Year: 2013

News

About last night

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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MSV will be back with more but here’s some initial broad analysis on the council forum last night.  First thanks to Melissa Abernathy of QLC for her effort launching a live broadcast.  MSV was able to set that up in time and tonight we’re going to try to help and make it better for the mayoral forum at 7:00.

Some initial thoughts on the 10 member panel and audience.  Great turnout and a strong reform minded group on hand. Nice to see considering the circus the City Council meetings have been in recent months. Care for an encore Reform? Read More...

News

It’s all about Ravi

by SmartyJones2 Min Reading

It’s almost showtime for the City Council at-large candidates forum but just in case you thought there was any plan to do anything BUT go after Ravi Bhalla in this election cycle, two important updates for your consideration.

First last night MSV reader Indie sent over an automated two question poll.  It says: Press 1 if you are going to vote for Dawn Zimmer Press 2 if you are going to vote for Ruben Ramos Press 3 if you are going to vote for Tim Occhipinti Press 1 if you are going to vote for Frank Raia Press 2 if you are going to vote for Ravi Bhalla Is there any doubt what the Hoboken municipal race is boiling down to November 5th? If you are still uncertain, here’s Beth Mason’s political operative Barry Brendel, a seasoned professional across New Jersey elections who returned to Hoboken Wednesday night for one expressed purpose: shoot Ravi! That’s right, camera in hand the Mason operative was spending an inordinate amount of time filming Ravi Bhalla and ONLY Ravi Bhalla. Here’s a photo of him filming Ravi Bhalla exclusively as Ramos campaigner David Liebler unleashed a volley against Timmy Occhipinti complaining about buying votes illegally with vote-by-mail.
Public speaker for the Ramos campaign David Liebler is laying into Timmy Occhipinti but Mason political operative
Barry Brendel only has eyes for Councilman Ravi Bhalla. Expect a late breaking commercial on Hoboken411!
=&0=&: Previously, Tim Brendel has also filmed at City Council, Hoboken Zoning Board and BoE meetings for Councilwoman Beth Mason where footage in commercials would find their way to Hoboken411. None dare call that “blogger” problematic even with its iron-fisted censorship backed to the hilt by Beth Mason and the Old Guard! Will Hoboken be seeing a cable commercial on TV and aired at the cybersewer Hoboken411? Wait and see!
News

Council candidates debate tonight at Elks and Ramos campaign on the attack

by SmartyJones4 Min Reading

The re-elect Mayor Zimmer campaign announces:

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Dear Horsey and MSV readers —

In four short years, the Zimmer Team with our Mayor Dawn Zimmer leading the way has reduced taxes, improved our parks, and successfully saved our hospital from bankruptcy – preserving more than 1,200 jobs and relieving our taxpayers of a $52 million bond guarantee.

Like what you hear so far? Now it’s time to show your support as we face off against our opponents in the Quality of Life Coalition Council and Mayoral Debates. Our team will be highlighting our accomplishments, but more importantly, we will be discussing how we plan toLead Hoboken Forward!
Here are the debate dates and times:

Tuesday, October 22nd7pm-9pm Quality of Life Coalition City Council Debate @ Elks Club, 1005 Washington St.
Show your support in person, RSVP: www.dawnzimmer.com/councildebate


Wednesday, October 23rd7pm-9pm Quality of Life Coalition Mayoral Debate @ Elks Club, 1005 Washington St.

Show your support in person, RSVP: www.dawnzimmer.com/mayoraldebate
Can’t attend the debate? No problem. There is still time to get involved. After all, we know that we can’t win this election without you, and we are really counting on your support during the final days of this campaign.
Help us talk to voters about our slate and the issues that matter in this election – join us Thursday for an afternoon canvass of our neighborhoods to spread the word.
Together, we will continue to lead Hoboken forward. 

Mollie Binotto
Campaign Manager
dawnzimmer.com

P.S. – Green T-shirts are back! Stay tuned to find out how you can get yours!

