Jose Arango Puts New Jersey Republicans in Danger

The Republican Party of New Jersey has a good candidate for Senate in Bob Hugin and strong candidates across the state. Yet all is not well in the NJ GOP. Jose Arango, the former Chairman of NJ Republican Chairman's Association and presumed chair of Hudson County Republican Organization is a major liability the NJ GOP can no longer afford to tolerate.

First elected Chairman of the Hudson County Republican Organization in the 90’s, Arango has been a source of repeated public embarrassment for over two decades. During the 2008 presidential election, Arango perpetuated the canard of Republican bigotry by stating to the Jersey Journal that Peter Morgan, an election lawyer from the Republican State Committee, “came here and started challenging minorities.” Arango may not have a problem with voter fraud, but Morgan, local Republican leader and himself a minority, was appointed by the Republican State Committee to help prevent the voter fraud Hudson county is sadly known for. In 2013 Arango put the entire state party in danger during another election by making sexist remarks on the record to Politicker NJ about the Democratic Deputy Gubernatorial candidate belittling her by comparing her to “my secretary”. In 2015, Arango was arrested for driving so intoxicated that he was swerving, and after being pulled over could not stand without leaning on his car according to NJ.com and many other news services. When the officers ran his plates, they discovered he had an outstanding bench warrant for his arrest from Union City.

Prior, between, and after all three widely known media debacles are many less known and smaller scale scandals Arango has created. The list is long so only a few examples follow. First, Arango bragged that he was behind the initial withdrawal of Doug Steinhart for NJ GOP Chairman when he was first put up for the position by Lt Governor Guadagno in June 2017 (Steinhart was later elected to the position in November). Second, he helped create a Teenage Young Republicans State Federation in NJ – only one had already existed and had multiple chapters which were later booted from their hijacked organization. Third, in his capacity as head of the County Chairmen’s Association, he promised the other county Chairs he would hold a meeting to let both Assemblyman Ciattarelli and Lt Governor Gaudagno speak during the gubernatorial primary campaign and he went back on his word. Fourth, he has had numerous allegations of physical threats against people with which he disagreed and fifth, he once claimed to the Spanish news media that he was “the president of the Republican Party of New Jersey.” The examples of Arango’s negative and never-ending narcissism go on and on. Moreover, while by law only a resident of the county may be the county chairman, Arango doesn't live in Hudson County. Though he is registered to vote in his father’s one-bedroom apartment in West New York he actually lives with his wife in Belleville (in Essex County).

Most important and part of the public record is the complete failure over the tenure of his time as county chair of to hold legal reorganization meetings as well as his utter inability to even try to grow the party. For example, the last reorganization meeting, held on June 12, of the Hudson County Republican Organization was 100% out of compliance both with state law as well as the organization's own bylaws. Not only did Arango fail to provide notice of the reorganization meeting to all committee members, but there was no one checking credentials to see if attendees were accredited members of the committee. Moreover, there was no actual vote for chairman but rather the Chair Pro Tem (temporary chairman for the purposes of the reorganization meeting) motioned for a "vote on the resolution," after Arango and his chosen sacrificial lamb had been nominated and both seconded. After the vote on a resolution that did not exist, Arango was illegally declared chairman and subsequently appointed the rest of the board. Considering the State GOP Chairman, Doug Steinhart, was in attendance, it begs the question - is this sort of illegal behavior sanctioned by him and the NJ Republican Party?

Regarding Arango's unwillingness to engage in party building in Hudson County one need only look at the dismal record of Republicans in the county. Excuse making being his bread and butter, Arango stated to the NJ.com in 2015 that "Hudson County is a one-party system, that's basically what it is." This would be a sad but unobjectionable observation from anyone else. However, coming from the man who has had over two decades to try new strategies, recruit activists, build coalitions, and get Republicans elected but has repeatedly been unsuccessful (or hasn’t event tried), it’s an admission of complete failure.

The Hudson County Republican Organization, should, like county political parties everywhere, focus on growing the party through outreach, education, activism, and electing Republicans to the lower rungs of elected office. While many will correctly point out that school board and many city council elections are non-partisan they are for partisan elections what the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders are to the Yankees – the farm team. Without a farm team one can't grow a strong bench. Arango has failed to build a solid GOP bench of elected school board and city council officials who could advance the lower taxes and small government agenda Hudson County needs.

Like many political narcissists, Arango's goal is to keep and inflate the power he believes his position has. Unlike many others, he has done so almost exclusively by tearing down rather than building up the county organization he pretends to lead. If the NJ GOP is serious about building a positive brand and supporting candidates like Senate candidate Bob Hugin than it has to do something about its Arango problem before he damages the party again.