Count West New York Mayor (and Assemblyman) Sal Vega among those who choose the latter description.

Several of today's non-partisan municipal races may potentially effect the results of key races for the Legislature -- next month and in November.

In the eighth district, candidates backed by South Jersey Democrats swept local contests in Evesham, a swing town in increasingly competitive Burlington County.  With a massive -- and high tech -- grass roots campaign, former Philadelphia Eagles Assistant Coach Randy Brown upset the longtime incumbent, Republican Gus Tamburro.  Assemblyman Francis Bodine, who switched to the Democratic Party after Republicans dumped him from their ticket, backed the Brown slate, which won control of the Council as well.  Bodine is running for the State Senate against County Clerk Phil Haines.

Hoboken Councilman Michael Russo was re-elected
Councilman Michael Russo appeared in his campaign headquarters on Adams Street, striding across the expansive room with outstretched hand. At a nearby table, his uncle proudly wore a yellow shirt featuring the first game of baseball played in Hoboken, which someone told him he should go home and change because the campaign workers of Russo’s rival, Frank "Pupie" Raia, were wearing yellow shirts all over the Third Ward.

State Senate candidate Sal Vega will hold a news conference on Wednesday to play tape recordings of what his campaign calls "alleged bribery and civil rights violations" by his opponent in the Democratic primary, Brian Stack.  According to an advisory, Vega will turn over "tape recorded evidence of alleged criminal activity by Stack and his surrogates to law enforcement authorities and is calling for a full investigation."  Vega and Stack, both Assemblymen, are seeking the open seat of retiring Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny.  Vega is the Mayor of West New York and Stack is the Mayor of Union City.

Emerging from the Lincoln Tunnel on this side of the Hudson River, the first sign you see isn’t “Welcome to New Jersey,� which might be an appropriate enough greeting in, oh, say, New Jersey.

No, here in Hudson County, the sign reads “Vote for Brian P. Stack.,� and it looms over the highway like a movie poster for one of those thrilling old cliffhangers starring Buster Crabbe.

It’s no different on the neighborhood streets. Go into most any newsstand and you’ll find among the various rags a copy of “Sunlight News,� which purports to be a “Newspaper for 21st Century Hudson County,� and features none other than actress Jennifer Lopez on the cover -- along with your favorite local all-action politician: Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack, who also happens to be on every page of the paper.

Hoboken Mayor David Roberts’ decision not to seek re-election to a third term in 2009 has created a war among candidates in six council races to be decided Tuesday, with all of the contestants either beating up the mayor -- or the mayor before him -- in a bid to ultimately be the next mayor or power player.

The vacuum at the top of the city is complicated by the impending retirement of District State Sen. Bernard Kenny, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman, who has been a long-time ally and go-to guy for Roberts.

Feeling the pressure from gadfly citizens who say the city has not completed important projects, a City Council presenting itself as equally outraged is pinning the blame on the mayor, who in turn is kicking himself for making the announcement last year that he wouldn’t be pursuing re-election.

The Record's story this morning on the federal probe of legislators who received some personal benefit from state budget items suggests that only Democrats are being targeted.  According to The Record, there are some similarities between State Senator Joseph Coniglio and Assemblyman Brian Stack, both Democrats who have received subpoenas, and two Republican legislators who have not: State Senator Robert Singer and Assemblyman David Wolfe.

STACK TO BLOOMBERG: $8 PER CAR 'CONGESTION TAX' A JALOPY

Assemblyman Says Plan Nothing More than Double-Taxation of New Jersey Motorists

(UNION CITY) - Assemblyman Brian Stack today blasted New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed "congestion tax" on drivers entering Manhattan, saying that the plan is based on "double-taxing" New Jersey drivers to pay for a portion of the construction of a new trans-Hudson River rail tunnel.