Public is Invited to Join in Moderated Q&A with City Council Candidates in Wards 1, 3 and 4 on April 12; Wards 2, 5 and 6 on April 13
Hoboken, NJ – March 4, 2011 – Hoboken voters will have the opportunity to pose questions and hear directly from the candidates vying for the six City Council ward seats in the May 10 election. Two moderated forums will be conducted by the Hoboken Quality of Life Coalition and People for Open Government, and hosted by The Parish of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph.
The first forum will feature candidates for the three southern ward (1st, 3rd and 4th) seats on Tuesday, April 12, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the school at Our Lady of Grace, at the corner of Willow Avenue and Fifth St. The second will feature candidates for the three northern ward (2nd, 5th and 6th) seats, on Wednesday, April 13, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. in the same location. When petitions have been certified, all candidates will be invited to participate.
At each event, written questions will be solicited from the audience and screened by members of QLC and POG for clarity, general interest and absence of partisanship. Both events will be moderated by longtime Hoboken resident Bob Bowdon, a veteran TV reporter, anchorman and documentary filmmaker. Bowdon’s on-camera reporting encompasses six years with Bloomberg News and he is an op-ed contributor to the Huffington Post website.
QLC and POG are nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen organizations that have been active in Hoboken during the last decade and have organized previous candidates’ forums. Our Lady of Grace Church is joining in the sponsorship of these forums in order to make information available about the candidates in this important May election and as a means to urge citizens throughout the city to exercise their right to vote.
QLC (http://www.qlchoboken.org/) actively supported POG’s initiatives and has a long history of working with other groups concerned about clean air and water, flooding, the density of development, the need for open space, the lack of parking and anything that threatens a good and healthy living environment in this densely populated city. QLC is committed to preserving Hoboken’s unique streetscape and the old and historic buildings that make Hoboken a special place. In March 2008, QLC established the Committee for a Green Hoboken, which actively advocates for green initiatives in local government and hosts education series for residents and businesses in greener building and lifestyle choices.
POG (http://www.hobokenpog.org/) is a nonpartisan, political committee dedicated to promotion of open, accountable and transparent municipal government; active participation of Hoboken residents in municipal affairs; and curbing the undue influence of campaign contributions on public policy. POG successfully advocated for passage of anti-pay-to-play legislation as well as ordinances requiring electronic access to local government documents. It produced a package of ordinances that ultimately were adopted as city law that required competitively negotiated professional contracts and developer contribution disclosures. ◦
