Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Rutherford mayor isn’t your typical Dem versus Dem battle. It’s a Republican-turned-Democrat versus Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Democrat battle.

The two opponents, incumbent council members Stephanie McGowan and Frank Nunziato, are vying to succeed Mayor Joe DeSalvo Jr. — another Republican who became a Democrat, in February.

The party-switching, not uncommon in Bergen County, has emerged as a key attack line for both candidates. McGowan says Nunziato’s party changing shows he is more interested in his political career than serving borough residents. Nunziato calls that allegation hooey.

“This whole thing is a joke because my opponent has been a lifelong Republican,” he said.

McGowan, 46, voted in Republican primaries stretching back to 1996, then voted in her first Democratic primary in 2014, according to her voter history. That's the year she won election to the Borough Council as a Democrat. She is currently the council president.

McGowan said she initially registered with the GOP because she considered herself fiscally conservative and had not considered a host of other issues that she said would have put her in the Democratic Party camp.

“I found myself in this very bizarre place that, not being a politically savvy person, I didn’t really understand where I belonged,” said McGowan, who ran for mayor in 2015 and lost to DeSalvo.

Nunziato, 53, joined the council as a Democrat in 2012, won re-election in 2015 as a Republican and won a third term last year as a Democrat. He said he became a Republican only because of a feud with local Democratic leaders and argued that voters in Rutherford don’t care about political affiliation.

Democrats have had a streak of success in this borough of 18,622 residents. They have swept the last three council races, control all six council seats and have a significant registration edge over Republicans. Of the 11,404 registered voters, 4,435 are Democrat and 2,487 are Republican. There are 4,398 unaffiliated voters.

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But a Democrat hasn’t been elected mayor since 2003, when Bernadette McPherson won her second term. Four years later, Republicans swept into power because of voter anger over rising taxes and the troubled EnCap project. The GOP held the mayor’s seat from 2008 until February, when DeSalvo became a Democrat.

Highlights

McGowan, dean of the School of Education at Felician University, said a key accomplishment during her council tenure was making the Memorial Park playground accessible to everyone. The mother of twins with special needs, McGowan said the playground’s creation was “bigger than building a park.”

“To me it was putting a real stake in the ground,” she said. “Not just saying we’re an accessible community, not just talking about being an inclusive community, but living it.”

Nunziato also cited parks as an achievement, saying he and the council have worked to improve the conditions of borough fields.

“It is through these improvements of facilities and the introduction of programs such as Top Dawgs and Basketball Dawgs that Rutherford has become a place that all children and families can feel welcome and comfortable to participate in,” he said.

McGowan, who has the support of the local Democratic Party, has a major cash advantage, campaign documents show. She had received $13,617 in campaign donations as of May 24, with her two largest donations coming from the New Jersey Democratic State Committee and an electrical workers union. Each gave her $2,600. Nunziato reported raising $1,000.

Republican content

There are two Republicans seeking their party's nomination for mayor, former pizzeria owner John Grande and Hoboken police officer Marc Marsi. Grande made unsuccessful bids for mayor in 2011 and council in 2013 and 2014. Marsi previously ran unsuccessfully for a state Assembly seat in the 36th District.

Grande referred to Rutherford as a town with “full-time problems and part-time mayors.” He set himself apart from other candidates by proclaiming a dedication to green issues, saying he would save money for the borough by replacing all fluorescent bulbs in municipal buildings with LED lighting.

He also said he opposes Felician’s plan for a new, 1,100-seat athletic center that has angered some of the university’s neighbors. The plan awaits approval by the Planning Board. Grande said he would use the mayor’s power of appointment to bring “balance” to that board, which he says is populated by too many borough employees.

Marsi said he doesn't think the borough realizes how difficult crowd control would be for a 1,100-seat gym.

“I’m not saying I would completely shoot down the idea,” Marsi said, “but I think there needs to be another voice that can help them understand potential problems that aren’t in a traffic analysis or an engineering report.”

Both Republicans agreed they would renovate the county-owned William Carlos Williams Center, with Grande saying he would seek county funds for the project. An August 2017 assessment by EverGreene Architectural Arts put the cost at $1.76 million.

There are two council seats also up for grabs in November. Democratic incumbents Mark Goldsack and Thomas Mullahey are running unopposed in Tuesday’s primary. Republican council hopefuls Ryan Weist and Kristina Gagliardi-Wilson also have no opposition.

Email: mcdonaldt@northjersey.com