Except for some severe flooding, Hoboken came out of the storm fairly unscathed.
Severe flooding caused the NJ Transit station to shut down, and made parts of the city look like Venice. But hey, no big trees fell down, and the lights stayed on, so everything must by peachy.
Jon Corzine is looking to be reelected governor of New Jersey. He is going up against a "Bush/Cheney" republican in Chris Christi. And Christi really is in every way measurable. He used is office and government resources for selective prosecution just like his boss Alberto Gonzalez. Christi is suspected of protecting people like his brother from prosecution while claiming to be anti-corruption. New Jersey, like the world, is struggling under a financial crisis, and Christi has no - absolutely no - financial experience, especially government finance, which is arguably the most complicated.
Jon Corzine on the other hand has the proven financial chops: led a multi-billion dollar, global corporation and successfully reduced the burden on New Jersey tax payers by 4 billion dollars, yep billion with a "b". He also, as he promised four years ago, aggressively attacked corruption with an absolute zero-tolerance policy, passing a pay-to-play ban state wide, ending double and triple dipping on state benefits and pensions, and even got a ban on dual office holding. Corzine successfully reduced the opportunities for corruption and the costs to New Jersey's tax payers. He did all of this on the cusp of the worst financial crisis to hit our state in literally 59 years.
On paper, Corzine's re-election looks like a no-brainer. So why is the Governor struggling in the polls and even in his "home base" of Hoboken and Hudson County? Most columnists will claim Corzine is tainted by the corruption scandal of 44 individuals in New Jersey and New York arrested in July on charges of wide-spread bribery, money laundering and human organ trafficking. The picture of Gov. Corzine with former Hoboken mayor Peter Cammarano at Cammarano's inauguration is the most sited.
Is it possible in a city and county that has a history of corruption that traces its infamous roots back to the Revolution War truly likely to be so swayed by one picture? To be honest, the answer is no. Sure a few "reformers" may be but the majority of voters know that if all elected officials were branded guilty by association, then there would be no one running for governor or running any government in New Jersey at all. And Jerseyans have proven that they aren't going to throw the "baby out with the bath water".
So what is holding Jon Corzine back in his bid for re-election? In short, Jon Corzine. New Jersey's unemployment is over 9%. In Jon Corzine's home county of Hudson it as consistently been the highest unemployment rate in the entire country and as been over 10% since the spring. And all the ills of unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcies, increasing crime, etc., have plagued Corzine's base.
And here is the rub, while Jon Corzine comes from humble Midwestern roots he is and has been for many, many, many years a billionaire - yep billion with a "b". Corzine during the best of times is not a warm speaker. He tends toward professorial, corporate speak like he is in front of employees and shareholders. It is a valuable skillset in the right context but not this one. Corzine is weak speaking off-script (did you see him on The Daily Show) and weaker still when speaking from the heart.
And he didn't help his heart-chances in the selection of is running mate. Loretta Weinberg is 74 years old, double the median age of New Jersey voters (36.7), and from about the third sentence in her acceptance speech as Corzine's running mate, she has been the attack dog of the campaign. From the mind of the 30-45 year old voting block of the Hudson, Bergin and Essex Counties, grannies got teeth when they want a hug.
Somewhere, somehow the Corzine/Weinberg campaign needs to recognize that people vote from the heart or gut far more then their head and they need someone who can speak to those voters. When people are daily fighting to keep their homes, preserve their businesses, are losing sleep over financial worries, what case can a billionaire make to them? What can Corzine or someone from his campaign to relax their tense muscles in their shoulders and stomachs? Who with a voice of authenticity can say "I'm voting for Jon Corzine because my financial situation would be worse if he wasn't my governor" and "I can't afford, my family can't afford anyone else but Jon Corzine as our governor".
Simply: voters need to know Jon Corzine feels their pain and has a prescription to make it go away.
