Year: 2014

News

Standing tall for voting rights and honest elections – Thursday night 7:00 PM

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

From the desk of City Council President Jen Giattino:

Please join Hoboken City Council President Jen Giattino this Thursday night to
Support Voting Rights – and Honest Elections – here in Hoboken



As the lively debate on Mile Square View makes clear, Reformers have strong opinions. On a
variety of issues, from Affordable Housing and other Development priorities to Charter Schools
and Rent Control we do have our differences. But when it comes to Honest Elections,
Reformers speak with one voice:



Every Hoboken voter has the right to vote his or her own ballot, in private, and free from
coercion. And every Hoboken voter has the right to know that each elec<on result is honest,
with no ballots being bought or sold.



Sadly, in years past, Hoboken elections have not always met this test. Loyal readers of MSV
know all too well about paid ‘workers,’ allegations of vote buying, and questionable funding,
unreported on ELEC forms. 


But in 2013, the Board of Elections did its job and rejected
literally hundreds of tainted ballots. And when an attempt was made to have those ballots
counted anyway, Renee Steinhagen, of New Jersey Appleseed, gave countless hours of her time
to ensure the Board’s proper rejection of tainted ballots was upheld.


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News

County legislator candidates file for Freeholder

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

Yesterday was the filing deadline for Freeholder and as the clock wound down, the end of week announcement by candidate Phil Cohen put any possible Ruben Ramos candidacy out of its misery. 


Ramos had been trying to sell county leaders on backing him saying he was earning support but in the end no one bit and worse, Phil Cohen locked up the big guns as exclusively reported by MSV last Friday.


Freeholder Anthony “Stick” Romano has filed to defend his two term seat while Ramos acolyte and 5th ward perennial council candidate Perry Belfiore tossed his hat in the ring  joining Phil Cohen in another three way Hoboken race. 


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News

Beth Mason announces internal investigation results on massive campaign violations clearing her and her husband Richard Mason of wrongdoing

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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In a press release today, Beth Mason announced her family will present a 450 page report detailing an internal investigation she and her husband Richard Mason of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz conducted. The report concludes both are completely vindicated and innocent of any wrong doing.

The report will fully exonerate the Masons of any guilt for the millions in potential fines they face for hundreds of campaign violations as alleged by the state oversight agency going back to the 2009 and 2011 campaigns. Read More...

News

Belmar mayor strangles himself in triangulation attempt on SandyGate

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

An interview over the weekend saw the unfortunate mayor of Belmar trying to follow through on admitted coordination with the governor’s administration but he couldn’t bring himself to say the mayor of Hoboken lied.

He instead lands up admitting he may not have been able to hear all of the conversation in question with DCA commissioner Richard Constable.

Preceding that interview is background by Steve Kornacki who has done more detailed work on this story on TV by far then anyone else. 

The video below shows Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty detailing what he heard in the conversation between DCA commissioner Richard Constable and Mayor Zimmer shortly after the conversation outside the Hoboken Shoprite between Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and Mayor Zimmer. Read More...

News

Bombshell revelation: Mayor Zimmer told lawyer about Lt. Governor’s SandyGate remarks same day!

by SmartyJones3 Min Reading
=&0=& In the latest pivotal twist to SandyGate, Mayor Dawn Zimmer is asking the Hoboken City Council this week to release a lawyer from attorney-client privilege she consulted on the same day of her conversation with Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno.  The revelation Mayor Zimmer spoke with a City attorney the same day as a controversial conversation with the Lt. Governor outside the Hoboken Shoprite may prove signifiant in a dispute over what was said between the parties. The request to the council comes on the back of the mayor’s allegations last January where she alleged a quid pro quo by members of the Christie administration for a billion dollar development proposal in Hoboken’s northwest by the Rockefeller Group in exchange for Hurricane Sandy aid.  The bombshell development comes with the mayor issuing a resolution for Wednesday night’s council meeting to allow Hoboken land use attorney Joseph Maraziti to testify in the ongoing federal investigation on SandyGate by the US Attorneys Office. Over months since she first made her allegations, Mayor Zimmer has faced severe criticism for writing as critics have claimed solely to “her diary” and not telling others about the alleged encounter with Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. The US Attorneys Office however immediately followed the allegations and began its own investigation last January. The mayor and her administration have been relatively silent but stated members of her staff and some council members were told of the incident going back to last summer. Councilman Dave Mello previously confirmed he was one among a handful told of the mayor’s encounter with the Lt. Governor last summer. The mayor sharing similar and timely details of her conversation with the Lt. Governor to others may prove pivotal to the credibility of her claims. On Sunday, news show “Up with Steve Kornicki” telecast the potentially explosive development writing on its news page: Zimmer’s communications director, Juan Melli, says that Zimmer contemporaneously spoke with Maraziti about the conversation she had with Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno on May 13, in which Zimmer claims the lieutenant governor told her the development was tied to Sandy relief funds and “you need to move forward or we are not going to be able to help you.” Guadagno has firmly denied this allegation as “false” and “illogical.”

