North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco and state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack are upping the ante in the latest chapter of their ongoing rivalry, issuing public political attacks against each other over the weekend.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Good news for our Union City, always causes jealousy! … I want to express my gratitude to Governor Phil Murphy and the State Department of Education for allocating an additional $16 million dollars to benefit our students. This much needed state aid is crucial for providing our children with a quality education,” Stack wrote in a mailer that hit mailboxes in Union City on Saturday.
” … Unfortunately, with success comes envy and jealousy. Recently, there have been individuals paid to attack my administration, my family, and our City in general. These attacks are the work of a few troublemakers, while the out of touch political bosses hide in the background. I trust that you, as intelligent individuals, will not be deceived. I believe the person behind these paid attacks is North Bergen’s mayor and his cronies.”
He also commended the Superintendent of Schools Sylvia Abatto, the Union City Board of Education and their employees, and Gov. Phil Murphy (D) for their efforts in obtaining and allocating the funding, also calling the governor “an excellent partner” for their community.
Stack and Sacco have never been the best of friends, frequently at odds for the better part of the past two decades, but things have began heating up recently due to YouTuber Leonard Filipowski, better known by his stage name, Leroy Truth, who has been a frequent foil for Stack since December.
Of the belief that Sacco and his political allies are paying and directing Filipowski, despite Sacco denying it outright, this led Stack to endorse Hudson County Executive Craig Guy as the next chair of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, as HCV first reported.
The current chair is Anthony Vainieri, a close political ally of Sacco who is also the North Bergen Department of Public Works commissioner.
The election for chair has not been announced yet, though it is usually right after the primary, and no one has declared their candidacy yet.
On Friday, a Facebook page run by former Union City Deputy Police Chief Joe Blaettler, a staunch Stack antagonist, added fuel to the fire.
He wrote a post indicating that in Sacco’s 33 years or so as mayor, Stack has been mayor for about 23 of them, and went on to list 18 local politicians that he asserts Stack has had political dust ups with over the years.
“Ask yourself who is the real problem?” the post concludes.
On Sunday, Sacco, Vainieri, along with the three other township commissioners, shared the post on their government official Facebook pages.
“This is a post written by Stacks [sic] opponents. As I couldn’t agree more with this I think we can all add to the list. What an embarrassment to Hudson County. Ashame [sic],” Vainieri wrote.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Sacco added in his own post.
In addition to a potential Democratic party chair fight, this situation could lead to a messier Jersey City mayoral race than initially expected – and it was already expected to be a barnburner with Steven Fulop running for governor instead of seeking a fourth term.
Stack is firmly supporting Jim McGreevey, with Sacco being one of nine local mayors who initially backed his candidacy, but he left the door open to potentially changing his mind last month after tensions between the two began to rise again.
Filipowski declined to comment.
They both want the sheriffs Wig
English must be Vainieri’s second language
Fits right in in NB