There it was: Senator Nick Scutari (D-22) versus Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr for the Union County Democratic Committee chairmanship, and zapped with charges that the senator from Linden wants to deny a woman a leadership position, Scutari allies noted that the late Charlotte DeFilippo of Hillside ruled Union for nearly two decades.

From 1995 to 2013, DeFilippo made the significant decisions about the direction of the party from the dining room of a home situated in the neighborhood across from the graveyard that contains the remains of Stephen Crane.

It wasn’t Lesniak.

It wasn’t Cryan.

Or Scutari.

“It was Charlotte,” a source insisted to InsiderNJ.

She cracked the whip and those guys all jumped, the source insisted.

“She was a strong chair,” the source added.

An African American man, Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-22), succeeded her.

And another woman, Kathy Brock, preceded her.

Why should Scutari be penalized because he’s a white dude, the source wanted to know. Other counties can chafe and rail about lack of opportunities for women, but women ran the show for the party in Union for a significant period of time, the source argued.

On  Wednesday, Democratic leaders in Union will convene for the purpose of scheduling a convention to choose between Scutari and Mahr.