Union City Saturday.

UNION CITY - In that most solemn moment of a solemn ceremony, the buzz of a single engine plane was unmistakable high above Union City where a singer tried to get the most out of every note of the National Anthem, and where Mayor Brian P. Stack tried to focus people on the grand opening of a new high school.

Arguably Stack's greatest achievement as mayor, the first high school in Union City in almost 100 years warranted a ceasefire in the ongoing trench and air political warfare to which Stack is accustomed, or so thought Stack's allies, and yet there was the little plane trailing a banner, obstinately broadcasting one message as the plane circled and circled above the crowd: "Crimes up, taxes up, Stack must go." 

Stack's teeth clenched. 

No one immediately knew who was behind the effort to step on this event with a political statement, or at least no one said he knew.

Gov. Jon Corzine, Eva Quntana of North Bergen, and state Sen./Mayor Nicholas Sacco (D-North Bergen)

NORTH BERGEN - When Gov. Jon Corzine goes to the front of the packed room at the annual senior picnic in Scheutzen Park, he embraces state Sen./Mayor Nicholas Sacco (D-North Bergen) and then turns to the crowd and calls Sacco the "best mayor in the State of New Jersey."  

"I love working in North Bergen because he delivers," Corzine shouts.

Sacco grins.

Although they live just a town apart here in Hudson County - which, of course, Corzine made certain to point out - there's more than concrete between Hoboken on the Hudson River side of the county with its Lipton Tea view of Manhattan - and North Bergen, which juts above Secaucus and the swamps of North Jersey.

North Bergen Mayor/state Sen. Nicholas Sacco

NORTH BERGEN - State Sen./North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco was blunt this afternoon in giving his two-word answer to the question, "Who do you  support for Senate President?"

"Dick Codey," said Sacco.

Hosting his annual picnic for seniors at Scheutzen Park on John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Sacco declared his staunch backing of Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland), who after the gubernatorial election will likely face a challenge for leadership from Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford).

Conrad Pepperman is going to court in a bid to invalidate a Rockaway Borough ordinance that prohibits municipal employees from running for public office in another municipality.    A police officer, he is seeking a seat in Mine Hill.

Here is a potential witness list for Pepperman:

Despite the bad economy and the state's fiscal woes, voters didn't react much differently when it came to supporting their local school budgets - even when they knew it might mean a small property tax increase.  The only real difference is that some of the votes were a bit closer. 74% of all proposed school budgets were approved by voters in this week's school election, according to unofficial results released by the state Department of Education.  Voters passed 409 of 550 budgets, and approved fifteen of nineteen bond referendums.   Last year, voters approved 74% of all school budgets statewide.

But these were close elections: half the budgets (275 of 550) were either approved or rejected by margins of +/- 100 votes, and nearly one-third (168 of 550) were either approved or rejected by a +/- 50 vote margin.  And in 43 school districts, the margin was +/- 10 votes.  More than four out of ten budgets (110 out of 401) that passed were with 55% of the vote or less. 

Voters in eleven school districts rejected a second ballot initiative that would have permitted spending beyond the state mandated 4% cap on tax increases.  A new law that went into effect last year requires 60% of voters to approve spending beyond the cap. 

Noteworthy: In North Bergen, where State Sen. Nicholas Sacco is the Assistant Superintendent of Schools, voters rejected the budget by an 88%-12% margin (the worst defeat for any school budget in the state.)  The budget will now go to the township governing body, where Sacco is the Mayor.

Left to right: April Tricoli-Busset, State Sen./North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, and North Bergen Commissioner Theresa Ferraro

State Sen. Nicholas Sacco, who is also the Mayor of North Bergen, is being sued by a former municipal employee who says she was taunted by comments about her wardrobe and her "big boobs."   Paul Swibinski, a spokesman for Sacco, told the Jersey Journal that Sacco would "never make such a crass comment."

April Tricoli-Busset, who worked as secretary to the Chief of Police and ran the municipal website, alleges that Sacco once asked other Commissioners: "Don't you think we should have a big boobs page on the Web site?"  She also says that Commissioner Theresa Ferraro once criticized her for dressing provocatively, and claims she told her that although she "had very lovely breasts, maybe it would be a good idea for (her) to either wear turtleneck or scarves."

State Sen. Brian Stack, the Mayor of Union City, is upset that political enemy Rudy Garcia was invited to Jerramiah Healy's campaign kickoff.

Sources say that Union City Mayor Brian Stack is off the charts livid that two of his political rivals, former Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny and former Union City Mayor Rudy Garcia were invited to stand on the stage when Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy announced his re-election bid last week, and that the feud is getting so out of hand that a Stack endorsement of former Assemblyman Louis Manzo for Mayor is now a possibility.  Their best hope to avoid a Second World War between the two Hudson County Democrats may be to convince U.S. Senator Bob Menendez to mediate.

The two went at it two years ago when Healy, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman, backed West New York Mayor Sal Vega for Kenny's Senate seat.  Stack beat Vega in the primary by a 4-1 margin.  Garcia, who was tossed as Mayor and as an Assemblyman (Stack took his seat) after a public feud with Menendez, remains on the outs with the Union City powerbrokers.

Frank MacCormack, a Hudson County Republican who waged numerous campaigns for public office over the last six decades, passed away on Sunday evening.  He was 85 and suffered a heart attack while having dinner.

MacCormack made three unsuccessful bids for Mayor of Secaucus and lost races for Councilman.  He won election to the Board of Education and served as School Board President in the 1960’s.  He later served as Secaucus Republican Municipal Chairman.

In 2001, at age 78, he became a candidate for State Senator in the Hudson-based District 32, which includes a small part of Bergen County.  Running as a support of then-gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler, MacCormack defeated North Bergen’s John Pluchino in the GOP primary with 73% of the vote.   He lost the general election to incumbent Nicholas Sacco by a wide margin.

GIRGENTI-SACCO MEASURE TO ESTABLISH STATE GRANTS FOR YOUTH MENTORING PROGRAMS ADVANCES

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators John A. Girgenti and Nicholas J. Sacco which would establish a State grant program in the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) for youth mentoring programs was approved by the Senate Law, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs Committee today by a vote of 4-0, with one abstention.

“Given the almost constant exposure to violence and massive levels of peer pressure kids face growing up in today’s society, it’s not really a surprise that many kids are making bad decisions, the repercussions of which will haunt them for the rest of their lives,” said Senator Girgenti, D-Passaic and Bergen, and Chair of the Law and Public Safety Committee. “Youth mentoring programs, which direct kids to more productive and positive avenues for their talents and interests, play such an important role in encouraging kids to avoid mistakes that could lead them to prison, or worse. New Jersey must support these programs that support our kids, and help keep at-risk kids on the right track.”