Counting Down the Rest of the Way

We continue with an overview of the races:

Ward 4: Chuck DiPerri is unopposed in his bid to replace outgoing Alderman John Ragucci. John is a much beloved political figure who is stepping down after 20+ years to spend more time with his family. Chuck is a well-respected and well known member of the Common Council, having served fourteen years, and two terms as President. Chuck also served on the Board of Assessors prior to being elected to the Common Council and brings significant knowledge of the tax/assessing side of government, as well as zoning law. We wish him the best of luck in his new role in city government.

Ward 5: This is one of the most interesting races in the city, with 2-term Ward 5 Alderman Robert Van Campen being challenged by Cathi Gover, a 5-term member of the Common Council. This is considered to be a fairly even match up on an intellectual level, given that both are considered educated and articulate. The key differences between the two are philosophical. Van Campen has developed a reputation for "going up against" the Mayor, though by his own admission, he votes with the Mayor 90% of the time. Ironically, one of the few times Van Campen went against the Mayor was on the subject of the Superintendent and the overspending of the School Department -- a subject on which Gover stood firm both on the recommendation to suspend the superintendent and the maintenance director and to hold the school department accountable for overspending their budget year after year. Both candidates are known allies of opposite camps -- Van Campen with Hanlon and Gover with Ragucci, and each with the benefits and baggage that those associations bring. This is definitely a race to watch and will, we think, prove to be a very close finish.

Ward 6: This is another "is there a race going on?" campaign. Ward 6 incumbent Joseph McGonagle is being challenged by Robert Dunn who, while possessing a "political name," hasn't done any campaigning either in the ward or across the city. It would be hard at this point for Mr. Dunn to get any traction on Joe McGonagle, who is quite well-known and runs a business in the city.

18 Days and Counting

With just 18 days to go, it's coming down to the wire for the local races that will be decided on November 8. Here's a brief look at the races for the Board of Aldermen. In this post, we'll be looking at the At Large race as well as the races for Wards 1-3.

Alderman at Large: An unlikely competition emerged in the September Primary, leaving incumbent Carlo DeMaria facing long time Ward One Common Council member Wayne Matewsky battling for this spot in November. DeMaria and Matewsky bested Peter Napolitano in the Primary, and Napolitano is now running on a sticker campaign to retain his Common Council seat in Ward One.

This is an interesting race, if for no other reason than very few people gave Matewsky a shot at clearing the primary, and now it seems that he actually has a pretty decent chance of unseating DeMaria. In spite of Wayne's idiosyncracies, no one can take away his ability to hustle for a vote. DeMaria's alliance with Marchese during the Primary seems to have hurt his credibility in his own race, so this will be an interesting one to watch.

Ward One: Frank Nuzzo is running unopposed again. Frank has served on the Board for 20+ yearsand has shown himself to be steady and even-handed in his tenure representing Ward One. His only real competition over the years has been Peter Napolitano who, as we stated above, tried in September for a bid at the Alderman at Large seat, only to come in third to Carlo DeMaria and Wayne Matewsky. Peter is now running for the Common Council on a sticker campaign.

Ward Two: Jason Marcus and Tina Ovalle. This could've been an interesting race -- Marcus as a long standing self-proclaimed "man of the people" against a well educated, well spoken woman running for the first time. Ovalle seemed to come strong out of the gate but fizzled quickly and has really done very little to distinguish herself as a viable candidate. This was a mistake if she had serious designs on the seat, going up against someone like Jason Marcus, who has developed a sort of "lovable idiot" persona that endears him to people. For sure, Jason will retain his seat for another two years.

Ward Three: Stephen Stat Smith and Kevin McCarthy. Is there even a race going on here? There've been a smattering of McCarthy signs popping up here and there, but neither candidate seems to be putting much effort into this race. After such a strong showing in the State Rep's race last year, this seat should be Smith's for the taking, but unless he starts showing people that he really wants it, McCarthy could pull the rug right out from under him simply by virtue of his last name. That would be a shame, because many people believe that McCarthy only got into the race at the urging of his good friend Mike Marchese.

In our next posting, we will look at the races in Ward 4, 5 & 6.