Kurt- Thought you'd appreciate my letter to the editor in today's Hoboken Reporter. Feel free to use as you see fit in the blogosphere. Hope you're feeling well.
-Phil
Here is the letter on the Hudson Reporter:
‘I didn’t expect that on my windshield’
http://hudsonreporter.com/bookmark/7358701
Dear Editor:
A few weeks ago, I woke up to find on my car (and on all the other cars parked on my block) a flyer with my name on it.
This flyer, titled “Lies, Damned Lies and Zimmer”, focused on financial supporters of Dawn Zimmer (including myself and a number of other Hoboken residents – not PACs or corporations – just residents who supported Dawn Zimmer’s campaigns) and also highlighted my appointment by the City Council to serve as a commissioner on the Hoboken Zoning Board.
I believe it is important to support candidates we believe represent the best interests of our community. Some do it by writing letters. Some do it by blogging. Some do it by generously volunteering their time. Some do it by making donations to candidates they believe in.
I made financial contributions to Dawn Zimmer’s campaigns because I support her ideas, her goals, and her courage for stepping into the often ugly arena of Hoboken politics. I didn’t support her campaigns for special favors or special treatment. I didn’t do it for financial advantage. And I didn’t do it to be appointed to the Zoning Board, a volunteer position that requires reviewing technical applications and regularly attending meetings until the late hours of the evening.
I contribute to candidates that I believe in because campaigns are expensive affairs, even in our mile square city. Sometimes the people I support win, which is a very gratifying thing, and sometimes the people I support lose, which is disappointing, but that is the political process. The candidates I support then publish – as required by law – the names of their supporters and how much the supporters contributed. This is transparency in politics. (You might have read in the papers about certain Hudson county candidates that were less than transparent in their fundraising efforts.)
So, while I regret that my family’s car and my neigh bors’ cars were decorated with flyers like the ones we found in the neighborhood, I recognize that if you want to make change in Hoboken and be politically involved, you’ve got to have a thick skin and keep on moving forward.
That’s what I plan to do.
Phil Cohen
Editor's Comment:
Before I had my issues with my heart recently, the last event I attended before my emergency room visit was at Phil's house where he and his wife hosted a Kid's First campaign event. I am happy to tell Phil and others that I am doing much better and have slowly started recirculation back on the blogosphere. You might see a few of my bardly posts on various sites. This is how I have chosen to fight the good fight. Phil makes his contributions of time to the zoming board and his effforts are appreciated by me on those who want to see progress in Hoboken. ◦
