State Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack’s legislative running mates, Assembly Majority Whip Raj Mukherji and Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro, are joining the brigade of Hudson County officials who won’t support County Executive Tom DeGise’s re-election.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“County Executive Tom DeGise enjoys a distinguished and admirable record of public service, but it’s time for a change,†the two state legislators said in a statement.
“We join Mayor and Senator Stack and Mayors Fulop, Bhalla, and Roque in seeking to usher in a new era of leadership in New Jersey’s most densely populated county, which has the potential to be the economic engine of the region.â€
Their announcement is no surprise, given that they have both run on Stack’s ticket multiple times, three times for Mukherji and twice for Chaparro, and their district includes the Jersey City Heights, Hoboken and Weehawken.
In the midst of today’s nor’easter, Stack and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop created a snowball effect among Hudson politicos by announcing they would not back DeGise for another term.
They have since been joined by Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and West New York Mayor Felix Roque.
While things appear to be getting worse before they get better for the former Jersey City Council president, DeGise has already announced he will continue his re-election bid.
Jersey City Freeholder Bill O’Dea (D-2) has been heavily rumored as DeGise’s opponent for the June 2019 primary, though state Senator Sandra Cunningham (D-31) and Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado also remain in the conversation for now.