Patrick Conaghan

Mark Smith has been elected Mayor of Bayonne, defeating former Muncipal Court Judge Patrick Conaghan by a 46%-33% margin. Smith is the city's  Police Director.  Former Mayor Richard Rutkowski finished third with 15%, followed by 5% for City Clerk Robert Sloan and 1% for Raymond Rokicki, a city zoning official.

In at least two special elections for mayor on Nov. 4th – in Passaic and Bayonne - attroney and big money Democratic Party donor Donald Scarinci stands to lose money if the other side wins.

In Passaic, Scarinci’s powerful firm, Scarinci and Hollenbeck, has the lucrative city attorney contract, with a base salary as high as $600,000 annually, not including add-ons.

City supervisor Vincent Capuana says if elected mayor he would look at trimming the firm from the payroll.

Countering that claim on the day he endorsed former School Board President Alex Blanco, Acting Mayor Gary Schaer said Capuana’s designs on in-house legal work likely wouldn’t save the city money.

In Bayonne, Scarinci represents Fidelco-Roseland Property, a residential developer of the Bayonne peninsula, site of the former Military Ocean Terminal.

In a takeoff of a Hillary Clinton television ad about who is best prepared to handle an emergency 3AM phone call, Unite Bayonne Today – which supports mayoral candidate Mark Smith – had developed an internet video that questions whether retired Judge Patrick Conaghan will be around to handle those middle of the night calls. 

Acting Police Director Mark Smith makes his announcement today in Bayonne County Park 

BAYONNE - Good feeling in Bayonne County Park for a vibrant native son who wants to be mayor, belied the fact that they’re gearing up for political war here in this fiscally troubled city.

A hero cop who followed his father into police work and served 25 years on the force, acting Police Director Mark Smith announced his candidacy today, surrounded by family and Hudson County Democratic Organization diehards.

Bayonne mayoral candidate Patrick Conaghan, flanked by councilmen Gary La Pelusa, left, and Anthony Chiappone. 

BAYONNE - Now that retired municipal judge Patrick Conaghan has lunged out of the gate as the first candidate to officially run for mayor in November’s special election, he means to keep an aggressive public schedule.

Both on the trail, and if elected.

"It’s a full-time job," said the 70-year old, lifelong Bayonne resident, referring to the office of mayor. "That was the problem with Mayor Joe Doria. He was in Trenton two days a week, and the inmates were running the asylum."