The Sunday story follows an internal report the end of last week by the governor’s office countering both BridgeGate and SandyGate.  That report was met with skepticism for both its cost (a million dollar fee) and the integrity it arrived at the report’s conclusions. The interviews weren’t conducted under oath and many parties central to both BridgeGate and SandyGate played no role.

The mayor’s administration declined to participate in the governor’s internal investigation and she released a statement decrying the state report as a “whitewash” Friday while again offering to testify under oath. Read More...

News

Phil Cohen announces run for Freeholder – Mayor Zimmer, Mayor Fulop and County Democratic Chair Prieto all extend endorsement

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
=&0=& PHIL COHEN ANNOUNCES FREEHOLDER CANDIDACY
 HOBOKEN MAYOR ZIMMER, JERSEY CITY MAYOR FULOP AND HUDSON
COUNTY DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION CHAIRMAN PRIETO ENDORSE COHEN
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Phil Cohen today announced his candidacy for 5th District Freeholder in the June 3
democratic primary. An attorney who serves as a Commissioner on the Hoboken
Zoning Board of Adjustment, Phil Cohen has a long history of active involvement in local
civic affairs. Cohen has served as a Vice Chair of the Hoboken Democratic Party and a
member of the Hoboken Planning Board. He is a Member of the Board of Trustees of
the United Synagogue of Hoboken, the past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the
Stevens Cooperative School, and a recipient of the Corporate Leadership Award from
the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation.


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News

When the love is gone…

by SmartyJones2 Min Reading

An internal report from the New Jersey governor’s office cleared him of wrong doing in BridgeGate with a cherry on top absolving any allegation regarding the charges by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer of a quid pro quo on Sandy aid for approving the northwest project proposed by the Rockefeller Group.

Shocking no one but with its million dollar fee, the law firm hired to perform an internal investigation came back with its results implicitly suggesting Gov. Christie may be a viable candidate in the presidential sweepstakes in 2016 after all. Or was that report’s conclusion all along? The Star Ledger featured that story with the report stating Governor Christie had “no role” in BridgeGate while yet another Star Ledger story focused on Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s account, with the law firm’s report calling her allegations “unbelievable” and “demonstrably false.” Mayor Zimmer’s administration which declined to work with the governor’s internal investigation saw the mayor dismiss the report as biased and again offer to testify on the matter when it counts most, “under oath.  In a statement the mayor called the law firm’s report a “one-sided whitewash.”
Gov. Chris Christie visited Hoboken after Hurricane Sandy and enveloped the mayor and Hoboken with affection.
It was returned in kind last November by Hoboken voters but those days seem long past now.

Talking Ed Note: While the mayor continues to hold steady to her position and offers to testify under oath there should be no illusion what people may say with the stakes so high and the Oval Office itself the prize. Read More...

News

The transparent silence of Beth Mason on her million dollar campaign violations

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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Hoboken’s army of political operatives on the payroll and at the ready to issue press releases at the behest of Councilwoman Beth Mason have fallen silent over weeks with nothing to say on her and her husband’s hundreds of campaign violations.

Since the limited initial story broke on PolitickerNJ, the most influential statewide political site, the only comment coming from the Mason family was from their lawyer saying no punitive fines should be levied against his clients.

