Anthony Chiappone

Retired municipal Judge Pat Conaghan walks the streets on Monday evening.: Politicker photoBAYONNE - The bands of men move through the streets on separate ends of Avenue C, claiming city blocks as territory for their respective campaigns.

There are other men running for mayor in Bayonne, but Police Director Mark Smith and retired Municipal Judge Pat Conaghan remain the most dogged public competitors, and their followers the most intense.

The signs stare out from everywhere as evidence: Conaghan for Mayor, or Smith for Mayor.

Across the river, Wall Street’s tanking. Worst day in its history. Police Director Mark Smith outside his Broadway campaign headquarters on Monday evening: Politicker photo

But Bayonne’s been feeling pain for years. They have a history of pain, of course. Not for nothing the local boy who once challenged Mohammed Ali for the heavyweight crown, Chuck Wepner, still walks Broadway Avenue and goes by the nickname "Bayonne Bleeder" in boxing circles.

Here they prefer to call him the "Bayonne Battler."

The former title may be more appropriate, for now the city faces a $22 million budget deficit. A mixed use project slated for the closed down Navy yard once was supposed to save this maritime blue collar capital at the bottom end of Hudson County, yet at this point, even that project’s champions say they need to reexamine the harbor.

Judge Patrick Conaghan with Bayonne voters Terrance and Laura McLaughlin: Politicker photo 

BAYONNE - In a tie decorated with the faces of American politicians, mayoral candidate Pat Conaghan, lawyer, retired municipal judge, walks up the street in Bayonne’s third ward.

With him walks Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, campaign manager Denis F. Wilbeck and other allies lugging yellow campaign signs, intent on electing Conaghan in a Nov. 4th special election.

Conaghan’s going against Deputy Police Chief Mark Smith.

"He seems like an energetic guy," Conaghan says of his opponent, "but he’s a cop. I’ve been on the Board of Directors of two banks, and spent 40 years as a practicing attorney. The most significant thing the next mayor is going to have to do is to wrestle with serious financial issues."

The Conaghan forces contend that former Mayor Joseph Doria blew it on the redevelopment of Bayonne’s Military Ocean Terminal. It should have been a job creator, not a mixed use plan with an emphasis on residential development.

Now Doria’s gone, the town faces a $22 million deficit, and there’s little way to muster property taxes.

"We need some good industry to bring in jobs," says John Budnick, who peddles his bicycle among the Conaghan forces.

BAYONNE - Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne) criticized Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone: Politicker photothe chairman of the Democratic Party here for failing to display campaign signs for presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, which the chair claims is a ludicrous charge.

"They’ve got signs up on Democratic Party headquarters for (mayoral candidate) Mark Smith and (freeholder) Doreen DiDomenico, but nothing for Obama," complained Chiappone.

In this blue collar maritime stronghold at the southern end of Hudson County, Chiappone backs former municipal judge Pat Conaghan in the Nov. 4 mayor’s race against Smith.Chairman O'Donnell: Politicker photo

The party chairman supports Smith.

While he was a primary election supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY), Party Chair Jason O’Donnell strongly objected to Chiappone’s suggestion that he’s downplaying the Illinois senator because he fears voter blowback in the Bayonne mayor’s contest.

"For two consecutive days I have met with Tracy Johnson, Hudson County coordinator for Obama, and they don’t have the signs yet," said O’Donnell.

From left: Leo Smith, operative Michael Embrich, and mayoral candidate Mark Smith: Politicker photo 

BAYONNE - The rain crashes onto the street and Mark Smith, deputy chief and candidate for mayor, welcomes the downpour with open arms.

"I love it," he says, on the tail end of his door-pounding tour of the First Ward.

In this neighborhood just north of the Kill Van Kull, Smith and his team have walked several square blocks once populated by some of Bayonne’s political legends, including former Mayor Dennis Collins and former U.S. Rep. Cornelius Gallagher.

A 27-year veteran of the Bayonne Police Department and family man, Smith now wants to be the man in his Nov. 4 special mayoral election showdown with former municipal judge Pat Conaghan.

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.

Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone 

BAYONNE - In his concession speech on Tuesday night, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews acknowledged a lot of his supporters, among them his North Jersey backers and among those, Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone (D-Bayonne).

"This was very kind of him," Chiappone said. "I appreciated that. This is a guy who called me the day after Election Day and personally thanked me."

BAYONNE - U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) arrives in Bayonne.

State Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson), U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1), and Jackie Andrews. 

BAYONNE - When U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews gets out of his car in front of the Catholic War Veterans Post 1612 on 23rd Street, his allies greet his appearance with an enthusiasm that runs into a wall of Lautenberg motley across the street.

The two sides have been trading scattered verbal chest thumps for about a half an hour, with the level of public discourse never rising above the likes of, "Who’s washed up? Lautenberg. Who’s washed up? Lautenberg," versus "Who’s going to lose? Andrews. Who’s going to lose? Andrews!"

Now that U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s (D-NJ) challenger in Tuesday’s Democratic Senate Primary lands on the scene, the smaller Andrews camp tries unsuccessfully to drown out a renewed frenzy of put-downs coming from the other side.

BAYONNE - Speaking to a crowd of about 60 Bayonne residents at the Catholic War Veterans Post on 23rd Street Saturday, state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson) explained why she's supporting Andrews for U.S. Senate.

Moments later, Andrews recognized his daughter, Jackie, and told the crowd he had brought her along in part to meet women of courage like Cunningham. 

Hudson County is deep Frank Lautenberg territory, but Democratic Senate candidate Rob Andrews came to the heart of Jersey City’s downtown today to hold a town hall meeting.

“We will expand the campaign anywhere people will have us,” said Andrews before holding court at a gazebo in the city’s Hamilton Park. “There’s one rule in the Andrews campaign – you have to be young at heart, you have to be willing to support us.”

The meeting was organized by the local councilman, Seven Fulop – a likely mayoral candidate next year and frequent critic of Jersey City Mayor/HCDO Chairman Jerramiah Healy, who supports Lautenberg.