Hoboken city attorney Steven Kleinman announced this morning to the media that Mayor Peter Cammarano had submitted his resignation, effective at noon. The City Attorney read the contents of the letter to the media:
Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano resigns in a letter to the city
As a parent and Hoboken resident said on NJN tonight, their child is 4 months old and has now had their third Mayor. Good luck to Dawn Zimmer leading Hoboken. She will serve as Mayor and run in the special Election to be held this November.
Peter Cammarano will resign tomorrow, less than one month after that Young Turk, whose political future looked limitless, took the oath of office as Mayor of Hoboken.
Cammarano was stubbornly working at his desk, and swearing to stick it out without resigning the day after he was arrested for taking $25,000 in cash bribes - including $10,000 just days ago - from Solomon Dwek, acting as the government's cooperating witness.
But in the end, it looks like a deal brokered by Gov. Corzine - and transacted by attorneys from the Governor's office coming to terms with Cammarano's own lawyers - is what sealed the deal.
Cammarano is a lawyer, too, and was the protegee of Democratic uber-lawyer Angelo Genova, the Democratic Party's go-to guy on election and campaign finance law. And that makes it all the more repulsive, if the charges against Cammarano are true; he must have known precisely, and in detail, what a vicious twist of justice he was perpetuating.
At just 32, Cammarano was a rising star of the Golden Boy variety, who managed a fragile alliance of Old Hoboken forces and New Hoboken blood, and rose through a complex and dramatic election, to Mayor of the hottest place to live in the state of New Jersey.
Peter Cammarano will resign tomorrow, less than one month after that Young Turk, whose political future looked limitless, took the oath of office as Mayor of Hoboken.
Cammarano was stubbornly working at his desk, and swearing to stick it out without resigning the day after he was arrested for taking $25,000 in cash bribes - including $10,000 just days ago - from Solomon Dwek, the government's cooperating witness.
But in the end, it looks like a deal brokered by Gov. Corzine - and transacted by attorneys from the Governor's office coming to terms with Cammarano's own lawyers - is what sealed the deal.
Cammarano is a lawyer, too, and was the protegee of Democratic uber-lawyer Angelo Genova, the Democratic Party's go-to guy on election and campaign finance law. And that makes it all the more repulsive, if the charges against Cammarano are true; he must have known precisely, and in detail, what a vicious twist of justice he was perpetuating.
At just 32, Cammarano was a rising star of the Golden Boy variety, who managed a fragile alliance of Old Hoboken forces and New Hoboken blood, and rose through a complex and dramatic election and run-off to become Mayor of the hottest place to live in the state of New Jersey.
I have no sympathy for those indicted in the corruption busts. Yes they can defend themselves and are innocent in the eyes of the court, but the accustations put a taint on the work that I and many others try to do for no other reason than we think it's the right thing. But like Jay said in his video diary, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. NJDemocrat sent out a tweet earlier yesterday linking to a photo on Hoboken411.com that is apparently popping up on telephone poles around town in Hoboken:
On the one hand, I think it's humorous that someone is putting these up. In fact, a friend said that 1989 called and it wants their dot matrix printer back. On the other hand, it's a sad commentary on where things stand. For his part, Cammarano says he's innocent and he won't resign. Even if he's innocent, he's going to have to put a good deal of time and attention into defending himself. Plus, all the actions he takes while in office are going to be tainted by the previous accusations and indictments hanging over his head. He may not think that right or fair, but at this point it's what it is.
The Mayor of Hoboken, sworn in just days ago and arrested yesterday amid one of the largest and strangest corruption sweeps in New Jersey history, says he's not going anywhere.
Cammarano announced today he is planning to plead innocent, is back at work in the Mayor's office today. He says he has done nothing wrong, is innocent until proven guilty and can serve his duties in office while his case is pending.
Cammarano's bail was set at $100,000 and it was posted shortly after a federal hearing yesterday in Newark. The charges against Cammarano, 32, read as follows: charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. He is accused of taking $25,000 in cash bribes, including $10,000 just last week, from an undercover witness.
Maybe this is just what looks like business as usual in Hoboken, to him.
Assemblyman Reuben Ramos was too busy vacationing in the tropics to take a stand against the corruption tsunami engulfing his district. So in the meantime, here's Ramos actually defending his right to be bribed.
Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer today ended her Mayoral campaign by congratulating her opponent, Peter Cammarano, on his hard fought victory.
Zimmer said, "I congratulate Peter Cammarano for his victory. He worked tirelessly and campaigned effectively. While I know we will not always agree, I pledge to work cooperatively with him as we address the big challenges ahead."
Zimmer went on to say, "This has been a tough election that ended in a photo finish. Now, it is in the best interest of Hoboken that we move on to the task of governing our City."
Here's a bit more from an email sent to her mailing list...
Given the closeness of the race, and the anecdotal evidence of serious improprieties, many have advised me to pursue an election challenge. I gave much thought to doing so, but I have decided against it. This election was extremely divisive, and an election challenge would literally tear our town apart. My attorney has advised me that the margin of victory -- 161 votes - was large enough to make overturning the result extremely unlikely, even if we could prove that improprieties had occurred.
My own view is that Cammarano stole the election and that, in the interests of justice and of democracy, she should have fought on.
As it is Cammarano will not have a majority of the council "in his pocket" so let us hope that the Zimmer/Mason alliance will be able to reign in any future giveaways to developers and to the corrupt Hudson County political machine.
I understand why Zimmer chose discretion as opposed to valor, and pray that it works out for the best. In some sense it's easy for me to urge her to fight on; but she and her people have to live in that town and be subject to the consequences of an ongoing conflict (especially one in which the police are self interested supporters of the other side). Having said that, I urge any ambitious federal prosecutors out there to initiate a probe of all the underhanded shenaningans that were allegedly perpetrated by the Cammarano campaign.
Screwing with the electoral process is, in my book, a form af high treason and should be treated as such. Elections should be seen as a sacrament of democracy and playing these kinds of games should be seen as sacriligious. We, in New Jersey, have become so cynical about living with corruption that we are loathe to really get to the bottom of things for fear of the systemic disruption it could cause.
Progressives in Hoboken, Hudson County, and the whole state need to adopt a far more muscular approach to cleaning up our state or nothing much will ever change.
Meanwhile, I look forward to Dawn Zimmer and Beth Mason staying on the reform track as allies and becoming aggressive guardians of the best interests of the PEOPLE of Hoboken until the next electoral opportunity to clean things up.
Unless Dawn Zimmer asks for a recount, Peter Cammarano will be the next Mayor of Hoboken by a margin of 161 votes. Even if she doesn't, the victory of Zimmer's council candidates has them still ready to flex their muscles:
"It appears we'll have control of the City Council," Zimmer said yesterday.
"The council majority is going to be able to stop the NJ Transit Western Edge, and other out-of-scale projects that are currently in the works," said Zimmer's campaign manager Sam Briggs. "They will finally make redevelopment work for the people of Hoboken and not just the developers."
The new mayor dismissed those concerns:
"Every mayor has to work with whatever council they are presented with. And no City Council majority is lasting," he said. "Just because you have three council members who are with Zimmer doesn't mean they will always vote in lockstep. You will always have some new issue that will change their minds."
It looks like things will continue to be fun in Hoboken.
Well, the absentee ballots have been counted. With the help of absentees, Peter Cammarano won Hoboken's election by 67 vptes. The final vote count, including absentees was 6,043 Cammarano to 5976 to Dawn Zimmer.
But officials are saying it's still too close to call. There are an estimated 100 provisional votes still out there to be counted, which will be counted tomorrow.
There are 775 absentee ballots, but reportedly 75 of them have been impounded as the counting goes on at the Hudson County Clerk's office in Jersey City.
In case you missed it, Tuesday was Election Day in New Jersey's ostensibly nonpartisan municipalities. In two closely watched races, Jersey City's incumbent Mayor Jerramiah Healy cruised to a whopping 52% victory while Peter Cammarano and Dawn Zimmer will face one another in a runoff to determine which of the two will lead Hoboken.
