Tipping point
Bergen County Conference members once again come out in force on Election Day
to knock on doors and drive home the PBA’s political impact
n STORY AND PHOTOS BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Biaggio’s Ristorante in Paramus quickly reached seating ca-
pacity, packed with northern New Jersey PBA members set out
to finalize political victory.
As the room filled, Ridgewood Local 20 State Delegate Patrick
Elwood tried to keep up with the attendance, passing around
a notepad to identify the officers and Locals who came out to
lend hands to the phone bank and feet to the door-knocking, a
final push to get voters to the polls. For many members, there’s
nothing that could have stopped them from volunteering for
this vital, last effort to reverse the political devastation of the
past eight years.
Rory Tennant of Eastern Bergen County Local 45 sat with his
12- and 10-year-old sons waiting to be assigned a door-knock-
ing territory in Paramus. A day off from school and the unavail-
ability of a babysitter meant that Tennant’s boys would spend
the day with dad, reminding families to vote for PBA-endorsed
candidates in District 39.
Paramus Local 186 officer Christian Tsentas strolled into the
county conference Election Day headquarters around 10:30
a.m., just off a shift that ended at 6 a.m. Standing with a mere
two hours of rest, Tsentas’ T-shirt read: “Never underestimate
the power of your vote,” clearly stating his reason for sacrificing
a day of sleep.
For other members, like Jason Mejia of Englewood Local 216,
their attendance stemmed from leadership within the county
conference who motivated them to finally get in on the political
action.
“This is uncharted territory for me,” Mejia admitted. “Every-
one in my department told me to come out here and push for
whoever we’re endorsing, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m a
team player.”
There was a definite sense of confidence in the air, especial-
ly when PBA Executive Vice President Marc Kovar surveyed
the room of more than 100 members eager to work on behalf
of candidates for the state legislature who would help law en-
forcement office