Hudson County Facts

After the death of Glenn Cunningham, Sandra Cunningham lobbied to be appointed to fill his State Senate seat. The Hudson County Democratic Organization bluntly refused, giving the position instead to Joe Doria, a fervent opponent of Glenn Cunningham.

As a consolation prize, the HCDO promised to support Sandra Cunningham for the State Assembly. A Cunningham confidant, arguing that an Assembly seat was “nothing” (the brief two-year term forces the holder to be constantly at the beck and call of the County Organization), urged Sandra to turn down the offer and to hold out for — at the very least — the State Senate seat. A member of the upper house has a 4-year cushion to develop their own power.

Matters appeared to end there. Out of sight, political seismic plates still continued to collide, with some social earthquake engendering a paradigm shifting tsunami as an ever-present possibility. The 2006 Kean – Menendez US Senate race seemed to announce the cataclysm’s due date.

The Democrats well-understood that Sandra Cunningham could be a one-woman weapon of mass destruction against the Menendez campaign. The widow Cunningham’s influence could be leveraged and so would easily extend far beyond Hudson County. By traveling throughout New Jersey communicating the racial overtones of the vicious Glenn Cunningham – Robert Menendez feud, Sandra Cunningham could vaporize the Menendez campaign. Public appearances by the photogenic and articulate Sandra would be sure to receive intense media coverage. At the very least, African-American voters state-wide would reject Menendez. The County Organizations and prominent figures would shun a damaged goods Bob Menendez. Donations and volunteer efforts would be hurt, too.

Menendez backers could only imagine that the Kean campaign was making every effort to develop this opportunity. After all, Bobby Jackson, one of Glenn Cunningham’s most prominent supporters — and far from friendly with Bob Menendez, had backed the elder Tom Kean’s run for governor. And, with the Republicans firmly in control of DC, high-profile posts in the Federal machinery and plum embassy assignments were just sitting there on the shelf. These are just some examples of the inducements that the Kean group had at their disposal. Basically the best the Democrats had to offer was what now looked like a somewhat shopworn seat in the NJ State Legislature.

Initially, Sandra Cunningham was in communication with both camps.

Mrs. Cunningham met with the architects of the Kean campaign to discuss her backing the Republican effort. To travel throughout New Jersey working to put young Tom Kean in the US Capitol, Cunningham required a meal allowance and the use of a car. The Kean people, cerebral anatomy apparently modded by lobotomy or thorazine, said no to these very reasonable and modest requests. The Kean group seemingly had already decided that reaching out to the Stars and Bars pickup truck crowd with Know Nothing anti-immigrant mutterings (which presumably had polled well in Sussex) was the way to go. With this cap gun in their holster, the Kean campaign saw no need for an atomic bomb.

After a terse and insightful comment, Sandra Cunningham got up and walked out of the meeting.

The Democrats maintained what they saw as an increasingly desperate attempt to change Sandra Cunningham’s mind. The Menendez group, not knowing that they were the only game in town, continued to bid against themselves. Achieving success, from their perspective against all odds, the Democrats collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Menendez’s people gave themselves a pat on the back for what they could only see as a job well done.