February 11, 2008 - 1:57pm
Stack refuses to attend HCDO unification press conference
By Matt Friedman
Tags: Albio Sires, Tom DeGise, Brian Stack, Nicholas Sacco, Jerramiah Healy, Richard Turner, Tilo Rivas, Maurice Fitzgibbons, Sean Connors, Eliu Rivera
The Hudson County peace agreement was meant to be formalized in Jersey City today, with virtually every major elected official in the county coming together the put the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) together again.
This morning, citing scheduling conflicts among several officials, the HCDO postponed the event to an unspecified time next week. But multiple sources say that the real reason the presser was cancelled was because the most important player – Union City Mayor and State Sen. Brian Stack – refused to attend.
Hudson County Democratic Organization Executive Director Craig Guy said, however, that Stack did not refuse to attend the press conference.
"It was a logistical problem that prevented us from doing it today," he said.
The HCDO has been fractured since Stack broke off to form the Democrats for Hudson County (DFHC) last year, culminating in a bruising legislative primary that split loyalties– with Rep. Albio Sires and Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner joining Stack’s side.
Sires could face a primary challenge from the HCDO if the party remains split, and he and Turner, his state chief of staff, were said to have been pushing this press conference ahead, even if it had to happen without Stack.
Guy said that Stack, Healy and Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise had breakfast this morning and decided not to go forward with the press conference until the entire ticket could be present.
According to a press release, Stack was set to attend the event along with Jersey City Mayor and HCDO Chairman Jerramiah Healy, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, all of the 31st, 32nd and 33rd district legislators and all the Hudson County mayors – even legally-troubled Guttenberg Mayor David Della Donna. Although his name was not included in the press release, Sen. Frank Lautenberg also planned to attend.
At the press conference, the politicians planned to announce the HCDO’s line in the June Democratic primary, headed up by Lautenberg and including Reps. Sires, Steve Rothma, and Donald Payne, who has run afoul of Democratic powerbrokers in neighboring Essex County, including Newark Mayor Cory Booker.
It is unclear exactly why Stack chose not to attend the press conference.
“Turner and Albio (Sires) are running around trying to mend the line. Stack is saying what’s the benefit for him?” said one source.
Two Stack-allied freeholders -- Maurice Fitzgibbons and Tilo Rivas -- were set to be endorsed by the HCDO.
Stack is said to still support the freeholder candidacy of Sean Connors, who ran on the DFHC ticket in the June primary to challenge state Sen. Nicholas Sacco in the 32nd district.
“We had ongoing conversations up until this weekend … From what I know, there is support that’s supposed to be coming from Brian (Stack),” said Connors, who added that he plans to make a run for the seat regardless of who’s behind him.
“Just like anything else, things can change on a daily basis,” he said.
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Love reading about this guy STACK
This guy sounds like a little man with a double entendre name and a great big ego. Love it! He always makes terrific reading!
hmmm... all of a sudden with
hmmm... all of a sudden with only a few hours remaining before a press conference there is an unforeseen scheduling conflict? Sounds a little fishy to me. Maybe the unification is starting to crumble after all.
Mom in Law
You took the words out of my mouth. With the numbers that Stack brought in his senate bid, he could be the new Latino God in Hudson. Just hope he doesn't push spanish as our primary language; ono, dos, trace, agwa, just practicing!
Truth be told
Truth be told, with his 3rd grade reading level and no high school diploma, Stack had a hard time trying to read and understanding the press advisory.
interesting
i'm surprised that none of you tried to knock hudson and all its reps for being corrupt, however, i'm not surprised that one of you hacks had to bring race into the conversation when there was no need for it and in doing so, making a mockery of the spanish language. it's kind of sad that in 2008 and living in a such a diverse place as new jersey, you could still be so ignorant. way to keep it classy, gotv.
Good for Brian
Stack is the new man in Hudson. He's well-liked in his town and is a great charismatic politician. Why should he play second-fiddle?
Brian Stack
I just get a kick out of how his picture is plastered all over the place in Union City like Chairman Mao or Che Guevara.
Pretty funny.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds- Albert Einstein
Screwy Louie and poor reporting
Screwie Louie Manzo and his band of "very merry" men are spinning this story out of proportion. Too bad the facts Matt got from Screwie Louie are basically wrong and his version of what happened. Poor reporting from Friedman...again.
Anonymous Sources
An entire stroy built around anonymous sources when the chairman states that Stack DID NOT refuse to attend the press conference.
Grammar please
How can anyone write like this? "said, said, said?" in two sentences?
"Hudson County Democratic Organization Executive Director Craig Guy said, however, said that Stack did not refuse to attend the press conference.
"It was a logistical problem that prevented us from doing it today," he said."
Poor writing, poor reporting.
