April 12, 2007 - 12:35pm
News

Bernie Kenny should have know better

To an outsider it may seem extraordinary that a well-oiled political machine like the Hudson County Democratic Organization could mess up the petitions of a State Senate candidate in a hotly contested primaries, but there is some historical precedence to shabby petitions from Jersey City Democrats Bobby Jackson and Joe Cardwell that may explain it.

Back in 2002, Jackson and Cardwell convinced Mayor Glenn Cunningham to back Edgar Martinez in the Democratic congressional primary against Robert Menendez -- driving Cunningham and Menendez -- engaged in a bitter battle over the County Executive’s post -- even further apart. The HCDO and Menendez eventually solved the problem: after a dinner meeting in New York with Menendez, Martinez wound up -- coincidentally -- taking a vacation with his family just before the filing deadline.

Meanwhile, the Menendez camp went to court in an effort to invalidate the signatures on petitions they had obtained. The Judge found that many of the signers were ineligible -- he found that there was fraud involved -- and Martinez was thrown off the ballot.

Only when Al Spivey handled the petitions for the Cunningham crew did things go well. Jackson and Cardwell are in charge now, and the late Mayor’s widow, Sandra Bolden Cunningham, may now have to mount a legal challenge to get on the Democratic primary ballot.

That might not be so easy if Louis Manzo is successful in his bid to get Angelo Genova to represent him.

Wally Edge can be reached via email at politicsnj@aol.com.

Comments

Angelo "the reformer" Genova


Angelo is going to side w/ the DHFC over the HCDO?

I imagine he's going to do whatever Corzine tells him to, if he wants to keep those State contracts rolling in.

04/12/07 1:42 pm

They will win in November


The HCDO tickets in the 31st and 33rd LDs are going to concede the primaries and run again in the general. That is why Kenny told Jose Arango not to run Republican slates in those districts. An independent HCDO ticket has more time to grow their already large resources and hit Stack over the head with his  investigation.

In the 31st, Sandy can say that Lou Manzo is an opportunist who is latching on to a shady character in Stack to further his own political career the same way he latched on to her husband. And you can bet that Nick Sacco is going to pour a lot of money into those races to screw Stack over.

Wally, don't be so quick to beat Kenny over the head. He's not a stupid man. He's been around for a long time and he knows what he's doing.

Jeez, it can get pretty lonely being the only one in the loop sometimes!;-)

04/12/07 2:16 pm

Bobby and joe are good at


Bobby and joe are good at b.s.but lazy on the day to day workings of a campaign.Last year while working for Joe Vas they handed in a petition that had been whited out and reused.The clerk rightfully threw it out,thus denying Vas his own line.During the school board race they signed up 400 absentee voters but never went back to get the ballots.People always assume they are very clever and decietfull when in fact they are just stupid.

04/12/07 2:14 pm

Typical Bobby and Joe


Last year Bobby and Joe screwed up Joe Vas's petitions in Hudson County - they were supposed to get a registrer cadndidate to go against Willie Flood and they screwed that up and ended up whiteing out the signatures and it had white out all over the petition. The clerk's office rejected it and Bobby and Joe disapered for days to leave Vas to fix it. this is just simple incompetence to pick up the general election petitions instead of the primary election petitions, not 'political novice' Welcome Senators Manzo and Stack

04/12/07 2:36 pm

Manzo: Mayor Healy offered opponent jobs, money to run for offic


Jersey Journal Update Friday, April 13, 2007 Manzo: Mayor Healy offered opponent jobs, money to run for office Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Sandra Bolden Cunningham and Bayonne City Councilman Anthony Chiappone enticed a “spoiler� candidate to run for state Senate in the 31st District with promises of jobs, cash, and political support, according to a lawsuit filed in state Superior Court today by Assemblyman Lou Manzo. And the alleged “spoiler� — Bayonne resident Sean Cotter, who yesterday voluntarily withdrew his candidacy — was caught on tape spilling the beans, according to Manzo’s claim. Manzo is squaring off against Bolden Cunningham, the widow of the late Jersey City Mayor and state Sen. Glenn D. Cunningham, for the Democratic nomination for the 31st District senate seat. Chiappone is running for assembly on Bolden Cunningham’s ticket. The gist of the suit was that Cotter’s candidacy was intended to siphon away votes from Manzo in Bayonne. Manzo was asking Judge Maurice J. Gallipoli to remove Cotter from the ballot but the case ended abruptly yesterday when it came to light that Cotter had dropped out on his own. But that might not end the matter. According to Manzo, after he was first approached by Cotter on March 6, he contacted the state Attorney General’s Office. Then, under the supervision of investigators working for that office, “multiple contacts and communications between Mr. Cotter and Mr. Manzo were recorded,� according to Manzo’s suit. David Wald, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, would neither confirm nor deny whether there is an investigation. Deputy Attorney General Susan Berger attended today's hearing but would not comment either. According to Manzo, Cotter was told by Healy, Bolden Cunningham and Chiappone that if he ran, he would be given a job on Bolden Cunningham’s senate staff; handed another public job, presumably in city government; and that his nonprofit New Jersey Inner City Tennis Foundation would be given a grant from the Jerramiah T. Healy Charitable Foundation. Neither Chiappone nor Cotter could be reached for comment. Healy called the court case a ploy by former Jersey City Mayor and Manzo ally Gerald McCann. “I have to question why Mr. Manzo is so intent to run for office unopposed that he’s willing to partner with Mr. McCann and make these false allegation against myself, or against any other candidates,� Healy said. “McCann and Manzo all over again. And again, these allegations are damn lies.� McCann said he never met Cotter, and, referring to pictures of the mayor that surfaced before his election showing him naked on his porch, added, “Tell him to keep his clothes on and calm down.� Bolden Cunningham said: “I know absolutely nothing about this. I never met this man (Cotter). This is a ploy to damage our campaign on Mr. Manzo’s part.� Ken Thorbourne .

04/13/07 8:22 pm