North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, a Democrat, backed Republican nominee for governor Jack Ciattarelli, as well as the GOP nominees for state Assembly in the 33rd Legislative District and the Republican sheriff candidate at his 40th annual mayor’s ball last night.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Two candidates for governor were invited to come to the mayor’s ball, only one responded positively. And that man is here with us now … the next governor of New Jersey: Jack Ciattarelli!” Sacco said to loud applause in front of hundreds of supporters at the Venetian in Garfield.
“I don’t see this as a race that’s about Republican vs. Democrats: I see this as a race to get New Jersey back to the New Jersey we all grew up in, the Jersey we love!” Ciattarelli said to cheers.
” … Mayor, I can’t thank you enough for your trust, your faith, your confidence: I’m honored. And with the help of people like yourselves, I’m telling you right here now, we’re gonna win this race …”
Ciattarelli also reiterated points he has made regularly on the campaign trial: That his administration would eliminate sanctuary cities, eliminate cashless bail, make sure pensions for public employees stay in tact, and there will be no major tax increases.
“We invited two candidates for governor, only one thought enough about North Bergen to be here and he’s standing with me to my left. God bless Jack Ciattarelli and let’s go out and win this election,” the mayor concluded.
Additionally, Sacco and his commissioners, which include Pascual, Hugo Cabrera, Anthony Vainieri, and Claudia Rodriguez all stood with LD-33 Republican Assembly candidates Anthony Valdes and Cindy DePice, as well as GOP sheriff nominee Elvis Alvarez.
The move was not totally unexpected, given that one of the Democratic nominees in LD-33 is Larry Wainstein, who ran against Sacco three times and is heavily rumored to give it another go in two years.
To that end, Vainieri had some choice words for anyone who believed Sacco would not seek re-election in 2027.
“Let me tell you something: For those ***holes out there that are saying Nick Sacco’s done, let me tell you something. Nick Sacco is running in 2027 and we’re gonna kick the *** out of them!”
Sacco is the third Democratic mayor in the state to back Ciattarelli over U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11), following Dover Mayor James P. Dodd and Garfield Mayor Everrett Garnto, Jr.
Allies of Sacco, Public Safety Commissioner Allen Pascual, the chair of the local GOP and the executive director of the county GOP, former West New York Mayor Sal Vega, and ex-Commissioner Alberto Rodriguez, along with West New York Commissioner Marcos Arroyo, endorsed Ciattarelli in North Bergen on Sunday.
Additionally, Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari, who switched parties in July after losing the June 10th primary to Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis, has also back Ciattarelli and the Hudson County GOP slate, as HCV first reported.
In the primary, the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), including state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack – Sacco’s definitive political adversary – backed Sherrill for governor.
While Stack has not commented on the latest as of this writing, the HCDO blasted Sacco and Ciattarelli in a statement released this morning.
“MAGA Jack Ciattarelli has been poking around Hudson County on a DINO hunt for months, if not years. The fact that Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate landed on Nick Sacco in his third go-around as governor should be of no surprise to anyone,” they began.
“Years before Nick Sacco got himself bounced out of the State Senate and had his county-wide candidates get trounced in Democratic primaries, he was spouting the same foul-mouthed misogynistic trash as MAGA Jack Ciattarelli and President Trump.”
They referred to an audio recording from about 20 years ago where Sacco allegedly threatened a subordinate, which the New Jersey Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards dismissed in 2013 due to timeliness, as The Observer reported.
“Jack will fit in perfectly with these two foul-mouthed misogynists. These three deserve each other, but women everywhere do not,” the HCDO concluded.
Schillari had run on Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop’s “Democrats for Change” ticket and Sacco had also support Fulop for governor.
“Nah – I couldn’t be more content not dealing with the nonsense on all sides in NJ,” Fulop wrote on X this morning, ahead of starting big nonprofit gig in New York City next year.
“Mayor Ed Koch used to say when asked what would happen if he lost a primary: “I’ll get a better job, but you won’t get a better Mayor.” I’m in a great place – excited and grateful to be out of the fray.”