Here is my take on the Hoboken Mayoral Candidates held last night at the Our Lady of Grace Annex on Willow Street......
The Forum lasted two hours and had about 250 in attendance. Bob Bowdin was the moderator and did a good job of presenting questions to the candidates.
Kim Glatt had the most people in attendance with signs and shirts but each of the major candidates had their key observers. Glatt's people came from Union City as multiple sources have confirmed. This was some kind of display obviously meant to show up support she supposedly has but really doesn't. I'm not saying Glatt doesn't have some draw but if she did why not bring them in from Hoboken than her cheer-leadling squad? Just some corn to nibble on.....
Glatt came accross as personable and presentable but empty in terms of what she would bring to the table. I say this because the vast majority of her answers were very vague as to bring doubt to the fact that she truly has delved into the issues. She might not have this year's budget but she could have downloaded last year's from the City's website and be better acquainted with how generally the money is spent. Doing this research would have given her cred. Is she the new Sarah Palin of Hoboken Politics? You betchya ( at least in my humble opinion).
Strictly blaming the budget woes on the City Council is either naive or Glatt out disingenuous. We do not need another Robert's apologist elected Mayor. Enough with Glatt as somewhat of a Cammarano retread.
Frank Raia did a good job of tying the debate to his issues presented on his website. Frank was frankly Frank and I thought he did a good job of presenting himself and his positions. Some Zimmer supporters remarked on how they respected how he did but certainly pointed out it wasn't going to change their vote. Why? You can simply go back to Franks Raia's record on the BOE for numerous examples where he would not be the best fiscal steward despite his claims of business acumen. His approval of a teacher's contract that was too generous in these economic times would be a great indicator of this. But as they say opinions vary. I like Frank but just a few month's ago he was bragging around town about how was was going to be the difference with respect to his work on absentee ballots. His hard work gave us Cammarano and in retrospect a very tainted election on June 9th. I didn't even get a polyester double-knit as a consolation prize. I did get another election to cover and vote on thanks to Frank's support of this morally challenged former Hoboken Mayor who he supported.
Nathan Brinkman was a very polished speaker. He took the lead in the austerity movement suggesting that perhaps Hoboken's budget should be 74 million using comparative data from another New Jersey municipality with a larger population and area. His mind set and positions were consistently very small government and market based solutions. Don't know how well this extreme will jibe with voters (even if they are tax-strapped) who are predominantly progressive in outlook in Hoboken and Hudson County . With the crumbling infrastructure in Hoboken that number of $74 million is simply not realistic since the unions will only budge so much. What Nathan really needs to pull this off is New Jersey's form of Margaret Thatcher. Both Christie and Corzine are on the record about not changing Public Serives Unions away from binding arbitration. I also think that while he does make some points about transparency, some of his proposals are too big brotherish and I doubt those will solve the issue of accountability he claims.
Beth Mason was Beth Mason. That is one nugget of truth that was actually correct on Hoboken 411. Her positions in many cases seem similar to Dawn's. It all boils down to you trust a woman who once said "develop or die" or the current acting Mayor who gave away her power to let the City Council select the Zoning board. Beth's speaking technique varied and at times came across as shrill. She did manage to get a few subtle shots in at Dawn for the pay rate of some of her appointments but she really didn't go in and twist the dagger. Perhaps she got advice from Swibinski to tone out it down so she didn't seem as mean spirited as the frequent flyers. Beth's campaign tackiness again was on display with a literature booth set outside the debate. All of the other 6 candidates showed some class and did not have their fliers set up in a booth right outside the Our Lady of Grace Annex.
Patricia Waiters does not have the skills necessary to be Mayor (but has heart). She admitted not being too good at math and with our budget problems that is a bad fit for Hoboken. I do give her credit for showing heart and raw passion about Hoboken and bringing up that additional housing should include lower and middle income options. She had the funniest line of night when she said "I don't want to talk with developers, I could get arrested". So why was she with Peter Cammarano the day he got arrested at Newark? Loyalty? Wanted to see how the process worked?
Everton Wilson was both intelligent and charming. I recommend that he get involved with the community and then considering a run later on in his Hoboken tenure. He has every right to run now but I believe in being viable first if you are going to put your name out there. Also, would being Mayor allow him to finish his Phd at Stevens? I will tell you one thing, I would rather have another intelligent Science Phd in this country than yet another politician. Hoboken will need the Mayor to focus their efforts full time once this election is over.
In her last debate vs. Peter Cammarano, many observers felt Dawn didn't stand up too well in that one on one format over two hours. Cammarano is very skilled at the gift of the gab and Dawn was outmatched debate-wise against the meister of spin. Peter Cammarano said ridiculous things in that debate like the Hospital was thriving when we all know it is not. In reference to Peter Cammarano, it wasn't what he said that mattered, he just sounded good saying it. He could have said I'm going to take a sh#t on every last one of you and it would have been greeted with applause for the way it sounded to the audience's ear. More informed voters could see through the BS and the 10 page criminal complaint against him settles for most what was really behind those glowing words. He never meant anything he said so while he claimed he won the debate (Master Debater that he is), Dawn has clearly won the character battle, unfortunately post-election.
This time around the format worked to Dawn's advantage as she was able to highlight her accomplishments and future goals if elected as Mayor for 4 years. She was polished and gracious at times giving Beth Mason credit for things she had worked on. She was clearly much better in the forum than the last and perhaps this has come from her actual work in the office she seeks to be elected to. She tied in elements of her platform into each answer as appropriate. I thought Dawn did a very good job of showing the Citizens of Hoboken why she should be elected as Mayor after sitting in office temporarily due to unfortunate circumstances beyond her control. Dawn did take a few shots from some of the other candidates but took it in stride and just listed her platform and accomplishments to date.
I am supporting Dawn Zimmer so of course I am biased. Nothing in last night's debate changed that for me. With that said I do feel Dawn did very nice job of making the case for her election in terms of her competency and judgement.
I would like to commend the audience for being very well behaved. The last debate featured Cammarano rabble that showed very little class during the last debate. What a welcome change. Vote 11H for Hoboken and for change that is working. ◦
