The man of the hour walked into the gym at Hackensack’s middle school with a blue pinstriped suit and a wide smile.
Some people clapped. One man said "Do it boss," with his hand outstretched.
It was Jan. 29 — the night Englewood’s Rev. Vernon Walton would become the county’s first African-American freeholder.
But the man with the suit and the grin wasn’t Walton.
It was the man who appointed him, the lawyer turned powerful politician Joe Ferriero.
Opponents of Ferriero’s group, the Bergen County Democratic Organization (BCDO), rallied outside the school’s doors, waving signs and chanting, protesting party control and what they called one-man rule.
But on the inside, the picture was far different.
Walton walked up to Ferriero, shaking his hand.
Prominent attorney and pay to play proponent Dennis Oury kissed Ferriero’s cheeks.
Hundreds of other Democratic supporters from throughout the county walked down the hall into an auditorium to cast their support for Walton, not forgetting to first acknowledge Ferriero along the way, hugging him and shaking his hand.
But some familiar faces were noticeably absent from the special county committee meeting to appoint Walton to the county position.
The Englewood Democratic Municipal Committee, the 30-member organization that traditionally backs local democratic candidates from the city, was not there in full force.
"He doesn’t have the support of the municipal committee or the people," said Daniel Daniel, the Englewood committee treasurer.
"People weren’t there but he was given the position anyway. He has been given places of power and decision-making abilities by the party machine," he said. "The people in his district don’t even know him."
Whether politically affiliated or not, Walton’s appointment was supported by African-American leaders who made their position known during the vote.
Suspended Police Chief David Bowman, the county’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President Carter Jackson, Councilman Jack Drakeford and county Democrats filed into a back room in the school to cast their own vote or watch it happen.
BCDO spokesman Bill Maer said he didn’t know how many people making their way into the room were actually registered to vote. Maer said "it depends" if the vote was going be taken by a show of hands or by paper ballot.
"I’ll walk you out," he said.
According to two sources in the room at the time of the vote, no one objected to Walton as Ferriero’s choice, so the appointment was confirmed.
Voting was scheduled to take place from 6 to 8 p.m., according to a press release mailed to county committee members.
However, the vote ended at 6:15 p.m.
"It was a show of hands, everybody said yes," an unidentified attendee told a protestor as he exited the school.
A former Democratic mayor, who wished to remain confidential, said, "it was a vocal majority, no one said no."
"It’s a dirty hobby," the former mayor said.
Alva Jones, an Englewood committee member, voted for Walton. She said she thought he was a good person and that he was entitled to the position.
"Everyone seems to think he’s a Ferriero appointee but he’s black and we need a representative," Jones said.
"It doesn’t matter who is up there one way or the other. I can’t think of anybody else who they can put up there."
But critics of the vote said it was not properly taken and that the appointment was just more of the same.
"Every time Ferriero calls a convention like this he is breaking the law by not opening the floor to the public for new business and nominations...it’s a one-man dictatorship," said Bob Gulack, a lawyer from Fair Lawn and member of the town’s Democratic committee.
Walton, however, denies being ruled by Ferriero. In a recent interview, Walton vowed to vote with his merits and put Englewood’s interests first, re-igniting conversations about a community center and other needs at the county level.
As a freeholder, Walton will be responsible for overseeing all county business conducted by County Executive Dennis McNerney, including the budgets for all county school districts, hospitals, and the Bergen County Police Department.
BCDO Spokesman Bill Maer did not return repeated phone calls requesting a final tally of votes from the Jan. 29 convention.