However, both Beth and Richard Mason face potentially several million in fines. No media has published one word from Hoboken’s self-anointed Queen of Transparency offering any explanation how she worked herself into such a predicament. Read More...

News

BoE VP Ruth McAllister: “The State funding formula is not working”

by SmartyJones4 Min Reading
We have two issues that must be
addressed in Hoboken’s overall Public Educational System: funding fairness and
balanced enrollment.  These two issues
are universally recognized by all four district leaders, yes, all four
districts, the Hoboken Board of Education Schools, Hoboken Charter School,
Elysian Charter School and HoLa Charter School. 
The four school leaders have all met to discuss these issues, at Dr.
Toback’s behest, and they all agree that the State Funding Formula is not
working for any of them and that there is an unintended segregation effect in
our system on the school age child population and they all would like to
address it.
In the recent discussions over
the expansion of HoLa Charter School, the funding of only two districts was at
stake.  The funding that was in question was either going to remain available to the Hoboken Board of Education schools or it would be diverted to HoLa.  Elysian and Hoboken Charter would not be directly affected.  HoLa’s Board and parents advocated for their funding and the Hoboken Board of Education and parents advocated for their funding.   I understood the HoLa board and parents actions, I spoke with, met and emailed many.  I also spoke with, met and emailed with many of the district’s parents. Both groups had something in common, they were equally passionate in their pleas and support for their own districts and their students, rightfully so. It is unfortunate, but the State has set up a situation where one district’s gain is another district loss in terms of funding.
Dr. Toback and the charter school
leaders have all expressed their concern for the unintended segregation effect.
The question is how is this addressed? 
The first step is always to acknowledge its existence and develop solutions.  When corporations review their statistics and see a diversity issue they create a diversity action plan to address the issue.    These written plans outline goals and actions over multi-year periods to achieve these goals.  A true effort involves evaluating why, addressing those reasons and evaluating your results.  Having four diversity plans is one solution, but I think the state needs to address its charter law and mandated lottery system to come up with guidelines to make this right.
I want the State of New Jersey to take responsibility for creating both of these community dividing issues.  We all need to lobby the state together to address the funding issue and the diversity issue with changes in legislation that do not pit one school district against another. 
Lastly, taking a critical look at how the funding is affecting the BOE schools and asking for relief does not translate to me wanting to close down all the charters.  I have sat quietly while the charter allocation has gone up from 4 million to 8 million dollars in 4 years.  Through responsible budgeting and eliminating waste in the budget, the BOE was able to absorb those and other increases and the decline in funding. 
In 2009 there were approximately 525 employees on the payroll and now there are approximately 400.  We have diverted those savings to our classroom, to infrastructure, to technology, to professional development and extensive work on the curriculum. Unfortunately, many of our revenue sources have recently been constrained, State aid, federal Aid and (only our) School Choice cut, making it harder to accommodate our students while diverting ever increasing charter funding year after year.
I understand that these issues create contentious conversations.  I also know that my colleagues and I have worked diligently for the children and for the Hoboken taxpayer and resident.  We have a proven record of improvement in all areas and we will continue to work toward our goals even with the challenges that this year’s budget brings.
My email address is rmcallister@hoboken.k12.nj.us.  All are welcome to contact me about the above or any school related issue.


Thank you for considering my
view, Ruthy McAllister Vice President

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News

Horse Sense: Hoboken faces speed bumps for basic road improvements

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

The City of Hoboken isn’t alone, slammed with a harsh winter leaving roadways less than desirable. This of course was before many roadways especially Washington Street were already less than desirable.

Lots of complaints about navigating on local roads can be heard. $2 million requested in bonding by the mayor is the proposal on the table as available State funds won’t put a dent in the problem.

A bond proposal requires six votes on the City Council. Six votes means that beyond the five “normal” reform oriented votes, – council members who are willing to listen, discuss and entertain the mayor’s proposal – one vote must come from among the Old Guard council: Beth Mason, Terry Castellano, Timmy Occhipinti and Michael Russo. Read More...