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As you may have heard, Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced that after 10 years of serving in public office, she will not be seeking re-election as Mayor. During her time in office, Mayor Zimmer has made our amazing town an even better place. I am incredibly grateful for her tireless service to our community and thank her for all she has done for Hoboken.
Coming not a day after Councilman at-large Ravi Bhalla officially threw his hat in the ring for Hoboken mayor, a backlash in the City Council and the Reform Movement is weighing a bid seeking Council President Jen Giattino’s entry into the Hoboken mayor’s race.
Fears about the lack of enthusiasm to Bhalla’s entry yesterday and his electability in November are tarnishing the luster of the endorsement he received from Mayor Zimmer only yesterday. Concerns by people on the City Council and others within the Reform Movement say the mayor’s seat and the current council majority are both at risk further fueling desires to draft Jen Giattino atop a mayoral ticket.
Last April Fool’s Day, MSV announced there would be no third term for Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
Really, who saw that coming? Well no one, not even Mayor Zimmer who took the joke wrapped in an enigma of a forward looking time machine authored by a Horse with her fine sense of humor. In almost eight years at the helm of the City of Hoboken, the mayor took far worse.
| Hoboken’s indomitable mayor, Dawn Zimmer |
If there’s one thing learned over two terms, Mayor Zimmer took the slings and arrows of Hoboken’s vicious Old Guard well. She delivered some well-placed blows herself, typically on Election Day. Or for she who will not be deservedly named, when Mayor Zimmer announced the sale saving the local hospital with a herculean effort led by Toni Tomarazzo and the late Steve Rofsky against the forces of evil who sought its demise.
This video courtesy of the Hudson County View:
Opening comments by Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Councilman Ravi Bhalla this morning held on the steps of Hoboken City Hall.
To a question by John Heinis, HCV Editor as to the support of other Hoboken council members (outside of mayoral candidate Mike DeFusco) at 3:30 mark:
“…We’ve had a great team and I’m proud of what everyone has done together working together but ultimately I made the decision that Ravi is the right person for Hoboken right now to move our city ahead.”
– Dawn Zimmer
The breathtaking some say shocking recusal of Mayor Dawn Zimmer from the election race this November absolutely, positively means there will be more surprises and more candidates coming to the fore.
So says this Hoboken Horse. For starters, word is you will see the formerly calculating mayoral candidate Freeholder Anthony “Stick” Romano jump into the race full throttle. Tomorrow.
| Anthony “Stick” Romano seen here in this vintage 2010 photo is expected to jump in the mayoral race as soon as tomorrow with the shocking announcement today of Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s departure. |
That wasn’t expected originally until more effort could be put into identifying a council slate. Now that activity will commence simultaneously as he tosses himself in and gathers support for a serious mayoral run.
BREAKING:
=&0=&At a press conference late this morning Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer ended the speculation she was bowing out for a third term saying she was finishing her term and would pursue opportunities of personal interest in “climate change.”
Translation: She’s been offered a job to work in Trenton in a Phil Murphy administration for some leadership role involving the Department of Environmental Protection or similar and a deadline means she would need to be available to begin the job early next year.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer announces:
I want to share with you the news that I have decided not to seek reelection this November. This has been a very difficult decision, but with a vacuum of leadership on the urgent issue of climate change from the federal government, I have decided it is the right time for me to take on a new role working more directly with the issue of climate change and resiliency – one of the most critical challenges facing our city, state and nation.
It has been an honor serving as your mayor and I am extremely proud of all that my team and I have accomplished with your help. When I made the decision to run for City Council 10 years ago and then for Mayor 8 years ago, I wasn’t looking to start a long career in politics – I wanted to help my community at a time when we were facing major challenges and making important decisions about our future.
According to a bombshell evening report on Hudson County View, Mayor Dawn Zimmer is bowing out of her re-election effort set for this November.
No reasons for the possible withdrawal are confirmed in the story. A press conference is set tomorrow for 11:00 am at City Hall.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer since 2009 has led what’s called the Hoboken Reform Movement. She’s carried Hoboken through the risk of bankruptcy and checked spending, held the line on taxes, built parks and saved Hoboken University Medical Center.
According to a report on InsiderNJ, Hoboken resident and businessman Michael Flett will be joining him as an at-large council candidate in the November election for mayor and council.
Among his reasons, Flett says taxes should be lowered with the increasing tax base but under Mayor Zimmer have remained flat.
“This burden makes it difficult, if not impossible, to afford to pay for college for your children or save for retirement. All the new development in town during the last 10 years should have reduced homeowners’ and business owners’ taxes, but instead our current administration took the savings and increased spending. Hoboken should be a destination where people want to lay down roots and raise their families, but we are currently taxing many of them out of town. Smart fiscal management builds a community by allowing people to stay.”
