HILLSIDE – Here it comes – a Hillside free-for-all.

Sources close to Councilman Jerome Jewell say he will formally enter the race for mayor sometime in the next two weeks. The long-serving Newark detective will run with the backing of the local Democratic Party organization. 

But there’s still political oxygen out there that at least two other candidates are trying to gobble up in the apparent aftermath of the troubled tenure of Mayor Karen McCoy-Oliver, niece of the late Assemblyman Willie Brown, who has not publicly declared her intentions regarding reelection.  

Whatever she does, McCoy-Oliver’s well-publicized head-butting episodes with powerful local party leader Charlotte DeFilippo have made the mayor an off-the-line contender at best now as Jewell commands the organization’s backing. 

Meanwhile, real estate agent Joe Menza – already officially in the race for mayor - continues to carve out a dedicated, anti-establishment alternative; as does Andre Daniels, former vice president of the School Board and Planning Board member, who also intends to make his formal announcement sometime in the next couple of weeks. 

Running on a slate with Daniels are Jeffrey Dykes, aide to state Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex); Sandra Cuerton; and Naomi Escobar. 

Dykes told PolitickerNJ.com that the Daniels team wants to win the support of McCoy-Oliver as they gear up for a clash with the same organization that dumped the mayor on the evening of her reelection, in part because DeFilippo felt McCoy-Oliver expressed no gratitude to the volunteers who labored to elect her. 

“We’re trying to get her to support our team,” Dykes said of the mayor. “We’re definitely moving in the right direction.” 

Of DeFilippo he added, “We’ve allowed one-person reign for too long. Right now, Hillside is the laughing stock of New Jersey.” 

Local machine Democrats try to minimize Daniels and Dykes as grassroots glory hounds who are spoiling on behalf of Menza. Dykes said his and Daniels’ team is in the race to win. Period.  

Working the phones in her office this afternoon when PolitickerNJ.com dropped by City Hall to gauge her intentions, McCoy-Oliver said she would call back, but never did. 

Also unknown at this point are the plans of 2nd Ward Councilwoman Shelley-Ann Bates, who has her own base of support beyond the local machine and – by all appearances – outside the reach of Menza and Daniels. A month ago she told PolitickerNJ.com that she had not ruled out a run for mayor.