Sal Vega

It was one of those Hudson County moments. West New York Mayor Silverio “Sal” Vega, who ran in a nasty State Senate primary race against Union City Mayor Brian Stack, stood with Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, a Stack ally, to announce a peace agreement of sorts in the 33rd district.

During the primary campaign six months ago, Vega had called Stack “crooked,” compared his hold on Union City to a cult of personality and accused him of bribing county committeemen and women to take their names off the ballot. Stack responded by Vega a “puppet” of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO).

West New York Mayor/outgoing Assemblyman Silverio "Sal" Vega, who lost a bloody state senate primary campaign against Union City Mayor Brian Stack, appears ready to bury the hatchet.

Tomorrow, Vega and Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner will hold a press conference in 56th Street and Blvd East in West New York to call for unity in the 33rd legislative district. Vega said that Turner will appear on behalf of Stack, U.S. Rep. Albio Sires and the rest of the rival Democrats for Hudson County.

It was a coronation in a divided Kingdom.

Tonight Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy officially took the throne – or podium, as it were -- as Chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.

“I want to thank all the mayors who ran behind me and all the candidates who ran last Tuesday, because without their help, I certainly wouldn’t be here,’ said Healy.

It hurts. It hurts to go through it and it hurts to sit there and look at it when it goes down.

But there they were in Trenton, the lately vanquished making an effort in that stately chamber to appear at the office as usual.

Come New Year they’d be out the door.

There was Assemblyman Sal Vega, beaten by Assemblyman Brian Stack at the polls, sitting next to none other than Stack, who mostly stayed occupied on a cell-phone in the lead up Monday’s session.

"I was here working last Thursday, right after the election," said Vega

Congressman Albio Sires was a big winner in Tuesday's Democratic primary in Hudson County and the threat of a primary challenge in 2008 is likely over: his West New York hometown political rival, Sal Vega, was trounced by Sires' candidate, Brian Stack.  Vega -- with the backing of the Hudson County Democratic Organization -- won just 23% of the vote and lost every town in his district, including West New York.  Sires played a strong and very public role in support of Stack, and now sees his longtime staffer, Caridad Rodriguez, take Vega's seat in the State Assembly.

The beer wasn’t free at Brian Stack’s victory celebration, but the crowd loved it anyway.

Several hundred people turned up at Fomento Hall to see Stack give his victory speech, and were treated to the first minute or so of Queen’s classic song “We Will Rock You,” loudly looped over and over again for a good half an hour.  Leading up to Stack’s appearance, the audience grew so antsy that a cheer rose up when a balloon popped.

Stack had just trounced his opponent, Sal Vega, getting 77% of the vote.  He even beat Vega in his home town of West New York, where he’s mayor.  The two assembly candidates on his slate, Ruben Ramos, Jr. and Caridad Rodriguez, also won.

As of mid-afternoon no physical fights had broken out in Union City or West New York. But that’s not to say the scene here is calm by any other county's standard.

In West New York, a stranger visiting town could conceivably not notice that there’s a campaign going on. Sal Vega signs are plentiful, and there are even a few for Stack. But if the number of signs each candidate has on his turf was any indication of who’s going to win the 33rd district State Senate race, then Brian Stack and his Column B team would win this one by what must be a 10:1 margin.

Sal Vega might be the most optimistic guy in Hudson County.

In a primary where his opponent for 33rd district State Senate is almost universally considered the easy victor, Vega still thinks he can pull it off. 

Two New Jersey Congressmen are potentially vulnerable if they seek re-election in 2008 -- both in Democratic primaries.  Albio Sires, a former Assembly Speaker who took Bob Menendez's 13th district House seat last year, is knee-deep in an epic Hudson County Civil War; the freshman Congressman is actively backing his former running mate, Brian Stack, for the Democratic State Senate nomination in the 33rd district. Stack is running off the line against the Hudson County Democratic Organization against Sal Vega, his handpicked successor as Mayor of West New York and as an Assemblyman. He's also backing Assemblyman Louis Manzo for State Senate against the HCDO candidate, Sandra Bolden Cunningham.

Hoboken Councilman Ruben Ramos marches in Union City with running mate Cary Rodriguez of West New York.
In the race to represent Hoboken in the State Legislature, one-time political allies Carol Marsh and Ruben Ramos must resign themselves to what happens at the top of their respective tickets.

That has not happened in almost 15 years, or ever since Bernard “Bernie” Kenny began his service as district 33 state Senator, where his steady consolidation of power in Hudson County as chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) assured Hoboken of prominence.

Now Kenny’s retiring, and the power is shifting.