More Political Poetry Time: LImericks on Vision 20-20 and Finboy - A Mason Political Operative

Two factors I feel impacted the recent Mayoral and City Council elections and the final outcome, not necessarily in terms of who won but the margin of victory achieved by Mayor Dawn Zimmer and her slate. 

The first is the proposed Vision 20-20 plan, which if implemented in its initial conception and ham-handedly promoted by HHA Executive Director Carmelo Garcia would have more than doubled the size of the projects. From taxpayers to police, no one that I know either in the private sector or public sector was too keen if that were the final density. Carmelo Garcia is a Ruben Ramos ally but both Occhipinti and Ramos aggressively supported this unpopular plan if you could even call it a plan. 

Mayor Zimmer ran a positive campaign about her record. She could have really hit Ramos hard on the Vision 20-20 issue but she did not mount a consistent plan. I do believe Vision 20-20 hurt both Ramos and Occhipiniti to some extent. The sleaze associated with Carmelo Garcia's shameless lawsuit accusing the Mayor of "ethnic cleansing" with respect to Vision 20-20 certainly did not help Ruben or even Tim Occhipinti among educated voters. 

The other aspect that I feel hurt Tim Occhipinti's final numbers was the destructive campaigning and ineptitude of James Barracato aka "Fin Boy". Fin Boy who was instrumental in the downfall of last year's Move Forward BOE race that featured a "Nazi Truck". Known for his vile campaign tactics this freak has a penchant for tuning off voters. He is simply over matched and his anger management issues always seem to sink every campaign to the lowest common denominator. Tim wasn't going to win the election and the  numbers show "Pupie" Raia really had no shot at stealing a City Council seat but the nastiness of the campaign backfired big time and sent Tim into the upper teens in terms of percentage of votes.

Hoboken's very own Jolly Green Poet (yep that's me courtesy of GA)

Here goes.....

Vision 20-20 Limericks: 

Garcia once came up with an HHA "plan" out of thin air, 

And defended it with acrimonious flair, 

His supporters were Cammerano-esque smug, 

and protested like angry thugs, 

and its impact on Hoboken they did not care.

The HHA under Garcia had an undeniable need,
As it succumbed to developer greed,
Vision 20-20 was a dog with fleas,
that would only a corrupt insider please,
And cause the honest taxpayer to bleed.

Garcia has committed unconscionable acts,

Like for Vision 20-20 where are all the facts?,

The street thug pimped that debacle with glee,

While letting elevators all get soaked in pee,

the bottom line is that he deserves the axe!

Ruben Ramos is really quite the dolt,

He should have run away from 20-20 like Usain Bolt,

Any taxpayer in the know,

Will steer clear of this bloated show,

and give his opponent the Mayor a heck of a jolt.

Garcia as ED has shown that HHA buildings he can't maintain,

And due to his negligence conditions are purportedly inhumane,

Between pee, mold, no generators and labs of Meth,

20-20 support from the "Old Guard" and crazy Beth,

To consider him competent would be legerdemain.

Garcia can't maintain buildings so he says knock them down,

These are acts of an incompetent and clueless clown,

With him at the helm of the HHA,

things in the projects have gone quite astray,

So now he wants to destroy the character of the town.

This might seem like a political joke,

But Stack picked Garcia cause he's broke,

He was hoping that developer dollars from the HHA,

Would somehow be magically steered his way,

And they don't care about the taxpayer being soaked.

Beth Mason Political Operative "Fin Boy" James Barracato Limericks:

There once was a operative named Fin,

Who was so angry he couldn't grin,

He tried to support the Mason of Beth,

But came across like on crystal meth,

And what is that chum on his chin?

Finboy has really gone berserk,

He is troll on this thread and a jerk,

Like Beth Mason he is sinking fast,

His career as an operative won't last,

Because he he is incapable of quality work.

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More Political Poetry Time: LImericks on Vision 20-20 and Finboy - A Mason Political Operative

Political Poetry Time at the Hoboken Jounral

I had asked the Horsey to post this on the Mile Square View (www.hobokenhorse.com) but he was busy this morning. He might post this later on his site but for now you can hopefully enjoy my lighthearted humor at the Hoboken 2013 Election Aftermath....