Jersey City Mayor L. Harvey Smith Phillip G. Webb Louis M. Manzo Jerramiah Healy Daniel B. Levin Personal Choice Total
Updated by Jason: We had a lively discussion with Candidates for Mayor Beth Mason and Peter Cammarano, with candidate Ryn Melberg calling in as well following their discussion. You can have a listen by clicking play to the right.
Each week, Blue Jersey Radio streams LIVE with New Jersey's latest political buzz, interviews with newsmakers, and your stimulating calls.
This week, we will be joined by Hoboken Mayoral candidates Beth Mason and Peter Cammarano for a debate and discussion about the issues facing the city they would like to lead.
As always, we welcome the participation from our callers if you have something you'd like to say about the campaign or anything else. Remember, it's all LIVE, so you never know who might show up.
State monitor Judy Tripodi has some harsh words for the members of the Hoboken City Council:
You are the legislative branch -- you do not run the day-to-day operations. I am very disappointed after I have been so receptive to all your inquiries and recommendations, but I will be rethinking my position in light of your lack of cooperation and fair play. My responsibility is to the citizens of the City, not to play games with Council.
I hope she runs for office. I might move just to vote for her.
Promoted from the diaries - Thurman Last Monday, George W. Bush came to New Jersey to raise money for some conservative Republicans seeking election to Congress. The President knows these congressional candidates will work hard to pursue his policies, and that?s why he came to our State even though his popularity here is abysmal. Now, Leonard Lance and Chris Meyers might have George W. Bush swooping in to raise big bucks for their campaigns, but that doesn't mean we can?t do something about it.
Like most New Jersey residents, I don?t live in a swing district. So I won't be able to cast a vote to stop these Bush Republicans. I won't be able flip a seat to the Democratic side of the aisle at the ballot box on Election Day. But, I still want to do something to give Barack Obama a larger congressional majority. That's why, a week from tomorrow - next Tuesday, October 7th - I'm helping put together a fundraiser for Linda Stender's campaign in Hoboken.
Just to refresh everyone's memory, Hoboken is broke and had to call on Joe Doria - JOE DORIA! - to get its budget finished in time to start working on the new budget. So Mayor David Roberts,
believes he will not only balance next year's budget, but come up with $11.7 million extra to pay off the toys he couldn't afford last year. One supposes an extra sweet letter to Santa is in the works.
Now, this should be enough to make any politician realize that they are skating on very thin ice - maybe even think about cutting back ever so slightly on needless spending. But Dave Roberts isn't just any politician - he's the Mayor of the Mile-Square City. That means he gets to make up reality as he goes along:
Mayor David Roberts will ask the City Council this week to bond for a $4 million Sept. 11 memorial on the south waterfront.
In what could be the Quote of the Year, Dave Roberts says:
"It's a fitting tribute to those young people who went into work that day and never came back."
Yes, what better way to ensure the community will never forget the victims of the worst mass murder attack on American soil than by making them pay for a commemoration for twenty years?
I'm not against commemorating 9/11 - though I don't think that every municipality needs its own memorial. But I'm against borrowing $4 million when a community fund drive would almost assuredly raise as much, if not more, without driving the municipality deeper into debt. I mean, Hoboken has a population of roughly 40,000. $100 per head would raise the money.
Of course it isn't that simple to get $100 per person. But I'm willing to bet some of the wealthier residents - like Governor Jon Corzine, Senator Bob Menendez, and Mayor Dave Roberts - could afford to give a bit more than $100. Heck, even Juan Melli, Hoboken's brainiest resident, can afford to give $100 (I've met his wife and she's a real peach - she'd probably let him bum it if he can't scratch it up).
The thing is that 9/11 was seven years ago. If Dave Roberts actually cared about the people that died, and the families and friends they left behind, he could have easily made this happen by now. That he is only willing to do this now - and wanting to go into debt to do it - speaks volumes about his lack of leadership.
This year, for Christmas, I'm giving Carly Baldwin a big shovel. Or maybe hip waders. Apparently, covering the Hoboken beat requires that one have a certain immunity to bovine feces.
