Beth Mason's campaign team has released another press release on the NJ Transit Development Project...
Mason Contacts Hudson Legislators, Urges to Fight
NJ Transit Land Grab Bill
Hoboken, NJ-- Councilwoman and Mayoral Candidate Beth Mason has sent letters to key Hudson County legislators seeking to rally opposition to Senate Bill 2972, which would eliminate local zoning control over development on land owned by New Jersey Transit. Mason contacted State Senators Brian Stack (D.-33), Nicholas J. Sacco (D.-32) and Sandra Cunningham (D.-31) and Assemblyman Ruben Ramos (D.-33) to inform them of the dire consequences Hoboken could face if the bill passes during the upcoming lame duck session of the legislature.
"This bill cannot be allowed to pass. I contacted our county Senate delegation, along with our Assembly representative, to inform them of my serious reservations about the legislation and to formally ask for their support in stopping it," said Mason.
If the bill wins passage in the State Senate, NJ Transit may be allowed to move forward on its plan to build several 40-story residential buildings and one 70-story tower on its property along Observer Highway, despite the opposition of nearly all of Hoboken.
"I will do everything in my power to save Hoboken from this disastrous plan," said Mason. "While Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer looks like she's willing to trade our zoning control for 'public input' into the design, I will not bend to the will of Trenton powerbrokers and developers so easily. I plan to rally statewide opposition to this bill, and bringing our local legislators on board is just the first step."
My Comment:
When at the September 2nd, City Council meeting Beth Mason didn't want to address this issue even though Dawn in her role as City Council President wanted to keep this as a hot topic. I am glad that Beth Mason is reaching out to our local representatives and that is a good start. If pro-developer Senator Sarlo (D, for developer friendly) is to be stopped we will need to turn more than those four votes. I encourage more people to reach out and even write Senator Sarlo or perhaps even give him the Cammarano treatment with a media covered protest outside his home. Will Beth Mason forgo one mailer and agree to fund the transportation for such a protest instead? I for one would look forward to a nice limo ride into the wonderful countryside that NJ has to offer. It's all about putting your money where your mouth is.
Perhaps I come across as a bit snarky or harsh. However as evidenced before, a protest covered by the media outside a politician's home can have a lot of influence. Beth's press release provides no evidence that Dawn has traded input for giving up zoning and like many a Swibinski driven campaign, is designed to distort events in his candidate's favor.
I encourage readers to view Beth Mason at about 1:10 into the September 2, 2009 City Council Meeting and observe where she stood with this issue then:
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