Dear Horsey,
My name is Kurt Gardiner and I am running for Hudson County Freeholder in District 5 which comprises Hoboken and a section of Jersey City Heights. I decided to run in June this year when I found out that there was no opposition to the current incumbent Anthony Romano in the November General election. I thought it was important to give voters a choice then and I still do now.
Since moving to Hoboken in 2003 I have been an advocate for good government in Hoboken following both municipal and school Board issues. The third component of our property tax that is often overlooked is the County Government. For years Hoboken has not only been overtaxed by the county but has not received back the services it pays for. This has not changed very much since my opponent took office in 2008.
In 2010, Hoboken paid nearly $46 million dollars to Hudson County. Our city is only one square mile. We are one of 12 municipalities in Hudson County and represent 6% the County’s 600,000-plus total population. Yet, we pay 17% of the overall county tax levy! This was actually posted on one of my opponents’ political allies’ websites last year and I feel it is very instructive as to the shortfall in services that Hoboken in particular has been getting over the last two decades.
My position is not only should taxes by lowered by reducing unnecessary expenses but Hoboken should get more for services in terms of road repairs, senior services, grants for parks and bonding for land acquisition for more parks. Residents in Jersey City Heights will be happy to know that I advocate for an open community process to address the multi-sport ball field in Washington Park.
This project is too important to not get the appropriate community input.
To get to the goal of lower taxes I advocate conducting operational audits for all departments and ten acting on those recommendations. I support a service based view of governance that does not believe jobs should be created to create jobs but rather to align the right skills towards providing essential services. Patronage in New Jersey is way too rampant and needs to be curtailed.
Hoboken can get back more from Hudson County by having them take back Washington Street as a county road and repaving it with brand new traffic lights. Hoboken should also look to getting more County Parks by having the County fund the acquisition of the Henkell Site. That site would give Hoboken the ball fields (not passive park space) it desperately needs. We can also get more grants from the County for the Jubilee Center, Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corp, and other worthy charities in Hoboken and Jersey City Heights that deliver vital services to the needy and aged.
Please consider voting for me, Column C Row 6 on November 8th for Hudson County Freeholder. If elected I will strive to lower taxes and increase services for Hoboken and Jersey City Heights and I will not “stick” it to the taxpayer. My website is www.gardinerforfreeholder.com for more information about my candidacy and campaign platform.
In an emailed statement, the new CEO of HUMC Phillp Schaengold expressed his appreciation to the people involved in aiding in the successful sale of the hospital and HUMC employees stating:
“We are pleased that this process has come to an end and excited to lead HUMC into a promising and bright future. On behalf of the hospital, I want to thank the efforts of Mayor Zimmer and the City of Hoboken, Governor Christie and the State of New Jersey, HMHA Chairwoman Tomarazzo, and members of the HMHA and HUMC Boards. We are especially grateful to the hospital’s physicians, employees, and Hoboken community members for their support and loyalty. Working together, we can make HUMC one of the state’s best hospitals. HUMC will undergo a significant transformation in the next few years as we invest in major improvements to support the hospital’s employees and provide high quality patient care.” =&0=&: For those who did not see it earlier, Phillip Schaengold participated in an October press conference at HUMC. Here’s the full unedited remarks of his appearance with Mayor Dawn Zimmer and HMHA Chairwoman Toni Tomarazzo. MSV would like to note there is no thanks expressed to the “city council minority” or anyone from MORTe. It’s a safe guess =&1=& will be forthcoming. Everyone knows the truth.From the desk of the new ownership team for HUMC:
=&0=& =&1=& – Hoboken University Medical Center (“HUMC”) opens today under new leadership with a new vision for the hospital and a renewed commitment to the hospital’s staff, physicians, patients, and the Hoboken community. The sale of HUMC to HUMC Holdco, LLC was finalized today as the transaction came to a close. The New Jersey Health and Senior Services Commissioner had previously approved the Certificate of Need for the transfer of ownership of HUMC to HUMC Holdco, based on the State Health Planning Board’s formal recommendation earlier this year. HUMC Holdco would like to thank Mayor Zimmer and the Hoboken City Council, Governor Christie and the State of New Jersey, HMHA Chairwoman Tomarazzo, and members of the HMHA and HUMC Boards for their support. Their efforts have saved HUMC and we are most appreciative of all their work throughout the sale process. Most importantly, HUMC Holdco is grateful for the support and loyalty of the physicians, current HUMC employees who have dealt with the stress of an uncertain future, and the citizens of Hoboken and surrounding communities. “We are excited to lead HUMC into what promises to be a bright future of positive change,” said HUMC CEO Phillip S. Schaengold, J.D. “We are looking forward to working with the hospital’s physicians, employees, and Hoboken community members to make HUMC one of the state’s best hospitals. HUMC will undergo a significant transformation in the next few years as we invest in major improvements to support the hospital’s employees and provide high quality patient care.” HUMC’s new leadership team has already begun investing in the future of New Jersey’s oldest hospital and evaluating areas of need. The ownership group and leadership team are committed to developing new programs and initiatives at HUMC, and enhancing existing programs and services, to meet the needs of the residents of Hoboken and adjoining communities. The hospital will be led by Schaengold, who has more than 30 years of experience in the health care industry. He has established a singular track record implementing rapid and lasting improvements to hospitals that benefit patients, physicians, medical staff, and the communities they support. His effectiveness, openness, and strength of vision make him the ideal candidate to steer the planned investment and renewed commitment to HUMC. Schaengold’s long history of success includes his service as the regional CEO of Tenet St. Louis, a network of five hospitals including St. Louis University Hospital, which was named one of the country’s 50-best hospitals by Modern Maturity and ranked in 10 separate clinical categories in U.S. News & World Report’s survey of the country’s finest hospitals during Schaengold’s tenure. He also served as CEO of Upstate Medical University Hospital at the State University of New York in Syracuse, where he oversaw a $140 million expansion including the addition of a new children’s hospital. His highly effective term as CEO of The George Washington University Hospital also provided him solid experience in guiding transitional periods for health care facilities. He has served as President and CEO of the Sinai Health System in Detroit for five years as well. Immediately prior to his work with HUMC, Schaengold was President and CEO of Memorial Health in Savannah, Georgia. His dedication to his work, like that of many health care providers, is fueled by personal experience. In 1972 he took his first management position in the medical field as the Director of Pharmacy at a hospital within the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor system, setting out on a career in which he sought to give something back to the profession that had cared for him after he was stricken by polio as a child. He has proven to be an excellent caretaker of the institutions he serves, and HUMC has already benefited from Schaengold’s leadership. Since June, he has served as the Chief Transition Officer for HUMC’s new ownership group, managing all aspects of the transfer of ownership of the hospital. His stewardship of that process confirms both the value of his experience and his devotion to introducing improvements in HUMC’s service to its patients, its medical professionals, and its surrounding community.
