BERGEN COUNTY – Two sources tried to shed some light on the murky process of staff selection in the weeks following Democrat Jim Tedesco’s victory in the Bergen County Executive’s race earlier this month.
One Bergen County Democratic source told PolitickerNJ on Monday that five names have surfaced as potential appointees for the chief of staff or deputy chief of staff positions while Tedesco’s transition team continues to meet.
Among the reported names mentioned are Michelle DiIorgi, currently the Bergen County Freeholder Board clerk; Joseph Rutch, the borough administrator of Cliffside Park; Brian Hague, the former chief of staff of former Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney; Marc Schrieks, the mayor of Lodi and aide to Bergen County Freeholder Joan Voss, and Peter Botsolas, policy director for the Bergen Freeholder Board.
While these names have emerged, another Bergen County Democratic source who asked not to be named said that the process of choosing Tedesco’s support staff has been very methodical.
“Tedesco is keeping it very close to the vest, and there have been no promises made,” the source told PolitickerNJ on Monday. “This transition time, Jim is trying to keep true to his edict that not all of the guard is going to run things. And [Bergen County Democratic Chairman Lou Stellato] wants to consolidate power. In order to do that, good policy is good politics. If they place [incompetent] people in there, they lose collateral, including in the 2017 gubernatorial campaign. I’ve been told that the transition team was charged with more research and will have to write position papers as part of the process. The situation is very fluid. But the situation is going to have to gel during the week between Christmas and New Year’s.”
