Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32) sat in the back of the room at the Stony Hill Inn last week as the allies of Senator Brian P. Stack (D-33) took turns at the microphone, no one evr seeing fit to introduce the sitting speaker to the crowd.

It was Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) at the mic.

And it was Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.

The speaker did not have a speaking role, even as sources persist in speculating about a future Stack move on the chairmanship of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO).

Prieto is trying to remain speaker in the face of a double-edged effort by South Jersey and Middlesex County to deposit him on the back bench in favor of Assemblyman Craig Coughlin (D-19).

Part of the deal for Coughlin includes re-empowering Sweeney, which Prieto’s fellow Hudson elected official, Stack, supports.