Michael Mecca

Ask leaders of the two Republican factions in Passaic County how they swept the county office elections last night and you get two different interpretations.

Passaic County Republican Chairman Scott Rumana (R-Wayne), who's also an assemblyman, attributed the win to the dominant Democratic Party losing touch with the county's residents. 

"You have citizens in Passaic County who have been disenfranchised by the Democratic Party," he said.  "We've been pulling in people who were not part of the party for many years, and that's really been a big, big help in this process."

In a stunning upset, Republicans beat three Democrats - including the incumbent freeholder director, Tahesha Way - and won the county clerk seat

Rumana said that his party's "team building" approach to leadership also played a role.

But Mike Mecca, who is chairman of the splinter group GOP Strong - which challenged Rumana for his chairmanship and supported assembly primary candidates against him - said that Kristin Corrado, county clerk candidate that GOP Strong recruited to defeat the PCRRO's candidate in the June primary -- led the Republican ticket to victory.

Republicans won all three hotly contested races for County Clerk.  The biggest upset came in Passaic County, where Kristin Corrado, a former assistant counsel to the governor, defeated Woodland Park Councilman Keith Kazmark by a 52%-48% margin.  Cumberland County Clerk Gloria Noto and Salem County Clerk Gilda Gill were also re-elected despite facing aggressive Democratic challenges.

The Passaic County Clerk's office returns to Republican hands after five years of Democratic control.  In 2004, Karen Brown ousted popular GOP Clerk Ronni Nochimson.  Brown quickly fell out of favor with county Democratic leaders and she did not seek re-election.  Democrats picked Kazmark over Nochimson, who switched parties two years ago.  Corrado is allied with a faction of the Passaic County GOP headed by former GOP County Chairmen Peter Murphy and Michael Mecca; she had won a contested primary over the candidate backed by the Passaic County GOP organization.  Her victory, to some extent, marks a political comeback for Murphy, who served time in a federal prison earlier in the decade and was prosecuted by the newly-elected Governor, Christopher Christie.

“Too many Republican and Democratic legislators are taking money from the NJEA and other public union bosses and I believe that is creating an unhealthy relationship that comes at the expense of taxpayers,” he added.

Bringing peace to the Passaic County Regular Republican Organization (PCRRO) will not be easy, despite Chairman Scott Rumana's cruise to reelection last night.  

Michael Mecca, who co-chairs the Passaic County Republican splinter group GOP Strong, reacted skeptically today to Chairman Scott Rumana’s offer to explore the possibility of setting up a co-chairmanship.

“Actions are louder than words and we’ll see what happens, but there has been no outreach to us since the election. It’s up to him now to reach to us and we’ll consider all,” said Michael Mecca, who co-chairs GOP Strong. 

PolitickerNJ.com

Assemblyman/Passaic County Republican Chairman Scott Rumana

WAYNE – Tonight is the culmination of a three year feud that has divided the Passaic County Republican Party, but Assemblyman Scott Rumana (R-Wayne) – whose chairmanship is on the line tonight – didn’t break a sweat.

Between glad handing with supporters and quickly dining on some salad and pasta at the Grand Chalet on Route 23, Rumana pinned the blame for the party’s lackluster decade on the leadership of former Chairman Peter Murphy, who founded GOP Strong – the group that has spent the last three years,and especially the last six months, going after him with a vengeance.  

Tonight, Rumana faces a challenge from Carl Mazzie, who has the support of GOP Strong but does not claim membership in the organization.  Voting was scheduled to end at 9:00, but 10 minutes past the hour dozens of committee members remained waiting in line.  

“We had everything.  At one time we had everything,” said Rumana, who began his political career when the Republican Party still dominated Passaic County.  Now it’s been seven years since they've won a county-wide election.

The hard fought battle for control of the Passaic County Regular Republican Organization (PCRRO) might come to a head tonight, when a splinter group allied with a former party leader will attempt to oust Chairman Scott Rumana.

Rumana, who is also an assemblyman and a former mayor of Wayne, wants to hold on to his chairmanship.  The rival organization, GOP Strong, is all but officially backing Totowa attorney Carl Mazzie, a former Rumana ally.

But, as the Herald News reported this morning, Mazzie went to court yesterday to delay the reorganization meeting until all sixteen of the county's municipal clerks have certified results for over 500 county committee races. Superior Court Judge Margaret Mary McVeigh said she would decide whether the meeting would go forward unless the opposing sides came up with a compromise.

Rumana was confident that the court would rule in his favor, and said no compromise was necessary.  By tonight, he said, most municipal clerks will have certified the results.  Committee candidates whose statuses are still unresolved will be able to cast provisional ballots

"About 95 percent or more of these people are unchallenged, guaranteed winners - they go into the voting machine. The balance of that 5%, if there's any question about whether they've won, they go to provisional ballots," he said.  "Every vote will be counted, and if those provisionals have any impact on this race, then we'll worry about it."

“The Republican Party in Passaic County cannot win without a vibrant Republican organization working to turn out votes in Clifton. I hope to be part of the Republican resurgence by growing our organization and I will do it by addressing real issues,” said Mecca 

There is no identifiable winner in the Passaic County Republican war between County Chairman Scott Rumana and two of his predecessors, Peter Murphy and Michael Mecca - although there will be one soon as individual contests for County Committee seats are certified.  Republicans expect Rumana to face a challenger when the county GOP organization meets to elect a leader next week.

Worth watching on Tuesday: Democratic mayoral primaris in Edison, Englewood, Morristown,  Atlantic City, Plainfield, Camden and East Orange, and Republican intra-party fights in Bergen, Gloucester and Passaic counties.

May you take this time to enjoy your family and friends and pray for our nation and people throughout the world.