Winners & Losers from the Bergen Chairman’s Battle

DiGaetano (at podium) with his victorious slate on Tuesday evening in Hackensack (via Facebook)

By The Staff | The Save Jersey Blog

What some observers expected would be a close race in the end turned into a tidal wave, Save Jerseyans, as Paul DiGaetano defeated Bob Yudin for the BCRO chairmanship.  The ramifications are still being assessed but here is an early look at the winner/losers from yesterday

WINNERS

DiGaetano (at podium) with his victorious slate on Tuesday evening in Hackensack (via Facebook)
DiGaetano (at podium) with his victorious slate on Tuesday evening in Hackensack (via Facebook)

Paul DiGaetano

This one goes without saying, but the former Assemblyman has taken the reins of the Republican party in the largest county in the state. It’s no small accomplishment even for a seasoned, veteran politician like Paul DiGaetano. He nevertheless has a tall order ahead of him and there is little if any money left in the BCRO’s coffers. The task ahead is daunting, but after garnering 66% of the vote this week over the incumbent, the former GOP Majority Leader finds himself firmly in the driver’s seat. Can he do what his immediate predecessors haven’t been able to come close to doing: unite Bergen Republicans?

The “Italian 3”

They weathered a hyper-personal assault from the incumbent despite serving as some of Bob Yudin’s major party donors and advisers for a numbers of years, but when the dust settled on Tuesday night, State Committeeman Ben Focarino, Hackensack Mayor Jack Zisa, and District 37 Chairman Tom Toscano ended up on the winning side.

Chuck Shotmeyer

Shotmeyer, a highly respected GOP money-man and businessman, went all-in for DiGaetano and will play an integral role in raising funds for the BCRO going forward.  His ability to raise funds for the organization could go a long way in determining whether the DiGaetano-led organization improves its electoral fortunes. Most agree that Shotmeyer’s track record provides reason for optimism.

The Young Republicans

DiGaetano made a point of incorporating the highly-active county Young Republicans into his fold after the incumbent personally attacked BCYR Matt Gilson in the first paragraph of his final pre-election e-mail to the committee and, back before the primary, bounced Gilson and State YR Chair Brendan Quinones from the organization’s ballot column.  Quinones (who was elected Deputy Vice-Chair), Gilson, and veteran GOP operatives Carlo Ghione and Dan Eller played a vital role in the campaign effort and will be significant contributors to whatever happens going forward.

The BCRO

Perhaps the biggest winner was the BCRO.  While the committee clearly thought DiGaetano was the right choice, his margin of victory left little doubt as to the direction the party wanted to take.  A razor-thin margin by either side would have left a fractured organization even more fractured. Objectively, the scope of the victory should (fingers crossed) make it easier to mend old wounds and move forward constructively.

Holly Schepisi

The only GOP legislator representing portions of Bergen Count to not back the losing side, Schepisi puts herself in prime position to move up to the Senate if/when State Senator Gerry Cardinale, Yudin’s oldest and most influential ally, does not seek re-election. Schepisi gains a clear leg up on Assemblyman Auth, who’s tight with both Cardinale and Yudin, and may even get to select a new running mate or two in 2017 depending on how things shake out.

LOSERS

Bob Yudin

Many detractors and a few sympathizers had suggested that Yudin, who is in his 70’s, should simply have stepped aside following the losses in 2014 and 2015 and worked to hand-pick a successor who would be an ally to Cardinale but more acceptable to the committee. Instead, Yudin decided to fight and, in the process, went down in a decisive defeat. He deserves credit for being willing to fight (if nothing else), but if we’re judging by the criteria of what was politically appropriate, the former chairman didn’t play the game well in his final months as head of the BCRO.

Gerry Cardinale

Senator Cardinale was all-in for Bob Yudin.  Yudin was counting on Cardinale to run up the numbers in District 39, but the influence of the senator is clearly not what it used to be.  Between the outright defection of District 39 Chairman Mike Ryan to the DiGaetano slate and Schepisi refusing to get behind Yudin, the numbers were nowhere what they would have needed to be what some estimate was as high as 90% of the vote for DiGaetano in the towns he formerly represented in District 36. Cardinale remains a force in LD39 but anyone pretending he isn’t somewhat diminished following this loss isn’t being honest.

Bob Auth

The mustachioed Assemblyman from District 39 was hand-picked by Cardinale and remains his close ally.  Already a somewhat controversial figure to the county committee, Auth’s ardent backing of Yudin makes it virtually a shoo-in he will not be the next senator from the district if Cardinale retires under Paul DiGaetano’s watch. Arguably, Auth’s own chances at re-nomination to the Assembly could be in jeopardy. We’ll keep an eye on it.

Kevin Rooney

Mayor Kevin Rooney of Wyckoff, Yudin’s adopted hometown, was an ardent opponent of Bob’s wife, Susan Yudin, and even helped recruit an ultimately successful independent challenger to her candidacy for Wyckoff committee and, immediately afterwards, announced he was challenging Yudin.  Rooney later dropped out endorsing Yudin and joining his slate after what DiGaetano alleged was a “backroom deal” where Yudin endorsed him for Assembly in District 40.  It seems significantly less likely that Rooney will get the line Bergen next year after backing the losing candidate but there’s still a lot of ballgame left to play. 

The Democrats

The chance for a fresh, united start in BCRO World is obviously bad news – or at least potentially bad news – for the county’s dominant Democrat establishment. Republicans have a new chair, new energy, and a chance to really go after Democrats as a united front. Assuming things get better and everyone unites (always an IF!), the Democrats will no longer get a free pass at the county races. That’d be a good thing for Republicans in all 21 counties.

_____

admin
About admin 1753 Articles
SAVE JERSEY supplies its readers with news, analysis and commentary from guest contributors as well as some of the Internet's best political content providers on a daily basis.