It’s already intense in Irvington.

There’s a citywide election next year, and incumbent Mayor Tony Vauss is running again.

His opponent?

Former Councilman Paul Inman.

There’s some bad blood there.

The mayor and Inman clashed when the latter served on council, and Vauss recruited educator Sean Evans to run against him.

You can read about that contest here.

Evans defeated Inman, and now Inman wants revenge.

Vauss is eager to dish out another beating at the polls.

In the meantime, he says he’s eager to flex Team Irvington Strong’s muscles on behalf of incumbent Governor Phil Murphy.

“We feel pretty good,” the mayor told InsiderNJ. “The mood is great for Murphy. People know he’s been one of the best progressive governors we’ve ever had.”

Vauss said too he appreciates the governor’s personal touch.

“He actually came to my house after [Tropical Storm] Ida,” Vauss said. “Two people died in our town because of Ida, and the governor came here afterwards to lend his support. It’s so bizarre these days because I look at some of the headlines and there are stories out there about him politicking. What? He’s here supporting us. Look, we’ve gotten to the day and age where there is no platform, no real ideas, just people making things up in the shadows and throwing them out there, even if they’re not true.”