Hoboken, having failed to balance its municipal budget, called upon the state for assistance. Having the cosmic sense of humor that patronage requires, former Bayonne mayor Joe Doria came to town to show people how it's done. The result:
Already in a $10.5 million deficit for the new fiscal year, Hoboken cannot embark on a spending plan without approval from the state Department of Community Affairs, which assumed control of Hoboken's finances after the city failed to pass a 2008 budget.
Yeah - Joe Doria's budgetary leadership put $10.5 million of last year's spending on this year's budget. This, in case you didn't know, is illegal. But it's done.
But don't worry, Hoboken Mayor David Roberts has a plan - tax parking lots, collect parking meter fees, and invite Pepsi to sponsor local events. Either that or lay off 300 people. He's going to let Joe Doria decide.
Make the jump for some of the year's best hyperolic spin - and at least one person who is telling the truth.
I haven't lived in Hoboken very long but I've already gotten a taste for some of the good, the bad, and the ugly. File this one somewhere between bad and ugly.
The Hoboken International Film Festival this past week started off with a bit of controversy when a film shown opening night ruffled some feathers.
"Postal," directed by Uwe Boll, opens with two terrorists on a suicide mission debating how many virgins they'll receive in Paradise. When they discover it's fewer than promised they give up the mission, but accidentally crash into a World Trade Center-like building after passengers storm the cockpit.
You can watch the "offensive" opening sequence of the film here. The only thing I find offensive about this film is the fact that it tries to make up for it's lack of humor with crude jokes. It's just an average/crappy film. It was shown opening night on Pier A park, which is on the Hudson and has beautiful views of Manhattan. The combination of a film including terrorism in sight of New York led to a mayoral boycott and calls for censorship at this week's council meeting from one outraged citizen.
"The fact that it was shown next to the 9-11 Memorial was completely tasteless," said John Branciforte, who spoke against not only the film, but the festival's organizer, Kenneth Del Vecchio, as well. "Certainly the filmmaker has the right to make the film. But does the city have to support it?"
And some members of the council seem to be playing along.
Councilwoman Theresa Castellano suggested that [Director of Human Services John] Pope preview all of the films and ban those he felt were inappropriate. "If a film offends some people then it shouldn't be here."
Of course the city doesn't have to sponsor the festival, but unless they want next year's event to be little more than Baby Einstein tapes on a loop (and even those might offend less sophisticated infants) and the laughing stock of creative communities everywhere, they need to let artists do what they do...creatively test the limits of art and push people outside their comfort zones. If they're not comfortable with that, they should let the festival organizers do their own thing (and I imagine Jersey City has some available venues, too).
The amazing irony of all this is that the government's response to an attack on our freedom is the attempted censorship of politically incorrect/edgy content.
Yesterday, at the Star-Ledger, I referred to the budget crisis in Hoboken as showing a deficit of leadership. Today, several articles in the S-L show that the problem is not limited to the City Council.
But, before we move on, let's just add up the problems facing the City Council. One, they rejected (rightfully so, in my opinion) a one shot funding scheme that would have used a municipal garage as collateral for a rather large loan - somewhere between $13.9 million and $19 million. There were only two problems with that: 1) It still wouldn't balance the budget - leaving at least $3 million in unfunded liabilities; and 2) there would be no guarantee of being able to pay even the interest on such a loan with municipal finances in such a horrible condition.
Two: The municipal budget is in a freaking mess because, in part, last year's budget was fraudulent. There's no way to say otherwise when a significant part of the healthcare expenses from last year were pushed onto this year's expenses - apparently with no one actually making that decision (right - and I'm still taking bids on the Bayonne Bridge). Let's add it up - somewhere between $2.4 and $3.6 million for health insurance, $1.7 million for salary and wages, and an unknown amount for the gasoline bill at Exxon.
Well, that's two good reasons. What else can there be? Make like Kris Kross and jump, jump.
Updated by Jason: We had a lively discussion with Candidates for Mayor Beth Mason and Peter Cammarano, with candidate Ryn Melberg calling in as well following their discussion. You can have a listen by clicking play to the right.
