Tuesday was a great day for Hoboken! I am very excited to get to work with our newly elected and re-elected Team! Thanks to your support, Peter Cunningham and Jen Giattino were re-elected to the City Council and voters in the 1st and 2nd Wards resoundingly chose Mike DeFusco and Tiffanie Fisher as their new Council representatives!
I couldn’t be prouder that voters overwhelmingly chose to elect and re-elect candidates truly committed to making Hoboken an even better place for all residents. Your vote on Tuesday made it loud and clear that you want elected officials who will continue to move Hoboken forward in a positive direction, instead of dividing our City for political gain.
I can’t wait to begin working with Mike and Tiffanie as City Council Members and know that they will join Jen and Peter, Ravi, Dave and Jim to continue the tremendous progress we’ve made over the past several years. I also want to congratulate Dana Wefer for running an issue-based campaign in the 4th Ward. I know there are only great things for Dana in the years ahead, and look forward to continuing to work with her as the Chairwoman on the Hoboken Housing Authority. I congratulate Tom Kluepfel on his re-election to the School Board and look forward to working with Annette Chaparro as our great new representative in the State Assembly.
Most importantly, thanks to all of you who came out and donated to our team, volunteered throughout the campaign, took on the challenging task of being a Challenger, and stood by our candidates through thick and thin during the last several weeks and months. I also want to give a special thank you to Council President Ravi Bhalla for his tireless efforts throughout the campaign, and to our GOTV leadership team of Christian Duffy and Vijay Chaudhuri! Our strong positive results on Election Day are an affirmation that the people of Hoboken want to keep our City moving forward in a positive direction. This would not have been possible without all your support!
I wanted to say thank you for your support on Tuesday and express my sincerest gratitude. Although the results were disappointing, I am thankful for all we have accomplished together over the last five years.
The ward is a far better place today than it was five years ago.
It has truly been an honor and a privilege to represent you. This has always been about service for me and I am extremely grateful to have had this experience.
Now it is time for new adventures and Hoboken Volunteers Chili Cook-Off in 2016!
In a rare story published in the middle of the night midweek by the Hudson Reporter, an attack on Councilman Ravi Bhalla by a speaker in public portion focused on criticizing the Council President for ejecting well known politicos Perry Belfiore and David Liebler at the previous meeting.
The Hudson Reporter story claimed Ravi Bhalla’s law firm, Florio Perucci holds the legal counsel contract in the Hoboken Housing Authority – which has never been the case. The HHA legal contract is currently held by Fitzpatrick Waterman, a premier law firm specializing in federal housing authorities.Read More...
You have no doubt heard the news: our campaign fell short of the results for which we all worked so hard. But last night’s tears of disappointment and frustration have dried up over the course of this unusually beautiful November day and we are rededicating ourselves to what was really our only goal all along: doing what we can to help our district, our superintendent, our schools, our teachers, and our students reach higher to achieve greatness.
This election does not signal the end of anything; the campaign was only the beginning. Tom, Sheillah and Addys . . . we may have been the names on the ballot, but we stood for all of you. We channeled YOUR energy, YOUR enthusiasm and YOUR committment to our schools, and together we will continue to build on the strong foundation we created. Thank you, everyone, for all the work, the support, the contributions, the volunteering, the phone calls, the emails and your votes.Read More...
It’s not the actual new council being seated tonight. This evening the Mile Square City will feature three lame duck members on their way out.
Beth Mason who unleashed a torrent of venom at Councilwoman Jen Giattino as her outgoing lasting memory to her fellow council members; Tim Occhipinti who actually leaves on an up note under his own power with some positive votes this calendar year and of course Terry Castellano who last night reportedly was telling people she had won.
Does that surprise any close observer?Read More...
Voices in their own minds deemed self-important pat themselves on the back while issuing platitudes on the moral equivalence of “both sides” in Hoboken politics.
Yesterday, Hoboken was witness to a litany of reasons how untrue that delusion is and since the public has short memories, let’s put some of yesterday’s incidents on the record.
First, there’s the notorious application of Vote-by-Mail among certain Old Guard campaign crews; a staple food group of their election activities. Over 1500 VBMs were tabulated in applications in the Mile Square City. Most were clearly legitimate but hundreds perhaps several hundred were not.Read More...
Sifting through the rubble after an election where Hoboken’s unofficial Reform Party led by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer absorbed every dirty punch thrown at it, the Mile Square City may finally be turning a corner on its “On the Waterfront” past.
The seismic City Council victory led by Reform’s anti-corruption champion Councilman Peter Cunningham and the succeeding dominoes Councilwoman Jen Giattino with new council members-elect Tiffanie Fisher and Michael Defusco shifts the tide for Hoboken progress in the next two years and perhaps further.Read More...
