Hackett Poised to Win a Third Term As Mayor
By STEVE KORNACKI
PoliticsNJ.com
May 5 - They have the makings of a pretty interesting mayor's race in
With Mims Hackett, a two-term incumbent who doubles as an assemblyman from the
27th District, being challenged by Betty Brown, the woman he bested in the last
mayor's contest, there is a definite revenge
subplot.
And the revenge theme actually extends to competitive environment of Essex
County Democratic politics: Hackett stood with Thomas P. Giblin in the
Democratic primary for county executive two years ago, while Brown backed
Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr., who won that race.
DiVincenzo's victory enabled Brown to take control of
When Brown, who currently holds a county position, launched her mayoral
campaign this year, many observers believed she would be aided by DiVincenzo's
political organization, and that the county executive would repay his old ally
by helping her win the city's top post.
But less than a week before voters from the 32,000-resident township just
outside
"There's not much going on, which is good news for Hackett," said one
Democratic operative familiar with
While next Tuesday's vote is technically a non-partisan election, the
nomenclature really doesn't make a difference: Democrats outnumber Republican
by a 13-to-one margin in
Not only does the apparent voter apathy -- in recent statewide elections,
Orange had the lowest voter turnout rate of the twelve municipalities in the
27th Legislative District -- work in Hackett's favor, but he is also aided by
having two opponents, which could split up whatever anti-incumbent sentiment
exists.
The third candidate is Roger Monel, an aide to a former
The problem for Brown appears to be that the money and muscle she was counting
on to carry her campaign has simply never materialized.
For instance, when she ran in 2000, several key players, including attorney
Michael Critchley, a Democratic donor, aided her in her fund-raising.
This time around, the money isn't there.
Brown reported a balance of about $6,500 in her last ELEC report, which was
filed three weeks ago. At the time, she had raised just over $16,000
during the entire campaign.
Meanwhile, thanks to his incumbency and legislative position, Hackett has
amassed a formidable war chest: The mayor reported having more than $56,000 in
his account last month, and raising more than $300,000
since the last election.
The other piece of the puzzle Brown may have been banking on was DiVincenzo and
his political operation.
But the county executive, according to numerous Democrats at the city and
county level, has kept his distance from Brown, and even tried to talk her out
of running.
Party insiders say there are two reasons DiVincenzo hasn't embraced the woman
who organized
'This time, she thought she had Joe D., but I think he went south on her,"
explained one Essex County Democrat. "I don't think he even
wanted her to run, because he wants to keep peace with Codey and others."
Hackett said he hasn't seen any signs that DiVincenzo has taken a role in the
race. In fact, he said, the county executive actually sought him out
early in the campaign to distance himself from Brown.
"He said, 'I has nothing to do with Betty
running,' recalled Hackett. "I said, 'Yeah. OK.' I just
didn't want to get into any of that."
Without big money or DiVincenzo's help, Brown is left with just two weapons for
her campaign, each of questionable value: her chairmanship of the city's
Democratic committee and her favored ballot position (Brown won the A-1 spot,
with Hackett in the A-2 position).
She became chairman of the Democratic committee after candidates running on
DiVincenzo's slate triumphed in the '02 primary. That prompted Hackett,
who was chairman at the time and aligned with Giblin, not to seek another term
as party chief.
But Hackett predicted Brown wouldn't get much benefit from her own organization
in this year's race.
"I think it's falling apart...She didn't even get elected to the county
committee...She lost her district by a two-to-one margin. She was chosen
to be the chair, after she supported the DiVincenzo slate," the mayor
said.
Brown's A-1 ballot position may not help her much either; there are no big-name
races on the ballot that might draw marginal voters to her column.
Hackett said he expects to win as many votes as his two opponents combined, and
credited his standing to the work he's done balancing the city's books and
encouraging redevelopment.
"There's just so much going on within the city, positively," he
said. "So the issues we are well out in front on, so they can't
campaign on those."
Among observers, though, the consensus is that all of the candidates have run
unimpressive campaigns.
"It's a battle of attrition," said a Democratic strategist who knows
the city well. "Whoever wins wins by accident."
If Hackett does hold on, chalk it up to his good fortune in having two
opponents and no organized opposition from DiVincenzo, according to one
Democrat: "He's the luckiest guy alive. He trips and he falls into
butter. That's the kind of guy he is."
Steve Kornacki can be reached at kornackinj@aol.com