Kevin Clancy

Two Bergenfield Councilmen tossed off the organization line by Democratic Municipal Chairman Kevin Clancy easily won the Democratic primary.  With the help of State Sen. Loretta Weinberg, Thomas Lodato and Robert Gillman held their seats against Clancy's candidates, Fedra Lolos and Fernando Vargas.  Clancy was a close ally of former Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero.

Two of the three people listed as "Most Likely to Lose Their Jobs in 2006" by PoliticsNJ.com have been terminated: DeAnna Minus-Vincent, the Assistant Commissioner of Community Affairs, who used Meadowlands tickets earmarked for needy children for her own family, and John Petillo, the President of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The only one left is Kevin Clancy, the former Mayor of Bergenfield who now works for the Bergen County Superintendent of Election. He got in trouble for allegedly forging resignation letters of Bergenfield County Committee members in the Special Election for State Senate. Minus-Vincent was also in hot water for delivering grants to organizations run by her father and sister. UMDNJ is now under the supervision of a federal monitor and the United States Senate is now considering an investigation of their activities. Petillo leaves with a $600,000 severance package.

The Bergenfield Republican Club approved this press release during its
meeting yesterday, Wednesday October 5, 2005.

This week's James W. Treffinger Award for Distinguished Public Service goes to Kevin Clancy, the Bergenfield Democratic Municipal Chairman and former Mayor (he resigned in 1998 after a drunk driving conviction -- charges that he tried to bribe a police officer were dropped), who on the surface seems to be among the top-tier of small-time sleazes in New Jersey politics. Evidence that Clancy had a role in forging resignation letters of County Committee members seems, on the surface, fairly strong. Tom Moran's column in today's Star-Ledger is a must read to learn more about Clancy. The last Treffinger Award, on January 8, 2003, also went to a Bergenfield resident: John Mosca, Jr., who had torched the car of the local tax clerk he blamed for losing his job as the borough's Chief Financial Officer two days earlier. He was arrested shortly afterwards and local police say he admitted his role. Bergenfield has long been considered a swing town in Bergen County politics and this fall both parties list a competitive local election where control is at stake (Republicans have it now) as one of their prime targets. Bergen Republicans have a rapidly decreasing number of towns where they can dominate; amazingly, there has been no GOP comment on the latest Clancy scandal.