'Twas the eve after the election

 

'Twas the eve after the election when all through the Hoboken,
The results came in and Old Guard hearts were indeed broken,
The Zimmer Team and Kids First showed the voter that they did care,
And swept the election with a civic and dignified air.

The Old Guard adversaries were constantly switching political beds,
While delusions of grandeur and relevance danced in their heads,
And Mamma Russo, son Mikey, and Terry pulled out all the stops,
But got creamed in Marine View by one hell of a cop.

When out from Timmy's HQ there arose such a clatter,
The Hoboken Police sprang from their car to see what was the matter.
Away to the campaign HQ they flew like a flash,
A disgruntled former Ramos aide was acting quite brash.

With an angry man packing heat, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Prison Guard Nick,
More vapid than a Beth Mason City Council meltdown he exclaimed,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called his enemies by name!

"Now Finboy, now Cryan, now Pupie and Timmy the putz!
On, Holmsie, On brother Matt, on lunatic Mason and the King of Mutz!
You cost Ruben the election! God damn you to hell you all!
Now street cash away! Street cash away! street cash away all!"

The repeated attempts to rig the election did not fly,
When Zimmer was met with an obstacle, she would once again try,
So in came the courier'd VBMs that smelled of a corrupt pile of sh#t,
But more or less between the old guard factions VBMs were evenly split.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,
The prancing of a very happy horses' hoof,
As I drew in my head, and was laughing at the OG clowns,
I saw a prancing pony named Hoboken Horse dancing all about town.

Now Tim by quitting his day job, he shot himself in the foot,
And based on the returns his political career is now moot,
Frank Raia thought spending tons of dough would get him to political heaven,
But after all the bluster, VBMs and money he could only place position seven.

Timmay's PR chick would Twitter! Oh how she would gush!
"Timmy is the greatest, but now that he lost I'm so out but what is the rush?",
Her dainty little party girl nose was drawn up like a bow,
To drown out her sorrows with shots, Room 84 is the place to go.

Now the disgruntled Perry Belfiore was clenching his teeth,
And the smoke from his BS about Ravi encircled his head like a wreath,
He had fine silver locks of hair and a vocabulary a bit overextended,
If Ruben won his reign as Chief of Staff would not be recommended.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his big bad words,
Made me want tune out this Old Guard bloviating turd.

Re-elected Mayor Zimmer spoke a few words but went straight back to work,
The parks are being fixed, and the Monarch project may still lurk,
On taxes, quality of life, saving the HUMC to the challenge she rose,
And she said that progress will continue but will not be easy as everyone knows.

She popped up on the platform give her team a big round of thanks,
And away they all clapped and the champagne glasses clanked,
And I heard her exclaim, as she left the celebration,
"Hoboken is one of the best cities in the entire nation"

And in case you did not see my other poem the night before the election here is:

'Twas the eve of the election (first conceived 11/4/2013)

 

'Twas the eve of the election and all through Hoboken,
Many kleptocrats were stirring, with hearts about to be broken,
The VBMs were all gathered by courier with purported criminal flare,
In effort to unseat the mayor from her City Hall chair.

The Callichio's were fighting for each and every paid for vote,(allegedly)
They were on opposite teams but both for government bloat,
Mamma Russo in her Red Wings sweat pants, and Mike with gums ready to flap,
They were pitching their political message which was just full of crap.

When over at the HHA there arose such a clatter,
Carmelo sprang from his throne after emptying his bladder,
Away to his window he shouted out so brash,
"Watch us, we can we will, and we got developer ca$$$sh!"

The moon on the eve of a crisp fall night,
Was calming before the chaos of a big election fight,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
"Bathtub Brian" Murray selling out Hoboken to a chorus of jeers.

With a little VBM courier so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Prison Guard Nick,
More rapid his brooding thug brother of WWE sexting fame,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Ruben! now, Mindak! now, Miani and Gonzalez!
On, Branco, On, Chadwick, err Handbag Robin! on, Liebler and fellow hangers on,
It's all about Vision 20/20 and NJ Transit skyscrapers!,
Now develop away! Develop away! Develop away all!"

And don't forget there was another campaign that quite couldn't fly,
The head of the ticket was a Mason puppet and unemployed IT tech guy,
With lots of money from Pupie and defamatory Beth Mason and a motley crew,
They gave out bags full of flier tagged candy and lots of lies too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each cloven hoof,
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney Frank Pupie Raia came down with a bound.

