Kearny Second Ward Councilman Richard Konopka, a Democrat, resigned his seat during the Monday, Jan. 6, annual reorganization meeting, setting up what will likely be an all-out battle to replace him.
Konopka first took office 11 years ago.
At that meeting, former Kearny Police Chief George King piped the governing body into the council chambers — and that was followed by an invocation, the Pledge and the National Anthem, which was sung by Brandi Leigh Miller.
Then, as Mayor Carol Jean Doyle prepared to begin the evening’s agenda, Konopka spoke up, unexpectedly, and asked to be heard out of order.
Initially surprised by the request, Doyle then yielded the floor to her former colleague.
“Usually before the holidays, I write up many things that happened in the Town of Kearny last year and going forward. But today, I had to write something else,” Konopka, fighting back tears, said. “It is with deep regret that at this time, I cannot continue as a Second Ward councilman for the Town of Kearny, due to personal issues and health concerns.
“I would like to thank former Mayor Alberto Santos and the Kearny Democratic Committee for selecting me to become the Second Ward councilman. I will always be grateful for that. I want to thank the residents of the Second Ward that have supported me. I always tried to represent the Second Ward to the best of my ability.
“I want to wish everyone a happy and very healthy New Year. Thank you, Town of Kearny and good night.
“That is it for me.”
At that, Konopka stood up, walked off the dais and out of the council chamber for the last time.
The rest of the council, meanwhile, sat in stunned disbelief, as Konopka walked out. It appeared no one anticipated what had just happened.
“That was a stunner,” Doyle said, as she and the rest paused.
Then she went on with the rest of the agenda.
A few days later, she reflected on Konopka’s tenure on the council and his unexpected resignation.
“I was certainly taken aback by his sudden resignation,” Doyle said. “However, over the last few months, he had missed a lot of meetings. And he didn’t come to the Holiday Festival, which he always seemed to enjoy. So we were in shock since he didn’t let us know beforehand. I hope he is in good health. And he will be missed. He was a great contributor to our recreation programs. And when he was a member of the Zoning Board before that, he always did a great work.”
What changed?
For many of the years Konopka was on the council, there was a lot of harmony.
But after Mayor Alberto G. Santos resigned to take a judgeship in Hudson County, the local Democratic Party fractured and Konopka was forced to choose a side. Anyone paying remote attention to the comings and goings in Kearny knows those “sides” have not always been amicable. And it was apparent Konopka was displeased with most, if not all, of it.
Now the biggest question that remains — who will replace him on the council?
By law, the Democratic Party’s County Committee has 15 days from the resignation to gather three names of potential candidates. Of the three, a choice must be proffered as the nominee for the seat. The committee was expected to meet Tuesday, Jan. 14.
But here’s where the biggest problem rests — with the fractured council, the likelihood of finding a consensus candidate, who could garner five council votes, and ascend to the Second Ward seat, appears improbably if not impossible, at this point.
If the first of three candidate fails, the second person of the original three would face an up or down vote.
If that candidate fails, the third person of the original three would face the same up or down vote.
Then, it gets tricky.
If none of the three get the required five votes — and there is no reason to expect anything but that happening — we’re hearing the next step would fall into the hands of Doyle, who could either select a Second Ward Democrat to take the post or leave the seat open until November. (The seat is already up for grabs as it is.)
Doyle says she has someone in mind to take the seat, but wasn’t ready to say who it is, just yet. Town Attorney Jim Bruno, meanwhile, is working to confirm the aforementioned process about what happens if no one gets the required five council votes.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.