Who’s Up This Week in NJ Politics

Albio Sires

The Congressman from West New York put his own Andre the Giant-sized fingerprints on the New Beginnings ticket and it paid off, as Sires acolyte Gabe Rodriguez and the gang swept. The congressman’s longtime close friend, former Senator Bernard Kenny (D-32), whose firm, Florio Kenny Raval, handled the pre-election and Election Day for New Beginnings, said, “We respect Albio Sires. He put it on the line.”

Nick Sacco

Not only did the mayor and 32nd state senator win his own reelection with ease (70%) over a perennial citywide thorn, but Gabe Rodriguez’s victory in West New York enabled the North Hudson boss to build organizational muscle in his own backyard.

Amy DeGise

Remember, Roque had last year backed state Senator Brian P. Stack to chair the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) chairmanship. The utter eradication of the WNY mayor by the New Beginnings Team tonight proved a mopping up exercise that ultimately allows DeGise – a key ally of Governor Phil Murphy – to shine.

Sheena Collum

Scornful of Democratic Party machine politics, the South Orange Village President dealt her opponent a concussive loss (see below) in tonight’s marquee Essex County election. Collum’s victory puts the mayor in a special unbought and unbosssed category in a county partially responsible for the grassroots fervor that powered U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11) to victory last year.

Gabe Rodriguez

Leader of the New Beginnings ticket, the Sires soldier (pictured, above, by InsiderNJ reporter Fred Snowflack) defeated eight-year incumbent Felix Roque to become the next mayor of West New York. In a way, he’s the perfect Hudson machine politician complement to next door neighbor  (and independent progressive) Collum in Essex.

Sue Altman

The new Working Families Alliance director from Camden led a strong action this morning to protest the Economic Development Authority (EDA), and call for the resignations of those members active in the era of Governor Chris Christie who administered tax incentives to the besieged South Jersey dockfront city.

Vin Gopal

The senator from Long Branch publicly endorsed just one of the candidates in Ocean Twp. – Margie Donlon – and the newcomer-challenger was the top vote-getter with 2,678.

Who’s Down This Week in NJ Politics

Felix Roque

He hung on for years but tonight proved the incumbent West New York Mayor’s Waterloo. His team was swept. Well, at least he went out in style.

Larry Wainstein

He generated some street buzz this time and appeared to try to make Sacco work for it, but in the end lost in convincing fashion. That’s 0-2 in as many tries against his phlegmatic opponent.

Deborah Davis Ford

The clerk of the Essex County Freeholder Board went down in defeat (24-76%) tonight at the hands of rising star incumbent Village President Collum (see above).

The EDA Board

The board members sat there and took it this morning, but as noted by energized progressive grassroots leader Altman, they radiated complacency and complicity. still – they haven’t yet resigned, which is what the progressives demanded.

South Orange FMBA Locals 40 and 240

The unions that represent the Village’s firefighters offered their endorsement to Ford in her campaign for Village President, and lost with Ford on Tuesday night.

Andrea Wardrop

The Manville Borough Council canned the administrator yesterday following accusations that she was “targeted for pursuing an investigation into the possible improper payment of benefits to Borough Attorney Frank Linnus.”