Thu May 15, 2008 at 10:25:12 PM EDT
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| Earlier this week, Jeff Gardner spoke briefly about The Jersey Comeback. It's great that politicians can get a second chance - everyone deserves that much. But here's something to think about before launching a comeback - you have to first go away.
When I first heard of Joe Vas, he was running for the seat just vacated by now-Senator Bob Menendez. A lot of my friends who were so involved in battling the myriad mini-machines of Hudson County flocked to his side - convinced that his sweet words were sincere and that he would break the back of the Hudson County machine.
Like most fairy tales, this one didn't translate into reality so well. Machines are machines because they are not easily broken. And the fairy god-father, in this case, had more than just feet made of clay. |
| Thurman Hart :: Why Joe Vas Lost |
| Vas had a shot against Albio Sires. I've heard a few stories about Sires and none of them portray him in a favorable light. But if he isn't going to get a MacArthur Genius Grant anytime soon, he beat Vas fair and square - even if Vas was the one that didn't figure out he needed to file for two elections (an unexpired term and a new term).
As I recall, Vas built his entire campaign on two issues. One: He wasn't part of the corrupt Hudson County machine - which says nothing about what machine he may or may not have ever been a part of (it also provided Tom Kean, Jr with a lot of fertile ground to use against Menendez). Two: He was a fiscal genius (this claim actually predates his run for Congress): Under Mayor Vas, Perth Amboy has not experienced a municipal tax increase in seven consecutive years. Mayor Vas cut spending and reduced the workforce to balance the city's budget. Vas created an economic stimulus package for local businesses, successfully lobbied for Urban Enterprise Zone designation, established a Special Improvement District to revitalize the downtown area, and attracted $1 billion of private development to transform Perth Amboy's waterfront.
Yeah. That sounded real good to the people in Hudson County. Unfortunately for the people of Perth Amboy, they had to wake up to find the dream was really a nightmare. There aren't a lot of politicians that can make me write a comparison that could be flattering to Jerramiah Healy, but this move justified it.
In a way, the results in Perth Amboy were a complete surprise, but in another they were completely predictable. An incumbent is always the favorite, especially when they outspend their grassroots opponent five-to-one. If you read between the lines, Wilda Diaz won because of two things. One: she worked her butt off - she was out shaking hands and meeting people and asking for their vote. Two: Vas was a phony and his veneer wore off - he was a phony on the tax issue and he was a phony on the Puerto Rican Day Parade (refusing to permit the parade, then renaming a street to smooth things over).
The thing that New Jersey is waking up to is that the best way to get results from our political system is to hold our political leaders accountable. I wouldn't say we've had a wave of people booting tired old politicos out of office, but we have a start. We are showing that we want true, authentic leadership and that we will hold our elected officials accountable. We are showing that reform is more than a campaign slogan. |
