State Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack sent a mailer to Republican voters in the 33rd Legislative District to switch their party affiliation to Democrat ahead of a contested June 10th primary where he is backing two candidates.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Once again, the political bosses are trying to defeat my two Assembly candidates in the June 10th Primary Election. They are prepared to spend millions to stop [Assemblyman] Gabriel Rodriguez and Larry Wainstein. Their ultimate goal is to defeat me as your Mayor/State Senator. They don’t like the progress we have made, the improvements of the state funding we’ve secured for the community,” he wrote.
“How can you help? If possible, I’m asking you to temporarily switch your party affiliation from Republican to Democrat so you can vote for my Assembly candidates. If you’d like, I will help switch you back to Republican the day after the primary.”
Stack and the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) are backing Rodriguez and Wainstein against Tony Hector and Frank Alonso, who are backed by North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, as HCV first reported.
The latest proxy battle between Stack and Sacco is part of the larger HCDO civil war.
For example, Stack and HCDO Chair Craig Guy are part of the contingency backing U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill for governor and Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis for county sheriff, while Sacco is part of the team supporting Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Sheriff Frank Schillari for re-election.
Neither of those races were mentioned in the mailer in question, bu the Hudson County GOP still appears to have taken offense to the tactic.
“I think that New Jersey has a closed primary system in that members of each party get to elect a candidate to represent their points of view. That goes against the spirit and intent of the closed primary system,” Hudson County GOP Executive Director Pavel Sokolov said over the phone.
“If he truly believes he has the best candidates in LD-33, there’s no reason to ask the Republicans to get involved in the Democratic primary, especially when they have their own candidates in Anthony Valdes and Cindy Depice. We ask Mayor Stack to stay in his lane and focus on turnout from his Democrats, and while we’re quite flattered and the recognition of the Republican growth in North Hudson, we’ll have to decline his invitation.”
The mailer, which Sokolov posted on X over the weekend, also drew some strong reactions online, including from Jersey City mayoral candidate Mussab Ali and Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics Director Micah Rasmussen.
“Political boss asking republicans for a favor in order to defeat ‘the political bosses’. From the mayor who is @jim_mcgreevey biggest supporter,” Ali wrote.
“We’ve seen plenty of Dems and Reps causing mischief by jumping primaries to influence who the opposing party nominates, but it may be the first time a pol is actively encouraging members of the opposite party to influence his own party’s nominations,” Rasmussen noted.
32nd Legislative District Assembly candidate Katie Brennan was far more critical.
*What message does this send to Democratic voters? Now, Dems in Hudson County have no say in who the party runs for office — even elected members of the Dem county committee,” she wrote on X.
“Dem voters should choose Dem nominees. Rep voters should choose Rep nominees. It’s really that simple.”
In response to the criticism, Stack was unapologetic and noted that one of the LD-33 Assembly candidates was a Republican until recently.
“I’m happy to appeal to every voter in the district so that they can help elect candidates who are best suited to serve residents,” he began.
“Instead of complaining, Democrats should be working to get elected. If opposing candidates want to get on their soapboxes about how I communicate with voters, they should speak up about Frank Alonso who up until recently was a registered Republican.”
In a statement, Hector reminded voters that Stack endorsed Republican Chris Christie for governor twice, so his recent mailer should not shock anyone.
“Brian Stack is a liar, a corrupt party boss and a wannabe dictator, and just like his good friend Bob Menendez, Stack has proven that he will sell out the Democratic Party whenever he feels like it,” he asserted.
“He did it when he blackmailed Democrats by threatening to support Republicans and when he endorsed Chris Christie for governor two times, even calling him ‘The Best Governor in New Jersey history,’ and now he’s doing it again. Our campaign for Assembly is about standing up against Boss Stack and giving North Hudson residents a real voice in Trenton that will fight for them, not for Stack.”
Stack had previously said that “Tony Hector’s candidacy is a meager attempt by Sacco and his cronies to maintain power and continue to personally enrich themselves” and that he anticipated a dirty campaign.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a comment from 33rd Legislative District Assembly candidate Tony Hector.