He was dressed in a leather trench coat with a mouth full of mutz,
And his Robin-like sidekick Biacamano who was a BOE putz,
A bundle of last minute VBMs he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And he exclaimed at the top of his lungs "Zimmer, err I mean Ramos just has to go"!

The wad of cash he had in his wallet made him think he can't be beat,
What did not go to VBMs would go to the alleged highest bidder on the street,
He had a broad face and a vendetta against Ruben Ramos,
And tons of money from Mason whose scorched earth politics made her quite famous.

He was big and and sturdy, an intimidating man,
He was throwing his weight to get as many alleged VBMs as he can,
and a then a political poll indicated his campaign was dead,
Soon gave me to know I likely had nothing to dread.

He then spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the ballot boxes then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, off to the VBM shuttle bus he goes.

Post Election Day Beth Mason sprang from her limo gave to her team a whistle,
And blew out of town in defeat away like a hot pot of gristle,
But I heard her exclaim, as her limo drove the Queen of Mean out of sight,
"Damn you all to hell! With Ricky's money I'm not done with this fight!"





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Political Poetry Time at the Hoboken Jounral

Hoboken Election Results - Mayor Dawn Zimmer and City Council Sweep - Kids First Sweeps BOE

Update 11/06/2013 3:55pm: According to a City of Hoboken source the current count actually has the No votes up by 50-60. The initial numbers given to NJ.com which was my source had three voting precincts where the numbers were either transposed or improperly counted. This is potentially good news for tenant advocates and bad news for vacancy decontrol advocates. Again this numbers are informational only. The final results won't likely be until Friday when the provisional ballots are tallied.

Yesterday there was an election in Hoboken for the office of Mayor, 3 City Council at Large seats, 3 Board of Education seats and the Public Question #1 on whether or no to adopt vacancy decontrol (yes vote) or leave rent control in tact (no vote). The unofficial results are as follows. Official results are expected on Friday when provisional ballots are counted:

Mayor Dawn Zimmer Celebrates her election victory at the Village Pourhouse last night

Mayor Dawn Zimmer won her re-election bid by over 1500 votes over 2nd place challenger Ruben Ramos. Tim Occhipinti financially backed by Beth Mason and Frank Raia came in a distant 3rd.

The Dawn Zimmer team of David Mello, Ravi Bhalla and James Doyle also swept in the three at Large City Council seats by a comfortable margin of 1,500 votes. Mayor Dawn Zimmer will now have a working 5-4 majority for at least two years on the City Council.

The Kids First team of Leon Gold, Irene Sobolov and new candidate Jennifer Evans who were endorsed by Mayor Zimmer also swept their BOE race.

Update 11/06/2013 5pm: Finally the vote on Public Question 1 initially had the No votes ahead of Yes on the Hudson County Elections website. These numbers did not include all 40 precincts or provisional. There was an erroneous count posted by NJ.com that had the yes votes ahead but that has been later reversed.

Update 11/06/2013 3:55pm:  According to a City of Hoboken source the current count actually has the No votes up by 50-60. The initial numbers given to NJ.com which was my source had three voting precincts where the numbers were either transposed or improperly counted. This is potentially good news for tenant advocates and bad news for vacancy decontrol advocates. Again this numbers are informational only. The final results won't likely be until Friday when the provisional ballots are tallied. ◦

Hoboken Election Results - Mayor Dawn Zimmer and City Council Sweep - Kids First Sweeps BOE

Election Day Information - Vote in Hoboken today!

Here is a walk-through of this November's ballot in Hoboken. The election is today folks and polls opened at 6am and will go to 8pm tonight.....

Voter information:

Polls in NJ are open from 6am -8pm in Hoboken on Tuesday November 5th. Both the School Board, The Mayor and The City Council elections are now in November to reduce the number of elections we have per year.

Below is a sample ballot for this coming election next Tuesday:

Here are the sections......

