Sandra Cunningham

Jerramiah Healy has won three campaigns for Mayor of Jersey City in five years without ever being forced into a runoff election - the first Mayor to do that since the legendary Frank Hague won his last election in 1945. The Healy slate also won six of the seven Council seats decided in yesterday's vote, with the chance to pick up two more when Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano and Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson run in a June 9 runoff election. 

Healy won 53% of the vote in a five-candidate field, besting two well-known challengers: Louis Manzo, a former Assemblyman and Hudson County Freeholder who was making his fifth bid for Mayor; and Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith, a former Acting Mayor, State Senator, and City Council President. 

But one frequent critic of the Mayor remains in office: Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop won a massive 63% of the vote against four opponents, including Guy "Squab" Catrillo, who ran on Healy' slate.  The Healy campaign, sensing Fulop's strength, essentially pulled out of the Ward E race a few weeks ago.

Assemblywoman-elect Nancy Munoz (R-Summit) becomes the first widow to directly succeed her husband in the New Jersey Legislature.   She won a special election last night to replace Eric Munoz, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 61.

After Patrick Scanlon died in August 1977, his widow, Mary Scanlon, won a November 1977 election to fill his seat.  But the same day, voters elected Joseph Papasidero to fill the remaining two months of Patrick Scanlon's term.  Mary Scanlon actually succeeded Papasidero.  (Deborah Scanlon, a Union County Freeholder, is the daughter-in-law of Patrick and Mary Scanlon.)

State Sen. Marcia Karrow (R-Raritan Twp.)

TRENTON – After a sedate budget session with little discernable action and time running down, both sides suddenly opened up in a bitter back and forth sparked by state Sen. Marcia Karrow (R-Raritan).

Karrow trained tough questions on Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joe Doria, wondering why city officials in Jersey City are getting raises and why a zoo in Cumberland County is slated to receive state dollars in tough times.

That prompted back-to-back regional objections from Democrats serving on the Senate Budget Committee.

“Bridgeton houses a lot of bad things, senator,” state Sen. Steve Sweeney (D-Bridgeton) told Karrow. “They have nothing. If you want to pick on them for having a zoo (the Cohanzick Zoo), please come to Bridgeton before you criticize Bridgeton. Come take a trip with me. I’ll take you on a trip. Cumberland County houses 26 percent of the state’s prison population. That’s our economy.” 

JERSEY CITY -- State Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson) today formally endorsed Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy for reelection at a press conference at City Hall today.

“Let us do the residents of this city a favor and put politics aside, put personalities aside, and join with me and put Jersey City first,” Cunningham said. 

The endorsement is important for Healy, who is counting on Cunningham, the widow of the late former mayor Glenn D. Cunningham, to deliver him a substantial portion of the city’s African-American vote in the non-partisan May 12 election. 

Charles Mainor, a 42-year-old Jersey City police detective, appears headed for the State Assembly.  He has emerged as the likely candidate of the Hudson County Democratic Organization in the 31st district, where Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith (D-Jersey City) is giving up his seat to run for Mayor.  He is expected to run with Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne), who has cut a deal with Democrats to keep his seat.  Mainor’s chief advocates were State Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham and longtime Democratic insider Joseph Cardwell, but Democrats say he has a solid relationship with the Mayor of Jersey City, Jerramiah Healy.  Sources say Mainor got the nod over Oren Dabney, who runs the Jersey City Incinerator Authority.

Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne) cut a deal to keep his seat in the Legislature, agreeing that he will not challenge Mayor Mark Smith in 2010.  In order to enforce the deal, Smith allies insisted that Chiappone give up his seat on the City Council – a move that keeps him out of city hall and distances him from local politics.   As part of the agreement for Chiappone to receive the Hudson County Democratic Organization line, State Sen.  Sandra Bolden Cunningham (D-Jersey City) is now expected to endorse the re-election of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, and Bayonne Democrats will continue to back Healy for Hudson County Democratic Chairman.

BAYONNE - You won't need the back slash anymore to refer to Assemblyman/Councilman Tony Chiappone (D-Bayonne), who today notified the Bayonne Clerk that he would give up his council seat.

Sources say the local renegade who joined the Hudson County Democratic Organzation (HCDO)-backed state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Jersey City) in 2007, will remain on the HCDO ticket this year.

Although he led a charge against establishment Democrat Mark Smith in the mayor's race last year and suffered a lopsided defeat - Chiappone's close ties to Cunningham preserved him here.

Part of Cunningham's decision not to oppose Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy hinged on Healy's pledge to protect Chiappone in Bayonne.

Healy, the chair of the HCDO, agreed - providing Chiappone surrender his dual office holding status to enabe Mayor Smith to have another ally on council.

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.

Raymond Lesniak moved up to the Senate in 1983 after John Gregorio's criminal conviction.

After today's special election convention in District 23, a full one-quarter of the Senate will have entered the upper house by way of a special election: Raymond Lesniak (1983), Ronald Rice (1986), John Girgenti (1990), Robert Singer (1993), Thomas Kean, Jr. (2003), Paul Sarlo (2003), Loretta Weinberg (2005), Sandra Cunningham (2007), and James Beach (2009).  An eleventh Senator, Kevin O'Toole, initially served in the Senate in 2001 after winning a special election convention; he later returned to the Assembly and won a Senate seat in November 2007.

Lesniak replaced John Gregorio, who left the Senate following his criminal conviction.  Rice, Girgenti and Singer were elected following the deaths of Senators John Caufield, Frank Graves and John Dimon, respectively.  Kean took the seat of Richard Bagger, who resigned to concentrate on his career at Pfizer.  Sarlo became a Senator when the incumbent, Garry Furnari, was appointed to serve as a Superior Court Judge.  Weinberg won the seat of Byron Baer, who resigned for health reasons.  Cunningham replaced Joseph Doria, who resigned to become state Community Affairs Commissioner.  Beach, the most recent addition to the Senate won a special election convention after John Adler was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

If State Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Jersey City) was running for Mayor of Jersey City, then State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) wouldn't have attended Mayor Jerramiah Healy's campaign kickoff last night.

The speculation that State Senator Sandra Cunningham will run for Mayor of Jersey City in 2009 is likely over, even though Cunningham has not yet announced her plans.  The attendance of one of her close friends and political allies, State Senator Raymond Lesniak, at a rally for Mayor Jerramiah Healy last night is a clear signal that Cunningham will not run.