DeGise says Stack opponent will come from Jersey City

A candidate to run against Brian Stack for Hudson County Democratic Chairman will be picked after next week’s municipal elections and will likely come from Jersey City, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise told the New Jersey Globe today.

“We’ll have a candidate right after the Bayonne and Harrison elections,” DeGise said.  “We don’t want to get in their way. And what happens in Bayonne affects the next campaign.”

DeGise pushed back on speculation that Jimmy Davis could emerge as a candidate for county chairman if he’s re-elected on May 8.  He also said that Assemblyman Nicholas Chiaravalloti (D-Bayonne), a Davis ally, would not be a candidate for county chairman.

“For our purposes in trying to beat Brian and Steve (Fulop), Jersey City would seem to be the best choice,” DeGise said.  “It’s wise to take someone from Jersey City.”

But he declined to discuss specific names of candidates.

“It hasn’t been decided yet,” the county executive said.

Jersey City has 362 seats, and the real question in Hudson County is how many of them does Fulop really control.  DeGise comes from Jersey City and had some real support within the party organization there.

Former Jersey City mayor Jerramiah Healy, who was ousted by Fulop in 2013, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for county chairman.  Healy previously held that post.

If former Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell beats Davis in Bayonne next Tuesday, it could cause a seismic shift in the county chairman race.  Bayonne has 102 votes, and while the county committee is controlled by Davis, many of the seats are held by city employees and their families who could flip if a new mayor is about to take office.

A direct mail piece attacking Stack for his support of Republican Gov. Chris Christie in 2013 will be hitting the mailboxes of Democratic County Committee members in Hudson County soon.  The mailer alleges that Stack sabotaged Barbara Buono’s campaign and highlights a recent tweet by Buono calling the Union City Mayor/State Senator a “misogynistic thug.”

Stack and Fulop are leading a charge to replace DeGise as county executive next year, although they have not yet revealed their candidate.

Former Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto is not seeking re-election as county chairman in June to concentrate on his new job as CEO of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.