Mayor Zimmer announced ethics reform yesterday and one area that was included in her sweeping reforms was campaign financing. The full story is in the link below but it gives me a lead-in for my commentary below:
Link to announcement: http://thehobokenjournal.blogspot.com/2011/02/mayor-zimmer-annouces-ethics-and.html
Looking back at the June 2009 runoff election for Hoboken Mayor, you can see below that Peter Cammarano get in $116,000 in outside political PACs or Committee donations. Is that how the citizens of Hoboken want their elections to be funded? By outsiders and outside political interests? Do they want those contributions also aligned with developer interests and not that of Hoboken? I don't think so unless of course they stand to profit themselves.
Here is another reason that campaign financing reform in Hoboken needs to go further than POG's play to play ordinances as they stand today. I urge the City Council to take a serious look at the reforms that have been proposed by Mayor Dawn Zimmer and send a message to all of the leeches of New Jersey politics who look at Hoboken and see dollar signs. Hoboken can send a message to Richard Codey, Bergen County, Newark and New Frontier Committee, etc. and let them know Hoboken elections are not for sale!
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Election Reform and Peter Cammarano June 2009 Runoff PAC Donations
