BAYONNE – When it comes to recent mayoral elections here, sources point to 1998 as a doozy, when Joe Doria knocked off incumbent Mayor Leonard Kiczek.

When InsiderNJ asked one source why that one stands out, the source said,  “Because it was Doria.”

But it probably doesn’t compare to 2006: Doria v. Municipal Judge Patrick Conaghan.

Conaghan backed turning the oceanfront property in Bayonne into what Doria operative Paul Swibinski dubbed “the mother of all container ports.” This was a jittery, post 9-11 period and Team Doria all but had a plutonium bomb exploding in Bayonne Harbor and Conaghan the prime culprit before the bloodbath was over and Doria won.

Backed by Doria nemesis Assemblyman Tony Chiappone, tough nut Conaghan resurfaced in 2010, losing that time to Doria protégé Mark Smith.