2007 NJ 33rd Legislative District State Senate Dem Primary

The 2007 33 Legislative District Senate primary, a contest between Assemblyman/Union city Mayor Brian Stack and Assemblyman/West New York Mayor Sal Vega was one of the main fronts in the 2007 Hudson County Organization civil war, and the only front to see the dissidents win over the county Party.

Sparked by the desire by Assemblymen Brian Stack (D-Union City) to expand his political power over the existing county party bosses—specifically Bernard Kenny—the 33rd district Primary expanded into an all out war for control of the HCDO that forced not just Kenny and but Sen. Joe Doria, Assm. Louis Manzo, & Sherriff Joseph "Butchie" Cassidy into retirement.

Refusing to compete against the upstart, Kenny—through his control of the HCDO Democratic ballot line as chairman of the HCDO—endorsed party loyalist West New York Mayor/Assemblyman Sal Vega in an attempt to prevent Brian Stack from becoming State Senator, retiring and backing the Cuban-American Assemblyman for his senate seat

At the beggining of the war, Sal Vega was running with and supporting support Brian Stack as one of his assembly running mates, however he did not file paperwork and Stack—due to this delay—kicked him off his line, choosing both Ruben J. Ramos Jr of Hoboken and Claridad Rodriguez of West New York as his running mates.

Beyond this interpersonal war, both Brian Stack and Sal Vega were not politically dissimmilar, being old political allies in Hudson county—especially after Stack became mayor—with Sal Vega once endorsing Stack for the State Senate on video; something which Stack turned into an ad.

In this sense, both candidates saw fit to draw a contrast by attacking the political credibility and integrity of the other. Here, Vega attacked Stack over a subpoena issued by federal authorities investigating a state grant that went to a day care center run by his estranged wife,

where Stack attacked Vega—Cuban himself—for preventing the Cuban Day parade from passing through Hudson county over it 'not adequately reflecting the suffering of the Cuban peoples; but which critics charged was an attempt to not appear next to Stack on camera

Vega likewise attacked Stack over claims that he had 'harrassed' Union City Workers into donating to his campaign—in addition to Stack's sketchy asking for supporters to take out loans in order to support said campaign. Stack countered by claiming that Vega was a creature of the Hudson political machine 'without a mind of his own'

In the end however, Stack—the workaholic popular Union City mayor—won, with his organization working to provide him with a +53% off-the-line victory over the Hudson County Democratic organization & Sal Vega; which, along with his assembly running mates, were the only off-the-line legislative/countywide victories in Hudson county in 2007.

2007 NJ 33rd Legislative District State Senate Dem Primary

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