Elnatan Rudolph

Teaneck Councilman Adam Gussen, a critic of the Democratic splinter group headed up by state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), plans to seek an Assembly seat against Weinberg's allies in the District 37 Democrats' convention next month.

"I believe by and large the problems in New Jersey today are the result of the collective product of our legislators, and we cannot fix the problems with the people and the thinking that caused the problems," said Gussen in a phone interview with PolitickerNJ.com.

Gussen said that he has filed to take on incumbents Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Fair Lawn) and Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood).

The convention, where county committee members from the eleven towns that comprise the legislative district will choose who will get the party line in the June primary, is planned for Wednesday, March 11th.

Gussen said that he will not run in the primary if he does not win, and that he's signed an affidavit to that effect.  Johnson and Huttle both said they refused to sign the affidavit when it was presented to them, since at the time they were not convinced the convention would be fair.

Gussen called Johnson a hypocrite for using "rhetoric about reform, transparency and open government, and yet you have someone representing the district who is a triple dipper, a dual office-holder and has financially supported Lyndon LaRouche."

The non-partisan municipal elections proved to be a bad night for party chairmen in Bergen County.  Teaneck Councilman Elnatan Rudolph, a political ally of Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero, lost his bid for re-election.  And two incumbents in Ridgewood supported by Bergen County GOP Chairman Robert Ortiz lost.

TEANECK -- Both sides in the hotly contested council election in this town play down their part in the long-standing feud between Bergen County Democratic Organization Chairman Joe Ferriero and state Sen. Loretta Weinberg.

But here on Weinberg’s home town, that rift is impossible to avoid.

Sitting down for a roast beef and chopped liver sandwich at a kosher eatery called Noah’s Ark on Cedar Avenue, councilman Elnatan Rudolph said that, while he doesn’t hide his ties to Ferriero, his opponents are the ones making the rift an issue. He noted a campaign piece that depicted him as a wind up toy, with Ferriero doing the winding.

While Honis and the two other candidates who act as her semi-official running mates dismiss partisan politics, Rudolph doesn’t buy it.

“They can tell you that. But it’s the same people who worked for (Weinberg), the same county committee men and women, who are supporting them in the race,” he said.

One of four orthodox Jews who sits on the Teaneck Township Council -- including Mayor Elie Katz -- Councilman Elnatan "Rudy" Rudolph smothered any potential criticism that one religious group would dominate local government by announcing plans to run on a ticket with a Muslim, Mohammed Hameeduddin, and African American Minister, Rev. Robert Robinson.

"We're running on a message of diversity," said Rudolph.

But there remains another rift in this town of 40,000, inevitably a flashpoint in Bergen County politics as long as State Sen. Loretta Weinberg continues her rivalry with Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero. Now its hard for any local official to make a move without his or her actions being ascribed to either one or the other. Thus, while municipal elections in May are nonpartisan, they still carry tacit designations of "F" or "W" in place of the more traditional "D" and "R" tags.