News
North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco Announces Retirement
North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco announced his retirement Thursday, telling hundreds of supporters at his annual Mayor’s Ball that he will step down after 35 years as mayor and backing Commissioner Hugo Cabrera to become the township’s first Hispanic mayor.
Sacco, who turns 80 next month, said recent health challenges led him to leave earlier than planned. HudPost confirmed the mayor was recently treated for skin cancer and underwent surgery. His resignation will take effect Oct. 28, and he will not run in next year’s election.
Sacco, who has spent 41 years in local government, 35 of them as mayor, described the moment he knew it was time. “A few days ago, I took a walk from the chambers to my door and felt that I couldn’t go any further, and I knew it was over,” he said.
“I will soon fade away from being your mayor, but I will never fade away from being your friend,” Sacco told the crowd. “There is nothing greater in my life than being your mayor. Nothing greater.”
He said he was leaving North Bergen “in very confident hands” and backed Cabrera, his longtime running mate, to succeed him.
Under North Bergen’s commission form of government, the remaining commissioners will hold a public meeting to fill the vacancy, appoint Cabrera as mayor and reassign township departments. The board’s other members are Allen Pascual, Claudia Rodriguez and Anthony Vainieri.
Cabrera, a lifelong resident whose parents immigrated from Colombia, will become the first Hispanic mayor of a township where Hispanic residents now make up the majority of the population. A commissioner since 1999, he has led the parks and recreation department and serves as secretary of the Board of Education. He has been an outspoken advocate for immigrant communities and a critic of ICE enforcement.
“They never dreamed or imagined that their son would be standing here today as the next mayor of North Bergen, making history as the first Hispanic mayor,” Cabrera said of his parents.
Cabrera, who called Sacco a close family friend, said the bond ran deep. He gave his daughter the middle name Nicole in the mayor’s honor. “That’s how much this man means to me,” he said. “That’s how much this man means to this town.” He called Sacco “the hardest worker I’ve ever seen.”
Cabrera said he looked forward to working with Gov. Mikie Sherrill, state legislators, county leaders and neighboring mayors, and pledged to “make North Bergen more affordable, solve problems, help people and carry on the legacy of public service that Mayor Sacco has exemplified.”
Cabrera, with the other commissioners’ backing, also announced support for the mayor’s son, Nick Sacco Jr., to be appointed to the board once the vacancy occurs. Sacco Jr. is principal of Lincoln Elementary School.
Sacco was first elected a commissioner in 1985 and became mayor in 1991. He served three decades in the state Senate and worked as a teacher and later an assistant superintendent in the North Bergen schools. A district school was named in his honor in 2025.
The next municipal election is in May 2027. Assemblyman Larry Wainstein, a longtime rival who has challenged Sacco for mayor three times, did not respond to a request for comment on whether he will run.
Sacco told supporters he would not disappear from North Bergen. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I’m here for you, and I’ll always be here for you.”
“I know it’s been some kind of record. I’ve been in office 41 years, but 35 as your mayor, and I’ve appreciated every moment I’ve had with you, because it’s meant so much to me.
But like all good things, they have to end sometime. And my time has come.
A few days ago, I took a walk from the chambers to the up—upstairs to my door and felt that I couldn’t go any further, and I knew it was over. So I’m telling you tonight that I will soon fade away from being your mayor, but I will never fade away from being your friend. And I will always be there…
And I leave this town in very confident hands. I leave the town with people who care about it, love it, and work very hard to make it better and better. And I’m going to turn it over to them now. But before I leave you now, I will say this: there is nothing greater in my life than being your mayor. Nothing greater.
And I’m not going anywhere. I’m still going to be here. I’m still going to be here—just not… maybe meddling a little bit, but I can’t help that. That comes from having an Italian mother. But I’m here. I’m here for you, and I’ll always be here for you. God bless each and every one of you. Thank you.”
