Harrison’s incumbent Mayor James A. Fife says he’s seeking another term with a full slate of council candidates in 2022.
Fife told The Observer last week he will run with incumbents Jesus Huaranga in the First Ward, Ellen Mendoza in the Second Ward, Larry Bennett in the Third Ward and James P. Doran in the Fourth Ward.
While he doesn’t expect an intraparty challenge in the June 2022 primary, he did acknowledge the possibility of a challenge from a slate of non-affiliated candidates, who have until primary day, to file nomination petitions.
Fife became mayor early in 2014 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy created after former longtime friend Mayor Raymond McDonough died unexpectedly on Feb. 12, 2014.
At that time of his initial appointment, Fife, a longtime Harrison educator, was serving as chairman of the Harrison Redevelopment Agency and president of the Harrison Board of Education. He was also a member of the Hudson County Community College’s Board of Trustees.
Fife, 82, won election to the mayoralty in 2014 and 2018.
In 2018, he and the four he’s running with this year, squared off and handily beat political nemesis and a team he formed, former Councilman Anselmo Milan, in a primary in June 2018. He and the ticket easily won in November that year with no general election challengers.