1. The top left and middle portion is for the Governor/Lt. Governor, State Senate, Two Assembly Seats, and County Sheriff.
2. The bottom left section is for the School Board and voters can choose up to three votes for the three open seats.
3. The bottom middle section is for both the Hoboken Mayor position and the three City Council seats at large.
4. The right section is for two State referendums and the vote on Vacancy Decontrol. A yes vote effectively enables vacancy decontrol for 1-4 unit buildings and a no vote keeps rent control the same for now. Below is the rent control question:

And the entire ballot is below in jpg and pdf formats.....



For the easier to read and zoom-able version go here:

Hoboken Election Sample Ballot November 5 2013

For any other questions go to the Hudson County Elections website below:

http://www.hudsoncountyclerk.org/elections/

Editor's Note: 

Whether you agree with me or not I feel it is important to get out and vote. I have been following the local political scene for years and just want to see Hoboken under the proper leadership and stewardship that looks at the community as whole and not just a narrow constituent that rewards its insiders. It is important to me that we support honest and earnest candidates who will move away from the patronage and poor development practices of the past. Here is my take on this year's candidate pool.....

BOE - School Board Race:

For the BOE race, I am supporting the Kids First slate of Leon Gold 3I, Irene Sobolov 5I and Jennifer Evans 8I for the three open Hoboken School Board seats. I watched the BOE debate and even though I don't have children I want good stewardship of the Hoboken District Schools and these were the only three candidates out of the 8 that displayed the judgement and professionalism needed to support the District Superintendent in improving Hoboken's district schools.

The other slates displayed lack of basic knowledge or in the case of Brian Murray opportunism in marketing a Real Estate campaign to encourage parents to leave Hoboken while he gets commission because Hoboken Schools stink. This is hardly the leadership our children need on a Public School Board. The worse part is Brian Murray actually seemed to get off on how obnoxious he could be during the debate.

Mayor and City Council Races:

I  fully support the  Dawn Zimmer Team as they have  accomplished a lot in 4 years by restoring balanced budgets to Hoboken, getting out from under the State Fiscal Monitor, saving Hoboken from $52 million dollars in bonds that could have defaulted by the HUMC by saving and privatizing the Hospital, reduced taxes 12.5%, finished Pier C Park, built 1600 Park, renovated Church Square Park and many others, initiated Corner Cars, re-organized the top heavy Police and Fire Departments, ousted a corrupt Parking Director from a prior Administration that stole $600,000 in parking revenue, boosted Hoboken's Shuttle Bus system, installed a flood pump in the most needed location first, and restored honesty and accountability to government just to name a few accomplishments.

The other slates challenging her in my humble opinion have failed to make the case to replace her and in some instances have misrepresented the facts about their prior records. Don't forget Ruben Ramos under his service as City Councilman with the Mayor Dave Roberts Team created the 2008 fiscal crisis by approving underfunded budgets for many years and selling or Municipal Garage to pay salaries. There is one instance where a faction of the Tim Occhipinti campaign purportedly have committed libel and slander and as a result will be getting sued for defamation. This is the same campaign that in a juvenile fashion sent a letter to Giants QB Eli Manning's Brother Peyton admonishing him for endorsing Mayor Dawn Zimmer for her support in fighting the Monarch Project where he lives. It was a low class move by low class candidate and proven obructionist. Hoboken needs serious leaders and clearly that is not Tim Occhipinti and they need fiscally responsible ones and that is clearly not Ruben Ramos.

Most importantly the opposing slates don't have the right plan going forward that represents the community as a whole or the skill sets and integrity to pull it off. The initial Vision 20-20 plan initial brochure called for more than doubling the size of the Projects in Hoboken. How could that possibly benefit anyone but developers? Both the Occhipinti and Ramos campaigns support this plan yet no final plan has been presented and vetted out by the public. Zimmer has stated that until a real plan is in place that this should not move forward. This is the sort of reckless development would could expect to see if Dawn Zimmer and her team were to lose.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer has a lot to run on her record with for re-election and Hurricane Sandy showed that she really cares about the community of Hoboken and its residents. Her plan to protect Hoboken from future storms is the most comprehensive plan but will take time to complete. Mayor Dawn Zimmer has persevered through the obstructionist tactics of her political adversaries and although she may not be perfect (who is after all?) she has the best character, integrity and proven track record of results to get the job done. She will need her slate to maintain a 5-4 majority so I advise you vote across the board to continue the progress we have seen in Hoboken.

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Election Day Information - Vote in Hoboken today!