No Olive Branch — Just a Misguided Campaign: Why North Bergen Stands With Sacco Over the Stack-Guy-Wainstein Axis

(Picture generated with AI illustrating Mayor Brian Stack and Mayor Nick Sacco)

In Hudson County politics, the buzz isn’t just talk — it’s a reflection of what’s actually unfolding on the ground. And the latest developments surrounding the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), Brian Stack, Craig Guy, and Larry Wainstein reveal not a reconciliation or respectful competition, but a blatant power play that disregards community loyalty and proven leadership.

Reports from multiple political outlets confirm that there will be no truce between Brian Stack and Nick Sacco — not a quiet sit-down, not an olive branch. What’s happening instead is a forceful attempt by Stack and HCDO leadership under Craig Guy to reshape political realities in Hudson County, starting with North Bergen. 

At the center of this latest maneuver is Larry Wainstein — a candidate with a striking track record of repeated failure in North Bergen and virtually no grassroots backing in Sacco’s home base. Wainstein has run three times against long-time North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco — and lost all three races soundly. 

What the numbers show is clear:

In 2015, Wainstein earned roughly 35% of the vote against Sacco.  In 2019, he lost by a similarly wide margin, 65% to 35%.  In 2023, Wainstein’s support crept only nominally higher — a 71% to 29% loss. 

These margins aren’t close. They reflect a community that has consistently reaffirmed its confidence in Sacco’s leadership over a challenger tied more to political calculation than local strength.

Yet now, under the direction of Stack and with support from HCDO Chairman Craig Guy, Wainstein was placed on the ballot for the 33rd Legislative District Assembly race — a seat that crosses multiple towns and includes North Bergen. That race became less about public policy and more about inter-machine rivalry when the Stack-Guy ticket backed Wainstein alongside incumbent Gabriel Rodriguez. 

This was cast publicly as a victory for Stack’s influence, not as an endorsement of Wainstein’s capacity to lead North Bergen residents. And the narrative in local reporting bears that out: Wainstein’s win in the June 10, 2025 Democratic primary was widely framed as a proxy battle between Stack’s machine and Sacco’s established community support, not a mandate based on Wainstein’s own record. 

But what this strategic alignment actually reveals is troubling:

1. Outsider Influence Over Local Democracy

Stack’s Union City-centered ground game and turnout operation are powerful forces elsewhere — but they are not organic to North Bergen. Using that machinery to push Wainstein into state office reflects a prioritization of factional advantage over residents’ authentic preferences. 

2. A Candidate With No Winning Record in North Bergen

Wainstein’s repeated defeats signal that North Bergen voters have consistently rebuffed his messages. Instead of learning from those outcomes, Stack and HCDO have doubled down on promoting him — not because he has proven community support, but because of internal political strife with Sacco. 

3. Craig Guy’s Role Is Political, Not Community-Driven

As Hudson County Executive and HCDO Chairman, Craig Guy’s alignment with Stack against Sacco undermines the idea that local leadership should respect historic community trust and established relationships. It turns county politics into a zero-sum game rather than a service to residents.

Contrast this with Nick Sacco — a public servant with decades of consistent support from North Bergen voters and leadership roles stretching back to his first election to the Board of Commissioners in 1985. Sacco has been reelected multiple times as mayor and served in the New Jersey Senate for years, demonstrating sustained confidence from his community. 

For Sacco, loyalty isn’t transactional, and it isn’t a product of machine mobilization. It’s grounded in prolonged service, deep local roots, and a decades-long record that residents have repeatedly endorsed.

This latest escalation — an offensive, not a reconciliation — should matter to every Hudson County voter. Because what’s being advanced here is not simply another campaign: it’s a prioritization of political leverage over community priorities and a reshaping of local politics that sidelines the voices and choices of North Bergen residents in favor of distant political agendas.

If Stack and HCDO truly believed in democratic choice and community reflection, they wouldn’t force a perennial mayoral loser into a prominent state race and proclaim it a victory. They’d let North Bergen speak for itself.

And right now, that voice still belongs to Nick Sacco and the Board of Commissioners who continue to stand with him.