Wednesday night was a showdown on several levels for pay to play and campaign finance reform legislation at the City Council. Beth Mason as chair hit a new low even by her previous actions on the council suppressing her colleagues from speaking, ignoring motions and refusing to allow the common courtesy to introduce an ordinance in support of campaign finance reform legislation. That package offered by Council members Peter Cunningham and Ravi Bhalla adds teeth to prevent a wheeling loophole Beth Mason and PACs have used to flood Hoboken elections with money.
Rami for Council announces:
CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE RAMI PINCHEVSKY ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN WEBSITE Today, Hoboken City Council Candidate Rami Pinchevsky announces his campaign website to engage 4th Ward residents in a discussion of the issues. Rami Pinchevsky said, “the people of the 4th Ward deserve more than just a councilman who is accessible; they deserve a councilman who is actively reaching out to include them in the discussions about the important issues facing our community.” The website features links to Rami’s Facebook and Twitter accounts (facebook.com/ramiforcouncil & twitter.com/ramiforcouncil) where 4thWard residents are encouraged to give feedback and discuss issues with Rami. Just recently, he posted on both: “Check out the agenda for the council meeting tomorrow. Tell me what issues matter most to you,” complete with a link to the council agenda. Rami’s new website also features a Google Calendar application which lets visitors see upcoming campaign events and a flickr application (flickr.com/photos/ramiforcouncil) so people can see the pictures from events they might have missed. Along with today’s launch, Rami Pinchevsky is also announcing his campaign’s first fundraiser, which will take place on February 24th. Elected officials and supporters of Rami’s candidacy expected to attend include, Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Councilman David Mello. The fundraiser will take place at 6pm and will be held at the Northern Soul, which is located at 577 First Street in Hoboken. Individuals interested in attending the fundraiser can RSVP at For more information on the fundraiser or to view the newly launched campaign website, please visit www.RamiForCouncil.com.City of Hoboken announces:
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The Jersey Journal identified the City’s new public information policy and was ruffled it didn’t get the memo. Literally. The policy will create official channels where city employees must announce their intentions before communicating with the press on city business and a standardized policy on separating professional and personal communications.
Although this is not a novel concept to most companies, for Hoboken the land of the free and home of illicit behavior, this can on the surface appear to be rather onerous. Sadly, employees have a lot more to worry about than leaking information to the press, clearly an undertone to the policies being prescribed is a shot across the bow it can lead to termination should you go outside your professional duties and feed the beast.
At the last City Council meeting, Beth Mason attempted to remove the election reform legislation sponsored by Councilman Peter Cunningham but was rebuffed when an appeal was made to the Corporation Counsel. Although informed she can not arbitrarily remove sponsored legislation as chair, she’s doing it AGAIN!
Now a late breaking story on Hoboken Patch indicates she’s back at it yet again! Beth Mason is removing from the agenda the same legislation for the second City Council meeting in a row. What is it that is making her go nuclear? Well it’s to protect her money laundering operations, known as WHEELING!
Hoboken is suffering from its never ending election cycle and this one may seem more low key, at least for an initial brief period as the armaments are being loaded. The new Beth Mason 3.0 version is officially released: a kinder, more gentle and friendlier Beth than Hoboken has seen in quite a while. Or is it?
At election time you need to think she’s nicer and heck, she even has her ally Mike Russo doing YouTube infomercials, (he doesn’t say what he’s selling but maybe what his wife is rubbing is clearly part of the package). While the latest release of her rebranding takes hold, Beth Mason wants you to know she’s working with the mayor, at least she says that somwhat in recent days. The truth is far from the rosy pictures she paints and not the smoochy pictures of her and the mayor together. But she’s ordered her minions to stand down and even her political operative and web administrator Fin Boy has been quiet on NJ.com’s Hoboken forum with his dozen or so screen names. He’s going with Fin Boy the original mostly, obviously the standard dictated by the Queen of Transparency’s checkbook.
This editorial is a reply by BoE trustee Theresa Minutillo to her colleague Maureen Sullivan who wrote a letter to the Hudson Reporter a week ago.
Dear Editor:
School board members should strive to make our schools better. Publically we should support efforts that are working and honestly address those that are not. Above all we must tell the truth. The recent letter by Maureen Sullivan failed that test.
Ms. Sullivan states “our school taxes actually went up.” They didn’t. Hoboken’s BoE raised $36,764,796 in 2009-10, $36,761,743 in 2010-11, and is proposing to raise $36,746,171 in 2011-12. In spite of increasing salaries, health benefits, and energy costs, decreasing state aid and a loss of our surplus, total taxes collected from Hobokenites decreased each year. This is an accomplishment. Ms. Sullivan would instead focus on the sad reality that since many Hobokenites have appealed their taxes in recent years the rest of us – who have not appealed – have to pay a larger share. Unfortunate? Yes. The fault of the BoE? No.
The Hudson Reporter interviewed the newest candidate for Hoboken’s City Council ward races this spring yesterday and the 6th ward gets a Valentine’s gift of its own: Jennifer Giattino. The latest announced City Council candidate will take on long time incumbent Councilman Nino Giacchi. This completes a loose coalition of reform minded candidates contesting every ward race across Hoboken.
Jennifer Giattino is raising a family in the heart of the Mile Square and was a strong backer of Mayor Zimmer’s run for mayor. The Hudson Reporter notes she founded the LOTS (Lunch on Thursdays) – a program where schools donate sandwiches to the Homeless Shelter in town once a week.
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An exchange of letters between Mayor Dawn Zimmer and current Council President Beth Mason shows the war over public policy on campaign finance reform raging and revealing a less than democratic sensibility emanating from Beth Mason.
Other than the continued differences on how to discuss the surplus, the battle lines on City Council agenda items reaching the public is now a bloody war zone Beth Mason intends to control – apparently by any means necessary including her again attempting to apply anti-democratic powers she does not hold.
Hoboken High scores at Model UN with 2 awards:
Hoboken High School junior Francis Howitt and freshman Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks won national Excellence Awards at the 2011 Harvard Model Congress in San Francisco at the conference in January. Howitt and Yoon-Hendricks, along with 10 members of the Hoboken High School team, portrayed members of the United States government.
In his role as Democratic Representative Henry C. Johnson Jr. from Georgia, Howitt debated and drafted legislation within the Committee of Energy and Commerce. Yoon-Hendricks excelled in the role of Democratic Senator Jim Webb of Virginia in the Committee on Environment and Public Works.