Office of the Mayor announces:
=&0=& State’s Oldest Hospital to Remain Open, 1,200 Jobs Saved, $52 Million Bond Paid Off Mayor Zimmer issued the following statement after the completion of the sale of Hoboken University Medical Center. Funds were wired this morning to defease the $52 million bonds that the City of Hoboken guaranteed in 2007 to save the hospital. “Today is a great day for all of Hoboken and New Jersey. Our state’s oldest hospital will remain open as a full-service acute care facility. More than 1,200 jobs have been saved, and we have avoided a financial catastrophe by relieving Hoboken of its guarantee of the $52 million hospital bond. The City would have become immediately responsible to pay this bond if this sale had not been completed. The new owners have committed to making the investments needed to make our hospital one that all of our community and employees can be proud of.” “When I took office two years ago, saving our hospital was my highest priority. Virtually no one believed that achieving our twin goals of saving our hospital and relieving our City of its $52 million bond guarantee was possible. I wasn’t sure it could be done, but I knew it had to be done. Today, we have finally achieved these seemingly impossible objectives — an enormous win for all of our taxpayers and residents.” “On behalf of all our residents, I thank the volunteer board members of the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority and especially thank Chairwoman Toni Tomarazzo. This triumph could never have been achieved without their dedication and hard work. They are heroes of Hoboken who spent countless hours without compensation for no other reason than the desire to help their community.” “I thank Transportation and Parking Director Ian Sacs for his work negotiating a parking agreement which, by shifting parking to garages with excess capacity, will result in more parking available for residents and more revenue for the City. By freeing up hundreds of parking spaces at the Midtown garage, we expect to completely eliminate the two-year-long waiting list. The City will also receive new revenue from the leasing of office space and property taxes.” “Without Governor Christie’s support, the state’s oldest hospital would be closed today and 1,200 jobs would have been lost. I thank Governor Christie, Health Commissioner Mary O’Dowd, and the entire Administration for their invaluable help and support throughout the sales process.” “I wish the new owners the best of luck and congratulate Phil Shaengold, their new President and CEO. Mr. Shaengold started his career with the Franciscan Sisters, the same group that founded the hospital nearly 150 years ago. I am confident that under his leadership, and with the wholehearted support of our community, the new Hoboken University Medical Center will expand its services to our community and thrive for the long term.”Last Sunday was a critical day for both Hoboken and the Hoboken University Medical Center. It was a rare Sunday special City Council meeting and the stakes led to the room being jammed pack.
When Councilwoman Beth Mason arrived flanked by a police officer and her rent-a-thug gumby you could only imagine the text, voicemails and emails she was getting. MSV heard it was a barrage and to make matters worse, people from outside Hoboken were also placing inquiries along the lines of “What the hell do you think you’re doing trying to kill the hospital’s last and only lifeline?”
Kurt Gardiner is running to represent Hoboken and Jersey City Heights as County Freeholder.
Here’s his case:
In 2010 Hoboken paid nearly $46 million dollars to Hudson County. Hoboken is one of 12 municipalities in Hudson County and represents only 6% the County’s 600,000-plus total population. =&0=& Kurt will advocate for the Hoboken/ JC Heights taxpayer by: Demanding more services for our tax dollar such as:
According to a story on Hoboken Patch, the simple matter of a $2 million budget line transfer was blocked by MORTe (Mason, Occhipinti, Russo and Terry Castellano).
The vote for the transfer required a supermajority of six votes – as the hospital sale’s parking agreement going into effect immediately did last Sunday.
Hoboken’s Business Administrator Arch Liston is quoted as saying without the standard line item transfers of monies available, “I can’t operate my budget.”
With the hospital sale’s enormous moving parts aligned again for its sale and a close set for tomorrow, Councilwoman Beth Mason is continuing her propaganda war claiming credit for a sale she’s worked to undermine since January.
Yesterday readers sent us the Hoboken411 story, one which MSV won’t dignify as it’s strewn with more lies from beginning to end than an old edition of Pravda circa 1982.
The screed is notable for the obvious anger it lashes out against the mayor, her husband, and even Director of Transportation and Parking Ian Sacs.