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<font face=arial size=2>: County slate selected</font> <font face=arial size=2>: Democrats face off in primary battles</font> <font face=arial size=2>: </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Al Sullivan</font> <font face=arial size=2>: Reporter senior staff writer </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Hudson Reporter</font> <font face=arial size=2>: April 14, 2002 </font> <font face=arial size=2>: </font> <font face=arial size=2>: WHO IS THE REFORM DEMOCRAT, ANYWAY? Eliu Rivera was supposed to be the Reform Democrat candidate for Freeholder District 5. But Gerry McCann also filed, bringing confusion and a possible three-way race in the primary. His status as a candidate has been ch</font> <font face=arial size=2>: </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Although rumors hinted former Jersey City Mayor Gerry McCann would run for a position in this year's countywide elections, his turning up as the third candidate in the District 4 Democratic primary race for freeholder has added another twist to a heated political season. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Because McCann may have submitted his nominating petitions late, his position on the ballot has been challenged by incumbent freeholder Nidia Davila-Colon. If allowed to run, McCann turns District 4 into a three-way race, pitting him not only against Davila-Colon, but also Eliu Rivera, supposedly someone he had previously supported. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Davila-Colon said McCann's entry into the race - if it survives the challenge - will not affect the way she campaigns, she said. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: "I'm going to work as hard as I always do," she said. "I believe people will recognize my abilities and re-elect me." </font> <font face=arial size=2>: McCann, who was forced to step down as Jersey City mayor after a 1991 conviction on questionable financial practices while not in office, said he has nothing against either of his opponents. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: "I ran on the ticket in 1985 that made Nidia a freeholder," McCann said, commenting on his sudden entry into the race. "I like Nidia and Eliu. This isn't a philosophical issue. I'm doing this because I don't like the way the county has been run in the past, and I want to do something about it. I'm not even against [Congressman Robert] Menendez (D-13th Dist.) But I don't think anyone should run everything in this county. Menendez and [former County Executive Robert Janiszewski] are peas in a pod, and we need to get away from that." </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Janiszewski resigned last September as the result of a federal investigation, although no charges have been filed against anyone connected to the situation. This year's election also has candidates for county executive running to fill the one year left in Janiszewski's four-year term, along with the regular three-year terms for the rest of the freeholders. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: McCann and Rivera both filed as part of a ticket called the Hudson County Reform Democratic Organization, backed by Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Along with the question of whether McCann will be able to run at all, is which candidate will have the Reform Democrat designation. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: "But it's only a designation," McCann said. "It doesn't really matter if I have it or not." </font> <font face=arial size=2>: The Reform Democratic ticket is seen as a rival faction challenging the Hudson County Democratic Organization led by Congressman Menendez. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: This ticket pits Jersey City Deputy Police Director Edgar Martinez against Menendez for the congressional seat and County Executive Bernard Hartnett Jr. against former Jersey City Council President Tom DeGise for county executive. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: While Menendez and the Hudson County Democrats filed a full slate of nine candidates for the freeholder slots, the Reform Democrats filed only seven. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Freeholders Brian Stack of Union City (District 6) and Albert Cifelli of Kearny (District 9) are running unopposed. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Incumbent Freeholders William O'Dea (District 2) and William Braker (District 3) of Jersey City are running as Reform Democrats. They are opposed by Jersey City Councilman Peter Brennan and Melissa Holloway of Jersey City. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: Incumbent freeholders Barry Dugan of Bayonne (District 1), Maurice Fitzgibbons of Hoboken (Dist. 5), Sal Vega of West New York (Dist. 7), and Thomas Liggio of North Bergen (Dist. 8), running as Hudson County Democrats, are opposed respectively by Reform Democrats Gerald Mattaliano of Bayonne, Carrie Gilliard of Hoboken, Jesus Vega of West New York and Russell Pascale Jr. of North Bergen. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: District 1 also has independent Democrats Dennis Wilbeck and Anthony San Philip, both of Bayonne. Thomas Murphy of Jersey City has filed as an independent Democrat in District 5 against Fitzgibbons and Gilliard. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: In the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli is running unopposed. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: In the 9th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Steve Rothman, representing Secaucus and parts of North Bergen and Jersey City, is also unopposed. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: In the 10th District, Democratic Rep. Donald Payne, who represents part of Jersey City, is being challenged by the Rev. Edward Allen of Jersey City and Edmund Proctor of Elizabeth. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: The Hudson County Republican Organization also has filed a full slate of candidates, but none has been challenged in the primary. In heavily Democratic Hudson, it's usually the Democratic primary races that draw heated contests. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: The general elections will be held in November. </font> <font face=arial size=2>: </font>

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