HCDO endorses Nia Gill to represent parts of Jersey City, Bayonne in Congress

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Several wards in Jersey City and Bayonne are split between the Eighth and 10th Congressional Districts
Published: Thursday, May 31, 2012, 3:01 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

After redistricting, most of Jersey City and Bayonne ended up in the Eighth Congressional District, which Rep. Albio Sires is expected to represent after November’s general election.

But portions on the western edge of both cities remain in the 10th District, which was represented by the late Donald Payne Sr. before his death in March. Six candidates are running in next week’s primary to succeed Payne, including his son, Donald Payne Jr.

Voters in about half of Jersey City’s Ward A will vote in the 10th District, as will the majority of Ward B. Only one Ward B district votes in the Eighth District. A central portion of Ward F and about half of Ward C are in the 10th District, and the rest of those wards are in the Eighth.

In Bayonne, a handful of western districts in Wards 2 and 3 are in the 10th District, while the rest of those districts, and all of Ward 1, are in the Eighth.

Hudson County Board of Elections Clerk Michael Harper said if voters are confused about which congressional district they are in, they should check their sample ballots or call his office at (201) 369-3435, prompt 6.

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State Sen. Brian Stack says he's backing Donald Payne Jr. in congressional primary, not HCDO choice
Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 3:00 AM
By The Jersey Journal

Breaking ranks with the Hudson County Democratic Organization, Union City Mayor and state Sen. Brian P. Stack yesterday endorsed Essex County Freeholder Donald Payne Jr. in his battle for his late father’s congressional seat. The HCDO has endorsed Montclair attorney and state Sen. Nia Gill for 10th Congressional District seat, which opened up when Donald Payne Sr. died from colon cancer on March 6.

“Today, I am proud to offer my support to Donald Payne Jr., as he seeks a seat in Congress,” Stack said in a statement. “I am familiar with Freeholder Payne’s outstanding record of public service and it is my contention that he understands the needs of the residents that he seeks to represent.”

Sen. Stack represents 22 voting districts in the recently apportioned 10th Congressional District.

Several people are running in the June Democratic Party primary for the seat, including Payne Jr., who is also a Newark councilman; Gill; Newark Councilman Ronald C. Rice, and Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith.

The winner of June’s primary is widely expected to win the November election in the heavily Democratic district, which comprises mostly Essex County municipalities, along with a portion of Union County, and some of the western sections of Bayonne and Jersey City.

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HCDO endorses Nia Gill to represent parts of Jersey City, Bayonne in Congress
Published: Tuesday, April 03, 2012, 3:00 AM
Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

In the race to succeed the late congressman Donald Payne, state Sen. Nia Gill of Montclair has received the endorsement of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.

Gill is among at least three prominent New Jersey Democrats seeking to replace Payne, who represented the 10th Congressional District until his death from colon cancer March 6.

Payne’s son, Newark Councilman Donald Payne Jr., Newark councilman Ronald Rice and Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith are also contenders to replace the late congressman.

In a statement, Bayonne Mayor and HCDO chairman Mark Smith, said they were impressed by Nia’s integrity and intelligence.

Gill, a Montclair attorney, said in a statement released yesterday that she is seeking the seat because core Democratic principles are “under attack in Washington.”

“The issues most pressing in the nation are the issues I’ve spent a lifetime fighting for,” she said. “Too often, the jobs that are available in these tough times are going to the best politically connected, rather than the best qualified. I am the best-qualified candidate.”

Gill served four terms in the state Assembly before her election to the state Senate in November 2001.

The winner of June’s primary is widely expected to win the November election in this heavily Democratic district, which comprises mostly Essex County municipalities, along with a portion of Union County, and some of the western sections of Bayonne and Jersey City.

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