The Ruben Ramos for mayor campaign announces:

Unacceptable!
Zimmer Condones, Supports
Ethical and Legal Transgressions

Expects Supporters to apply a different set of rules for Team Zimmer

In a shocking email to supporters, Mayor Dawn Zimmer downplays, and asks Hobokenites to ignore, the multiple ethical and legal violations of Councilman Ravi Bhalla.  Calling allegations about Bhalla’s multiple ethical lapses “false” and “nonsense”, Zimmer asserts that Bhalla has an “outstanding reputation” and that it is essential to re-elect Bhalla, who is part of Team Zimmer.  The facts, however, demonstrate that it is Zimmer who is attempting to mislead the public.  Disturbingly, in his four years on the Hoboken City Council, Bhalla has been found by a myriad of law enforcement and regulatory agencies to flout professional, governmental, and legal standards a shocking number of times.  For example:

  • In 2010, the Jersey Journal revealed that Bhalla flouted state laws meant to discourage the insidious practice of pay-to-play by failing to file legally mandated disclosures that would have revealed that he made thousands of dollars in political contributions while receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in public contracts. http://bit.ly/aeJkOw
  • In 2011, the Office of Attorney Ethics, which regulates all lawyers licensed to practice law in New Jersey, disciplined Bhalla for irregularities involving his attorney-trust account. http://bit.ly/1ca4Bsg
  • In 2012, Councilman Bhalla was issued four (4) citations , including driving with an expired and suspended license. http://bit.ly/181RJfE
  • In 2013, Bhalla was issued a NOTICE OF VIOLATION by the Local Finance Board, the state entity that oversees municipal governments and officials, for voting on a public contract in which he had a financial interest. http://bit.ly/GYo29c

Unfortunately, Mayor Zimmer overlooking Ravi’s repeated violation of ethical and legal mandates is not surprising. Under her leadership, the City’s spending on outside legal counsel, including contracts to Ravi’s law firm, has more than tripled and legal contracts have gone to firms that have contributed to her re-election campaign in excess of the pay to play limits. This is simply unacceptable.

As Mayor, I will expect and demand only the highest ethical behavior from members of my Administration and from the City Council.

Thank you for your support.

Ruben
News

Councilman Bhalla slams Beth Mason on “vicious lies”

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

Wednesday night, Councilman Ravi Bhalla calmly blasted Councilman Beth Mason for the political operation she was pushing in her resolution to the local media. One of her signature hit pieces on the fascist website she sponsors, Hoboken411 appeared in typical fashion with numerous lies.

Other than the place bludiamonds notes Mason slings mud on a regular basis, no one else picked up her narrative Councilman Bhalla had done anything wrong accepting employment with a prestigious NJ law firm.

In the New Business portion, Bhalla referred to Council President’s Peter Cunningham memo outlining the numerous errors of fact and said: Read More...

News

Ramos campaign extends invite for final fundraiser

by SmartyJones2 Min Reading

The Ruben Ramos campaign for mayor announces:

Support our team as we close in on election day!

Join Us for Our Final Fundraiser!

As we draw closer to election day, we are asking for your support in the final weeks of the campaign!

Our candidates have been working hard all year to achieve our Vision for Hoboken, but we need your help! As you may know, Ruben announced his candidacy in February, and has been working hard ever since to inform voters about his Vision for Hoboken. In May we launched our website, in July we opened our campaign headquarters, and we are knocking on the final doors right now. As election day nears, we are asking for your help to make sure we can reach as many voters as possible between now and November 5th.

Please see the event information for our final fundraiser below and let us know if you can attend. If you can’t make it to this event, please consider making a contribution through our website at http://www.vision4hoboken.com/ , or by donating your time and volunteering to door-to-door canvas with one of our candidates. Thank you for your support and we hope to see you on the 28th!

Final Campaign Fundraiser
When: Monday, October 28th from 6:30PM – 8:30PM
Where: Cooper’s Union, 104 Hudson Street
Contribution Levels: $75 Supporter, $150 Patron, $250 Visionary
Checks should be made payable to Vision for Hoboken

Thanks again and we hope to see you next Monday!

Sincerely,

Ruben
News

Next stop for Timmy Occhipinti: Recall!

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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The rumor started with three weeks left in the mayoral and at-large council election November 5th. Ruben Ramos the former councilman for the fourth ward with lifetime roots to the area isn’t going to forget Occhipinti “stabbing him in the back” as one supporter said in last week’s council meeting. (See video below.)

Confirming what many see as inevitable, the two mayoral candidates not anticipated to see victory in the mayoral race have been in a present and future face-off of sorts, first for who will be in second place this November and then the expectation it will bleed over long after the Hoboken mayoral contest is over and Mayor Zimmer sees re-election.  MSV outlined the coming bad blood between Ramos and Occhipinti last January in their emerging Cold War in a Grist for the Mill story. Read More...