Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) headlined a rally for state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack on the night before their municipal elections despite all five elected officials running unopposed.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
Stack was joined by his slate of incumbents on the board of commissioners: Lucio Fernandez, Maryury Martinetti, Celin Valdivia, and Wendy Grullon.
Also part of the program were U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8), Assemblymen Gabriel Rodriguez and Larry Wainstein (D-33), Hudson County Executive Craig Guy, County Commissioner Fanny Cedeno (D-7), Hudson County Sheriff James Davis, and Guttenberg Mayor Wayne Zitt.
“You made a commitment. Please keep the commitment about being there on time,” Stack told the hundreds on hand intently listening to those speaking on a stage erected at the intersection of 38th Street and Palisade Avenue.
With his remarks being translated into Spanish after every line, he called Sherrill “a great friend to Union City.”
Stack acknowledged its been a long campaign since February, but emphasized it all comes down to tomorrow, pulling people out of their homes and apartments to vote.
“We know that some people don’t come out, they have to be reminded. We need to do that. Tomorrow is not the type of an election you don’t want people taking it for granted saying … ‘They’re strong, they don’t need us.’ We don’t want that.”
Many elected officials spoke only in Spanish, reflecting the vivid Latino cultural reality of the city.
It was also arguably more of a campaign meeting than a rally, with Stack instructing attendees to remember instructions for his ground game tomorrow as though everyone there was already not only a supporter, but a part of his campaign.
“When the polls open at six o’clock, you know what’s important to remember? We start with zero tomorrow morning,” Stack declared.
“We’re going to need to earn every single vote. We’ve tried to do a good job the last four years, the commissioners and myself. You guys have done a tremendous job in delivering that message, but what’s critical tomorrow is pulling them out. We can’t sit there and wait for them to come out.”
Menendez said there is no better at delivering for his city than Stack, who he described as working day and night for Union City in both the state senate and as mayor.
“Every day I try to work as hard as he does for all of you. So let’s elect him and this incredible team of commissioners for four more years.”
Guy, also the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) chair, echoed Menendez that no elected official in New Jersey works as hard as Stack.
“I talk to Brian at 6:30 in the morning, 11 o’clock at night. Brian takes everything he does to heart for the people, not only of Union City, but the people in this district. So please make sure every single one of you don’t take this for granted,” Guy noted.
“Every single one of you come out and vote and show Brian Stack and his commissioners team how much that we all appreciate what goes on in Union City… And boy, do I have a great partner in the Union City mayor, Brian Stack.”
Davis thanked Stack and Union City residents for getting him elected as sheriff.
“What we should do tomorrow is, we should all thank Brian Stack and his commissioners by coming out and voting for them and letting them know how much we care about them, because they care so much about all of us,” he said.
Sherrill, addressed the crowd enthusiastically in broken Spanish for about five minutes, singing the praises of Stack and his commissioners.
“We have to stand up here,” Sherrill said, noting in Spanish that this is the first election since the U.S. Supreme Court voted to gut the Voting Rights Act.
She urged residents to vote Column A “to represent you, to fight for you, to make sure that you have affordable housing, that we get costs down here. That we have good schools, that roads are paved.”
Speaking in Spanish, Sherrill said Stack often calls her asking for the resources that Union City needs as they arise.
After that, she continued in English: “Thank you so much to Brian Stack, who has worked tirelessly “todos los dias para la gente in Union City … He is a fighter. He is your mayor. Gracias e todos a vota, vota, vota! Si?”
The polls are open until 8 p.m. this evening and your polling location can be found here.
When you’re mayor of a Spanish majority town for 30 years, isn’t that enough time to have learned to speak Spanish?