The Hoboken Board of Education is having its reorganization meeting tonight at 7 PM. Kids first candidates Theresa Minutillo, Maureen Sullivan, and Ruth McCallister will be sworn in for their three year terms.For Theresa Minutillo this is her second 3-year term. Frank Raia is out and the other vacancy of Anthony Romano, who stepped down to assume the duties of Hudson County Freeholder, will be filled by the two new-comers on the ticket.
Frank Raia was quoted in the Hoboken Reporter last weekend when asked what was next for him. He said: "I’m going Disney World" he joked. "I don’t know. I think the town is way out of whack. I don’t know what’s going on anymore."
Beth Mason put an ad into the Hoboken Reporter congratulating Kids First on their victory last weekend. Some Kids First supporters remarked that the price of the ad afterwards would have been better spent on helping the campaign. Others claimed she was trying to take credit after the fact. Beth Mason however, remained "officially" neutral throughout the contest. Last year she had endorsed a set of candidates but was not running for Mayor as she explained it to me last night. I leave that to the reader whether or not that is a post election rationalization or not.
My comment: In my response to Frank Raia's quote: "I don't know what is going on anymore" I think I know what is going on. The taxpayer woke up and voted. Whether a Dawn Zimmer or Beth Mason supporter, whether B&R, or newbie, a large cross section of voters showed up and voted against the incumbency. The Kids First ticket had the right message, the right slate, the recent tax increases, more media coverage (Hoboken 411 helped with some breaking stories), support of another political campaign (regardless of your opinion of Dawn's motivation for supporting Kids First her campaign organization helped with re-election day planning and election day execution), and the large number of volunteers. All these factors made the difference.
Also, Frank Raia did not do what he needed to secure the win. It is hard to tell at this point if it means that the natural status quo base has eroded. After all, just a year ago the Kids First Team suffered a setback and lost the seats needed for a majority. A lot can change in one year but it will take more than one year to get Hoboken Schools on track. As agents of change, we the supporters of Kids First must remain engaged.
Here is the Kids First Celebration Party Video (with plenty of comments):
http://thehobokenjournal.blogspot.com/2009/04/kids-first-celebration-video.html ◦
