Nine Hudson County mayors total, including state Senator (D-32)/North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco and West New York Mayor Albio Sires, a former congressman, are backing U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) for re-election.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Bayonne Mayor James Davis, East Newark Mayor Dina Grillo, Guttenberg Mayor Wayne Zitt, Harrison Mayor James Fife, Kearny Mayor Carol Jean Doyle, and Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner are all on board.
They join state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack and Hudson County Exec-elect Craig Guy, who gave personalized endorsements of the freshman congressman shortly after Hudson County Democratic Organization Chair Anthony Vainieri did on Friday evening.
“Since taking office in January, Rob has been a responsive and powerful advocate for our communities at the federal level, helping residents with any issues they are having with the federal government and securing millions of dollars for projects across Hudson County,” the eight new mayors said in a joint statement.
“From childcare to healthcare and essential living expenses, Rob works hard to make life more affordable for all of our residents. We are proud to stand with Rob and support him for re-election to Congress.”
Additionally, Sacco offered his personalized message of support this evening.
“Congressman Menendez has been a great partner and friend to North Bergen, and we are excited to stand with him in the Primary Election along with the rest of the Hudson County Democratic Organization ticket,” he said in his own statement.
“In just his first term, Rob Menendez has already delivered for North Bergen in a major way — in fact, we are preparing to hire 20 new police officers thanks to federal grant funding he was able to secure for our community. I’m confident that Congressman Menendez is the right choice to continue working for North Bergen, Hudson County and the Eighth Congressional District.”
Vainieri also announced support for U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell and Donald Payne in the 9th and 10th District, respectively.
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, an expected challenger to Menendez and the only declared candidate for governor, respectively, did not join the endorsement, nor did Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli – however, Secaucus is a part of the 9th Congressional District.
However, on Monday morning, Gonnelli indicated that he was endorsing both Menendez and Pascrell.
Menendez announced re-election in late September, hours after after Bhalla expressed an interest in running in the midst U.S. Senator Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ), Rob’s father, facing legal troubles.
A federal indictment charges him accepting cash, a car, and gold bars, among other things, in exchange for his influence, while a superseding indictment charged him with acting as a foreign agent to the government of Egypt.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and while he has hinted at running for re-election, turning up the heat after the HCDO endorsed Tammy Murphy, the wife of Gov. Phil Murphy, (D) this weekend’s wave of endorsements for the son indicate that looks unlikely.
A new poll tested Bhalla, Ward E Councilman James Solomon, and Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez against Rob Menendez in the 8th District, but the results appear to be largely inconsequential now.
Editor’s note: The story was updated with an Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli.
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OK, we get it, it’s politics, but there are a lot of issues in Tuesday’s Hoboken election, this whole rent rally, hoping you do a deep dive. the machine doing what machines do, it can wait. They are distracting us from people’s lives.