Councilman Lenz stated, “In this week’s Hoboken Reporter, Tim sidestepped, saying that signing a Pledge not to pay for votes and to submit complete ELEC reports was ‘silly’ and ‘not worthy of a response’. He said that we should ‘talk about the Issues’ instead. Well Tim, Corruption IS an issue here in Hoboken. As someone who has been in Hoboken for over 20 years, I am extremely disappointed that even after two of our last three Mayors went to jail for taking bribes, and the third Mayor hired a parking Authority Director who stole over a million quarters; Tim doesn’t believe that running a clean campaign is something the public deserves and has a right to expect."
Voters in the 4th Ward have been used by ‘business as usual’ politicians and forgotten again until the next election for too many years. It’s time in Hoboken to address the deep seated problems, legally and ethically, of paying for absentee votes. Former Mayor and current Inmate Peter Cammarano has become the poster child of Hudson County corruption but he was not the first and he did not do it alone. The refusal of Occhipinti to sign the Clean Campaign Pledge is disappointing.
“I call on Tim to disown these tactics and sign the Clean Campaign Pledge. If he has problems with certain parts, let’s discuss our differences and come to a common ground. Tim can lay out all the campaign promises he cares to but without demonstrating respect for the Law and the voters, his words are meaningless.
The residents of the 4th Ward deserve an election they will believe is based on respect for the law and appearances matter. Given the unfortunate history of both proven and alleged fraud in past elections, if someone able-bodied is getting paid by the campaign (full-time staff or temporary) on Election Day, they should not be voting absentee PERIOD. Tim may not have been around long enough to know the real problems in Hoboken with corruption and illegal activities, but until he can agree to run a campaign free from the appearance and possibility of buying votes, there is no bigger Issue in this Election.” ◦
