State Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack was all business when addressing a room of supporters last night, telling them that casting a vote for U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11) for governor is more important that voting for him.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I cannot stress enough how important this election is to every single one of you: Everyone in Union City, everyone in the 33rd [Legislative District], in Hudson, and the entire State of New Jersey,” Stack told over 3,000 supporters at an event for his civic association at the Graycliff in Moonachie.
“We have a candidate in Mikie Sherrill that’s with integrity and cares about people and that is critical. And now more than ever, we need somebody whose gonna stand up for the people of this state, stand up for the people of Hudson County, every single day.”
Celebrating his 25th year as mayor, which was acknowledged with a massive vanilla-frosted cake, Stack added that Sherrill will be a governor that makes strides with law enforcement, infrastructure, school funding, emphasizing that voting Column A “will protect our democracy.”
Stack, along with the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) as a whole, are supporting the Democratic nominees for state Assembly in LD-33 – Assemblyman Gabe Rodriguez and Larry Wainstein – as well as Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis for sheriff.
” … I urge you all: It’s just as important as if I was running for mayor or running for senator, in fact it’s even more important now that we get out to vote. Nobody should stay home in this election, I need every single one of you because I can’t do it by myself,” Stack added.
The crowd then responded enthusiastically when he asked if he could count on them to get out and vote this election cycle, reminding them that early voting starts on Saturday and runs through November 2nd, with Election Day on November 4th.
“And we know that there are people playing games in this election, it is so important, so important: We’re supporting a candidate because we believe in that candidate. We’re supporting candidates … that will be there for the people,” Stack asserted.
“Won’t show their face on Election Day and then you don’t see them again. That will never happen, I promise you that. You support this ticket, I promise you this ticket will deliver no matter where you live.”
Stack was evidently fired up after his political nemesis from across the boulevard, North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, a Democrat, endorsed Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli and the Hudson County GOP ticket 13 days ago, as HCV first reported.
Another local mayor supporting Sherrill for governor, West New York’s Albio Sires, stated that he did not believe this would sway Democratic voters in the area.
“This is gonna be a close election but we’re gonna make the difference in Hudson County … Some of these other towns who have been Democrats for a thousand years, they want to support the other guy,” Sires stated.
“Let ’em, let ’em because you’re not going to be able to tell all those people that have been Democrats for a thousand years to vote for this guy who is going to make out school systems like the system in Louisiana. That is the most insulting thing that we have heard from this candidate.”
Sacco and his allies, including Commissioner Anthony Vainieri and Allen Pascual, as well as former West New York Mayor Sal Vega, are sticking with Ciattarelli, as he noted in a social media video last week.
“After a serious discussion with Jack [Ciattarelli], I know that he shares our interests and he will defend us and that’s why I crossed party lines and endorsed Jack Ciattarelli. We have to protect our public pensions, we have to freeze our taxes for our seniors, and we need a real partnership in Trenton.”
An aggregate of public polling has Sherrill leading the race by about five points, which is close to most polls margin of error in what is shaping up to be a closely contested bout.
Meanwhile Davis, Rodriguez, and Wainstein are all heavily favored against their Republican counterparts, Elvis Alvarez, Anthony Valdes, and Cindy DePice, though President Donald Trump received roughly 42 percent of the vote in LD-33 last year.