Funny
Normally I do not like criticizing grammar when it is done by a poster who is probably rushing to post since they are at work. But it is funny when it is done by an organization purporting to be a credible news source. More importantly, when the story is based solely on anonymous sources, credibility becomes a huge factor. In that case, the grammar screw-up does not help.
Jogging accidents
Maybe Stack couldn't make it due to one those mysterious Hudson County "jogging" mishaps.
A few years back Sal Vega was fished out of the Hudson river by the North Hudson FD.
A few months back Bernie Kenny went to the hospital; suffering from trauma injuries consistent with a motor vehicle vs. pedestrian accident.
Both officials claimed to have been jogging and both were wearing business suits with dress shoes.
Where did all my prior arguments with Lonegan's psychophants disappear to? They accused me of posting here anonymously and I refuted their claims. My reply to their false assertions is missing, the false assertions remain. I gather this is a repugnicant controlled site.
Bill, Say it Ain't So!!!
>>>Maybe Stack couldn't make it due to one those mysterious Hudson County "jogging" mishaps.
A few years back Sal Vega was fished out of the Hudson river by the North Hudson FD.
A few months back Bernie Kenny went to the hospital; suffering from trauma injuries consistent with a motor vehicle vs. pedestrian accident.
Both officials claimed to have been jogging and both were wearing business suits with dress shoes.<<<
Mr Brennan, are you implying that there are elements of the HCDO that are capable of .........being really really mean simply to promote a $elf $erving political agenda???
I am shocked!!!
If these mishaps were anything other than a series of unfortunate coincidences and freak accidents surely Chris Christie would have been "on the case", right?
After all this is 2008; not the era of Frank Hague, right?
Seriously, I'm sure Stack will fall into line and show up for the performance and everyone will be all smiles and hugs for the cameras. What happens when the lights are turned off is anybody's guess.
Ultimately, we get the politics and the government we deserve; most folks have zero idea what goes on...only now that the state is broke and in great debt is a wee bit of attention being paid to where all the billions of dollars have gone......and poor Governor Corzine is stuck between two buzzsaws closing in on him.
On one hand the Republicans want him to be "the next Florio" and the machine Democrats also want him to be "the next Florio".
I wish the good Governor would take a few hours and spend a long lunch talking to folks like you about what's really going on in the trenches.
Keep up the good work Mr Brennan!
From Frederick Douglass
Me too!
Thanks Nick
Most people have no idea how dirty Hudson county truly is. The County Prosecutor (Fast Eddie Defazio) is running a protection racquet for crooked politicians and they are partying like rock stars with the public treasury.
If ANYONE were to look at the insanity of the North Hudson Regional Fire Department or the Hoboken Police department they'd know in an instant that the wheels came off the track a long time ago.
There are criminal elements involved with both agencies and political connections that allow it to continue. The amount of $$$ Whitman threw at that FD without any accountability was a travesty. The amount of $$$$ Corzine let's them continue to squander is a high crime and the loss of life that has occurred (and will occur again) is a sin.
Hoboken's police chief is caught lying about his trip to Louisiana and that made the news.
The fact that he was part owner of a methadone clinic with a sheriff's officer is never discussed, the fact that he is in business with someone on the terrorist watch list keeps getting erased from nj.com.
First we identify the problem, then we work toward the solution. Does anyone agree that Hudson County is a problem?
stack was possibly busy
he's a mayor and a state senator, so Stack has twice as many signs to hang all over town.
when i was in Jersey City interviewing Obama Girl I got lost on the way home back to Cherry Hill. When i called a friend for directions to the highway the advice to me was basically "you'll know you're getting warm when you stop seeing the signs of Brian Stack all over the place."
Governor Corzine: ARE YOU LISTENING!!!???!!!
Mr Bill Brennan, a fellow with a reputation for telling the truth in court is making some very serious allegations on this site, and I quote, "
Most people have no idea how dirty Hudson county truly is. The County Prosecutor (Fast Eddie Defazio) is running a protection racquet for crooked politicians and they are partying like rock stars with the public treasury.
If ANYONE were to look at the insanity of the North Hudson Regional Fire Department or the Hoboken Police department they'd know in an instant that the wheels came off the track a long time ago.
There are criminal elements involved with both agencies and political connections that allow it to continue. The amount of $$$ Whitman threw at that FD without any accountability was a travesty. The amount of $$$$ Corzine let's them continue to squander is a high crime and the loss of life that has occurred (and will occur again) is a sin."
Governor Corzine, I call upon you to order your AG to have good long chat with Mr Brennan.
How credible can any of your efforts to repair our multibillion dollar financial crisis in NJ be if you don't plug the leaks through which some of those billions were lost???
Governor Corzine not only is corruption morally, and legally wrong; but it's a big waste of MONEY that we don't have!!!
Here we have a courageous whistle blower willing to to "spill the beans" re the HCDO, and it seems that your office and the AG's office aren't seriously/thoroughly investigating what he has to say!!!
Why???
From Frederick Douglass