Hoboken City Council Candidates’ Forums Set for April 12-13
Public is Invited to Join in Moderated Q&A with City Council Candidates
Due to the number of candidates in Wards 2 and 5, the April 12 forum
will include Wards 1, 3, 4 and 6; April 13 will be for Wards 2 and 5
Hoboken, NJ – March 15, 2011
– Hoboken voters will have the opportunity to pose questions and hear directly from the candidates vying for the six City Council ward seats in the May 10 election. Two moderated forums will be conducted by the Hoboken Quality of Life Coalition and People for Open Government, and hosted by The Parish of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph.
Saturday brought the official opening of Councilwoman Beth Mason’s campaign office. She thanked “over 250 people,” she says attended in a Facebook announcement:
MSV doesn’t know about 250 people being there and doubts from the reports provided it’s accurate. We’re not sure what help they provided as the office has been open for quite a while. Last week MSV took some pictures and one passerby, the only we spotted said it was only the free bagel that brought him there. He begged us not to post a picture of her office with him in it. MSV agreed and didn’t even ask him why.
According to a story at Hoboken Patch, the Russo family costs Hoboken another $100,000 based on evidence of illegal benefits paid out in health insurance benefits to former mayor and convicted felon Anthony Russo. The information comes way courtesy of the auditing efforts conducted by Mayor Zimmer’s Business Administrator Arch Liston.
Anthony Russo obtained the illegal health insurance even after the State conducted a review of his service and eliminated his time as mayor toward any credited pension service years ago. How the ex-mayor and convicted felon was able to obtain the paid health insurance for himself and most likely his wife, Michele “five dollars a tow” Russo is at the moment unknown.
Business Administrator Liston identified two people ineligible for the city paid health benefits after an audit was conducted late last year. The other person is not a public figure and has not been named but was also removed from the city rolls.
Reform City Council candidates jointly announce:
STATEMENT FROM ZIMMER ENDORSED CANDIDATES ON COUNCIL MEETING
While we are delighted that the City Council passed Mayor Zimmer’s bond ordinances for upkeep and acquisition of parks, we are dismayed by the lack of priorities shown by the council majority in rushing to end session by midnight. The priorities of our municipal government should be doing the business of the people to the best of their ability, trying to meet an arbitrary deadline because Council Members would rather get home than finish their jobs.
Kurta for Council announces:
STATEMENT FROM 1st WARD COUNCIL CANDIDATE ERIC KURTA ON PARKS
I am proud that Mayor Zimmer’s bond ordinance to acquire more parks in Hoboken has passed the City Council. Her parks proposal is an important part of a much larger plan to make Hoboken more family-friendly.
However, it is disheartening that political grandstanding of a few councilmembers who needed clarification of the bond process and their legal responsibility jeopardized this sorely needed public good. If we genuinely want to improve our city and keep growing families from looking for greener pastures, we need to allocate more parks now. Delays must not be tolerated.
Bike Hoboken is proud to be co-sponsoring H-Mag’s March Mixer at Dino and Harry’s. See the official invite from H-Mag below:
Its that time again…
hMAG’s March hMIXER is right around the corner! Co-sponsored by Bike Hoboken and benefiting Rock’n 4 Autism, the March mixer will be on Wednesday, March 30th at Dino & Harry’s, 7-9PM.
Rami for Council announces:
STATEMENT FROM 4th WARD COUNCIL CANDIDATE RAMI PINCHEVSKY ON PARKS
Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s $20 million park acquisition bond ordinance unanimously passed the City Council at last night’s meeting to thunderous applause, and as a 4th Ward resident, I could not be happier.
However, it is disheartening that the public needed to get so riled up in the first place. The fact is that many of our elected representatives were not acting in the best interest of their constituents when they voted against this parks plan. Fortunately, the public was able to pressure those 4 members to change their minds over the past two weeks, but we should not forget their political grandstanding which jeopardized this important ordinance.
Mayor Zimmer Thanks Council for Passage of Open Space Bonds
“I am very excited that the Council unanimously passed the $20 million open space bond ordinance. I was disappointed when Council Members Russo, Castellano, Giacchi and Occhipinti voted against this important measure on first reading, and was gratified that they reversed their positions and voted in favor last night. This important step towards acquiring more land for open space represents the fruition of years of hard work by many, many community members. I am proud that the Open Space Trust Fund sponsored by Councilman Cunningham and myself four years ago, and all of the campaigning we did to help pass the referendum, provided the foundation for this key step to bring more park space to the City of Hoboken.
As I said in my State of the City address, we must ensure that every Hoboken resident is a short walk from a quality park. Given the lack of park space on the western side of our City, my Administration will be focusing our energy on that area of Hoboken.
I was surprised that some Council members suggested in press releases and tweets that I had given them private assurances on the basis of which they changed their votes from the first to the second reading. I want to assure the public that no such private assurances were given. All Council members were told in private precisely what they already knew based on my public statements before the first reading: I am committed to bringing more park space to the western side of our City where it is most needed.
I want to thank all Council members for supporting this bond as well as the $1.6 million bond for capital improvements on existing parks. Together these two ordinances will give us the tools we need to provide quality parks for our residents.”
City of Hoboken announces:
CITY TO HOLD COMMUNITY MEETING ON NEWARK STREET SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
Transportation and Parking Director Ian Sacs will host a community meeting on Wednesday March 23 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Rue School gymnasium, 301 Garden Street, to involve residents in the process of improving safety along Newark Street.
The City of Hoboken has $240,000 in federal funding for improving safety along Newark Street between River Street and Washington Street. The funding, which was secured by Senator Robert Menendez, was awarded in 2009, and due to the time-sensitive nature of the funds, community input is critical to moving forward with the project.