Hudson County Democratic Organization Chair Anthony Vainieri won’t seek another term, instead endorsing County Executive Craig Guy to succeed him.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“It has been my great honor and privilege to serve as the HCDO chairman for the past two years. Working together with all the county committee members, municipal chairs and all the mayors, we built a stronger party that elected a new county executive, two new State Senators and five new Assembly members. I would like to thank all 12 mayors for their support, particularly my Mayor Nick Sacco for his enduring confidence in me to lead our party,” Vainieri said in a statement.
“Craig Guy has worked alongside me these past two years and represented the HCDO on numerous occasions, and I am proud to endorse Craig to succeed me as HCDO Chairman. He has earned this honor and I know he will work hard to keep the HCDO one of New Jersey’s strongest and most unified county Democratic organizations.”
For the earlier part of this year, it remained unclear if there would be another battle among Hudson County Democrats as there was in 2018, largely due to the tensions between state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack and North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco.
Stack threw his support behind Guy back in mid-March, nearly two months before he declared his candidacy on Saturday, and was highly critical of Vainieri’s work as chairman, he told HCV in a phone interview.
Despite that, it appears cooler heads have ultimately prevailed, as Guy, who was elected to office for the first time in November, will more than likely run unopposed.
While there is no date for an HCDO reorganization meeting yet, it is typically one week after the primary, which is June 4th.
“I’m grateful to Chairman Anthony Vainieri for supporting my candidacy for Hudson County Democratic Organization chairman, as well as for his efforts to strengthen our party and our county. Being considered to lead this great organization is an honor, and I look forward to speaking with our mayors, state legislators, county committee members and other Democratic leaders about my vision for building an even stronger party as we move towards pivotal elections in the coming years,” Guy stated.
“There is more work to be done before that, and I look forward to standing alongside Chairman Vainieri and Hudson County’s Democratic leaders to re-elect our Congressman Rob Menendez, who has delivered millions of dollars in federal funds for our communities, stood up for our working families and defended our Democratic values.”
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democratic candidate for governor who received Vainieri’s endorsement in July, thanked him for his service and followed suit in backing Guy.
“Chairman Vainieri has been a steadfast supporter of my campaign for Governor since the day we launched, and I want to thank him for his friendship and the work he has done to help elect Democrats throughout Hudson County,” he said.
“I know that County Executive Craig Guy is the ideal choice to lead the county party forward now during a time of change and transition when the HCDO will need to adopt new approaches to directly engage with voters on the issues that matter most to them. I enthusiastically endorse Craig Guy for Hudson County Democratic Organization Chairman and I look forward to continuing to work with him as we move closer to next year’s election.”
