As Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis fights for his political life in Tuesday's municipal contest in Peninsula City, two of Davis' counterparts in northern Hudson County do not even have to break a sweat on the campaign trail.
Brian Stack, the mayor of Union City, and Richard Turner, the mayor of Weehawken, are each running unopposed Tuesday, as are their slates of commissioner candidates. This is the fourth straight time Turner has had zero opposition. Stack last faced a challenger in 2010.
Turner's explanation for why he so infrequently faces a challenger echoes the theme song to the 2014 cartoon flick "The Lego Movie:" everything is awesome.
Turner, 68, touts real-estate development on Weehawken's waterfront that has not created the kind of new resident vs. old resident conflict seen in places like Jersey City; a long-delayed property revaluation that has ended without a taxpayer revolt; and one of the lowest violent crime rates in the county.
The mayor also notes how long he's been at this. He became mayor in 1990, making him the second longest serving mayor in the county, behind East Newark's Joseph Smith. Turner has faced a challenger just one time, in 2002, when he won by more than a 3-to-1 margin.
"Experience does count for something," Turner told The Jersey Journal during an interview last week.
After Tuesday's election, Turner will start his eighth term. Stack, who is seeking his fifth full term, became mayor in 2000 to replace Rudy Garcia. Stack did not respond to requests to sit for an interview with The Jersey Journal.
Both mayors are powerful Democrats — Stack is also a state senator, Turner is an aide to U.S. Rep. Albio Sires Jr. — in municipalities where Republicans are vastly outnumbered. Union City has 30,501 registered voters and 70 percent are Democrats. Weehawken's 8,832 voters include 4,524 Democrats and 1,084 Republicans. 3,161 voters are unaffiliated.
The municipal races are non-partisan. Voters do not elect mayors, they elect a slate of commissioners who then appoint a mayor. On Stack's ticket are Wendy Grullon and incumbents Lucio P. Fernandez, Maryury A. Martinetti and Celin Valdivia. Running with Turner are David J. Curtis, Raul I. Gonzalez and incumbents Rosemary Lavagnino and Carmela Silvestri-Ehret.
Turnout for local races in both municipalities is abysmal. Turner needed just 2,680 votes to win the 2002 election. When Stack had a challenger in 2010, he won 10,941 votes.
Matt Hale, who teaches political science at Seton Hall University, said he doubts that regular uncontested elections in Union City and Weehawken mean residents there are "deeply in love with the way things are."
"But changing things through elections seems so daunting and overwhelming to most people and things are not so bad they are willing to go through the effort," Hale said. "The majority of people in New Jersey can't name the governor. So part of the reason no one is running against the slate is most folks don't know there is an election let alone a slate."
Turner does not entirely dismiss this argument.
"It may be a little bit complacency," he said, adding, "If my reval resulted in a 15, 20 percent tax increase, people would've run. If the crime was out of control, people would've run."
Frank R. Scarafile is one of the few people who have challenged Stack. The superintendent of Little Ferry schools, Scarafile, 59, said opposition to Stack exists in Union City but it cannot compete with a mayor who is famous for racking up big vote totals even when he has no competition (Stack won almost as many votes in 2014 when he ran unopposed as he did in 2010 when Scarafile ran against him).
"You can't even get your message out because it'll get slaughtered in the amount of signs, in the amount of literature they send, in the amount of doors they knock on," he said. "It's not sour grapes. I have to give him credit, he's built a pretty insurmountable machine."
In a statement from his a spokesman, Stack said, "My continued public service is not related to machine politics. Contrarily, the hallmark of my administration has been rooted in being responsive to the needs of local residents on a constant basis. I think the tireless commitment and work ethic of our administration is evident. This isn't easy work, but it is rewarding to see continued progress."
The elections are Tuesday. Polls open at 6 a.m.
Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.