West New York

Retired West New York Police officer Richard Rivera, who made waves investigating corruption in this North Hudson town, says he will drop his bid for West New York Commssioner.  Today is the filing deadline for non-partisan May municipal elections.

As expected, Hudson County Freeholder Silverio "Sal" Vega has succeeded Albio Sires as the Mayor of West New York. Sires, the former Assembly Speaker, is expected to take his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives tonight.

Sires' seat as a West New York Commissioner was filled by Claridad Rodriguez, who has served as Sires' secretary for many years.

Vega is widely expected to also take Sires' seat in the State Assembly. Democrats in Hudson County's 33rd district must hold a Special Election Convention within the next 7-35 days to fill the vacancy.

While Vega could continue as a Freeholder while serving as Mayor and as an Assemblyman, Hudson insiders suggest that West New York Commissioner Gerald Lange is headed to the Hudson County Board of Freeholders.

Sal Vega, West New York Commissioner and Hudson County Freeholder, is the leading candidate to replace Congressman-Albio Sires as Mayor of West New York -- and possibly as the 33rd district Assemblyman as well. Sires is eligible to take his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as soon as the state certifies his election -- as long as the House returns for a lame-duck session. (In 1988, Frank Pallone won a Special Election to fill the remaining two months of the late James Howard's term, but never took the oath of office.)

If Sires' running mate, Assemblyman/Union City Mayor Brian Stack runs for the State Senate next year against Senate Majority Leader/Hudson County Democratic Chairman Bernard Kenny, look for Hoboken Councilman Christopher Campos to run for the State Assembly.

The buzz in Hudson County this week is about Assemblyman/Union City Mayor Brian Stack's very public flirtation with a challenge to Senate Majority Leader (and Hudson County Democratic Chairman) Bernard Kenny in the 2007 primary. There has been speculation for months that Kenny, who has been battling prostate cancer and other health issues, had been considering retirement anyway -- but some of Kenny's friends think Stack's aggressive tone could make a Kenny re-election bid even more likely.

Even though Kenny is the incumbent and the party chairman, some Hudson pols say that the ambitious Stack could have the edge in a primary. He is enormously popular in Union City, where he began his political career as a rival of Bob Menendez and then became Menendez's ally in a fight with Rudy Garcia, and some local pols say that he could carry his hometown by a margin of almost 4-1. Kenny comes from Hoboken, where his strong alliance with Mayor David Roberts could allow Stack to team up with an anti-Roberts Democrat -- maybe a backer of former Councilwoman Carol Marsh, who forced Roberts into a runoff in 2005. In that case, West New York -- where local leadership will shift in November when Mayor/Assemblyman Albio Sires takes his seat in Congress -- might determine the outcome of a 33rd district Democratic primary. Some say Kenny might be at a disadvantage given the traditional North Hudson alliance between Union City and West New York.

In Hudson County, where all politics truly is local, power has traditionally rested with the twelve Democratic Mayors. In 1977, the incumbent Democratic State Chairman, James Dugan, lost his bid for a third term in the State Senate when the winner of the Jersey City mayoral election decided to support Walter Sheil instead.

The non-partisan Office of Legislative Services issued a ruling today saying there is no statuatory authority for the Governor to call a Special Election for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 13th district, where Democrat Robert Menendez resigned last week to take a seat in the United States Senate. By coincidence, the ruling gets Jon Corzine out of a political jam: the Governor was giving strong consideration to calling a Special Election, especially after Menendez indicated publicly that he thought it might be a good idea. The front runner for the seat, former Assembly Speaker Albio Sires, was strongly opposed to the special (his opponent, Assemblyman/Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas, wanted one) and Hudson County Democrats put considerable pressure on Corzine not to have a March primary. While in Jersey City on Wednesday to announce his endorsement of Sires, Corzine met behind closed doors with Democratic Party leaders who cautioned him that calling a Special Election would hurt his standing with the powerful Hudson County Democratic Organization. Democrats don't want to spend money on an extra election, and the special elections that would follow as a result of Sires' resignation as Mayor of West New York and as the Assemblyman from the 33rd district.