Venezia rejects claims of progressive takeover in Bloomfield

Assemblyman Michael Venezia (D-Bloomfield) is dismissing suggestions that the loss of a Bloomfield council seat to a progressive-backed candidate signals a broader rejection of the local Democratic establishment.

Bloomfield has been trending leftward in recent years, and the latest primary became a proxy battle between competing wings of the Democratic Party. Gov. Mikie Sherrill and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker backed the organization slate, while U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) endorsed the progressive ticket.

Mejia carried Bloomfield with 44% of the vote in the February special Democratic congressional primary in New Jersey’s 11th district.  The second-place candidate received 19% of the vote in an 11-candidate field.

Venezia, a former mayor who now serves as the township Democratic chairman, has faced his own political challenges. Last year, former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks came within 863 votes of unseating him in an Assembly primary. And last month, Frank Velez III—another former political rival—won the Belleville mayoralty with 60% of the vote, defeating an incumbent Venezia had supported.

Even so, Venezia was quick to dismiss the notion that the latest election represented a setback for Mayor Jenny Mundell or the local Democratic organization.

“The mayor has a 5-2 majority right now, and she’ll have a 5-2 majority in January,” said Venezia.  “The current 2nd Ward councilman was against the mayor, and now the new councilman is going to be against the mayor.”

Two incumbents he backed, Rosalee Gonzalez and Sarah Crus, won by 12 and 16 points, respectively.

Venezia also noted that no incumbent was on the ballot in the Ward 2 race.

“It was an open seat; it was an uphill battle,” Venezia stated. “There were some local issues that played into it, and the person backed by the organization lost.”

While Venezia acknowledged that the organization’s preferred candidate, Jason Martinez, was defeated by 228 votes—a 10-point margin—he argued that the broader results favored the organization.

“The organization picked up 3 more county committee seats, so as chair, I had a 51-19 majority, and now,” he said.  “I have a 54-16 majority, so it wasn’t clearly progressive coming out against the party and against the organization; the organization won overall.”

Venezia may be safe as the municipal chairman, but he still needs to repair a fractured relationship with his running mate, State Sen. Britnee Timberlake (D-East Orange).  Timberlake endorsed the rival slate in the recent primary.