Sacco expected to announce his resignation at mayor's ball

UPDATE (Oct. 8, 2026, Thursday night): Sacco has announced his retirement, effective Oct. 28, and endorsed Commissioner Hugo Cabrera to succeed him. Read the full story here.

North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who has led the township since 1991, is expected to announce his resignation as mayor on Thursday, according to a report Wednesday evening by the New Jersey Globe.

Hudson TV understands the announcement is expected at Sacco’s annual Mayor’s Ball.

“North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, one of the longest-serving municipal leaders in New Jersey and a dominant figure in Hudson County politics for more than three decades, is expected to announce his resignation as mayor on Thursday, the New Jersey Globe has learned,” the political news site reported in a story by editor David Wildstein published at 6:47 p.m.

The mayor’s ball is a long-running fall fundraiser for Sacco. In recent years it has been held on a Thursday in early October at The Venetian in Garfield. This year’s event has not been publicly listed, and Hudson TV has not independently confirmed its venue or schedule.

According to the Globe, Sacco plans to give up only the mayor’s post for now. “Sacco is expected to remain on the Board of Commissioners for now, but will likely step down before his term expires on July 1, 2027,” the report said.

The Globe also reported that Commissioner Hugo Cabrera, whom it called “Sacco’s hand-picked successor,” is “likely to be selected by the five-member Board of Commissioners to replace him as mayor within the next few weeks.”

A spokesman for Sacco declined to comment to the Globe. As of Wednesday night, the township and the mayor’s office had not issued any public statement, and no other outlet had independently confirmed the report.

How North Bergen picks a mayor

North Bergen uses the Walsh Act commission form of government: voters elect five commissioners, who then choose one of their own members to serve as mayor. Under state law (N.J.S.A. 40:72-10), the commissioners “choose one of their number to preside at all meetings of the board,” and that person “shall be designated ‘mayor.'”

The current board — Sacco, Cabrera, Allen Pascual, Claudia Rodriguez and Anthony Vainieri — was elected together in May 2023. Cabrera is the township’s commissioner of parks and public property, according to the township website. He was first elected in 1999 after serving as chairman of the North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority, and he also serves as secretary of the North Bergen Board of Education.

If Sacco later gives up his commissioner seat, New Jersey’s Municipal Vacancy Law says a vacancy that occurs after Sept. 1 of the last year of a term may be filled by appointment by the governing body for the rest of the term (N.J.S.A. 40A:16-4), by a majority vote of the remaining members (N.J.S.A. 40A:16-7). In May, the Globe reported that Sacco would likely wait until at least September so a replacement could be appointed without a special November election.

The next regular township election is in May 2027. State law sets regular municipal elections for the second Tuesday in May, which falls on May 11, 2027.

Months in the making

The Globe first reported on May 4 that Sacco “has quietly informed close political allies that he is considering resigning early next year,” with a plan to back Cabrera for mayor. At the time, Sacco spokesman Phil Swibinski told the Globe: “At this time, Mayor Sacco has not yet reached a decision regarding next year’s municipal election, and he plans to announce his intentions in the coming months.”

Wednesday’s report says Cabrera “emerged as Sacco’s preferred choice over Commissioner Anthony Vainieri,” a former Hudson County Democratic chairman who had also been seen as a possible successor.

Wainstein looms

The Globe also named Assemblyman Larry Wainstein (D-33), an ally of Union City Mayor and state Sen. Brian Stack, as “a potential candidate for mayor next year.” Wainstein ran tickets against Sacco in 2015, 2019 and 2023, losing each time, before winning an Assembly seat in November 2025.

Wainstein has sharpened his criticism of the Sacco administration this year. In June, after he was turned away from two North Bergen Housing Authority events, he told Hudson County View: “MAGA lover Nick Sacco thinks that the federally funded North Bergen Housing Authority is his own personal Mar-a-Lago.” At a July 29 special commissioners meeting on a proposed $38 million lease of the township’s sewer system to the MUA, Wainstein’s chief of staff, Jonathan Moya, pressed Sacco on whether taxes would rise, Hudson County View reported.

Four decades in power

Sacco, 79, was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 1985 and became mayor in 1991. He also served 30 years in the state Senate before leaving in 2023 rather than face Stack in a Democratic primary after redistricting. Last October, at his 40th annual mayor’s ball, Sacco, a Democrat, endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli for governor.

If he steps aside, it would be the first change in the North Bergen mayor’s office in 35 years.

Who is Hugo Cabrera?

Cabrera, a lifelong North Bergen resident, has been on the Board of Commissioners since 1999. He serves as commissioner of parks and public property, overseeing the township’s fields, parks, buildings and recreation programs, according to his official township bio. Before joining the board he was chairman of the North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority. He is also secretary of the North Bergen Board of Education, a post listed in the district’s 2025 annual financial report filed with the state. He has run on Sacco’s slate, most recently winning re-election alongside him in May 2023.

Cabrera has also kept ties to Sacco’s rival. In May, he told the Globe he backed Stack’s re-election in Union City (“I absolutely support him 100%”) at a time when Sacco had not endorsed Stack.

The Globe’s May 4 report also said Sacco’s “tentative plan” was to back Cabrera for mayor “and install his son, Nicholas Sacco, Jr., an elementary school principal in North Bergen, as his replacement for township commissioner.” Under another option the Globe described, Sacco would step down as mayor but keep his commissioner seat, and “Sacco, Jr. would be a candidate for an open seat next year.” Sacco Jr. is the principal of Lincoln School, a K-6 elementary school in North Bergen, according to the school’s website. Hudson TV understands that if Cabrera runs, Nick Sacco Jr. is expected to be on his ticket.

Wainstein weighing a run

In an August interview with Hudson TV, recorded weeks before Wednesday’s report, Assemblyman Larry Wainstein said he had a committee analyzing a possible run for North Bergen mayor and that he was “considering it very closely.” Asked then about rumors that Sacco might not seek reelection, Wainstein said he was “not surprised,” adding that Sacco “went through a lot of failures” and that “somehow we need a change.” The interview is background only: it is not a reaction to Wednesday’s report and does not confirm it.

This is a developing story. Hudson TV will update it after Thursday.

Featured photo: Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (cropped, text added); graphic: Hudson TV.