Cammarano's secret weapon in a Hoboken recount: Angelo Genova

The two runoff elections for Mayor yesterday are exceedingly close and it will probably take a Judge to decide who the winners are.  In Hoboken, Peter Cammarano leads Dawn Zimmer by 67 votes, 6,043 to 5,976, with about 80 provisional ballots to be counted.  Zimmer led the machine voting by 244 votes, but Cammarano took the lead after absentee ballots have been counted.  

In Hillside, unofficial results show outsider Joseph Menza with a six vote lead, 1,705 to 1,699, over Councilman Jerome Jewell, with a reported ten provisional ballots that will be counted today.  

Cammarano has one clear advantage in a recount and a legal discussion over provisional ballots: his law partner is Angelo Genova, one of the state's top election law experts.  Jewell has the backing of Hillside Democratic Municipal Chair Charlotte DeFilippo, who is also the Union County Democratic Chair.

If Menza holds his lead in the non-partisan race, it would be a stunning defeat for the Democratic Governor's Association (DGA), which contributed more than $10,000 to ensure Jewell's election.  Menza received some help from Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher Christie, so sent some volunteers his way last week in a bid to get Hillside Republicans to oppose Jewell.  

Menza's council candidates lost to Jewell's slate, so even if Menza's lead holds and he becomes mayor, the council will remain in the hands of the local Democratic Party machine.  

In Jersey City, two City Council incumbents backed by Mayor Jerramiah Healy easily won their runoff elections.  Healy allies now occupy every City Council seat but the one held by Steven Fulop.