Here is an update from Peter Cunningham 5th Ward Councilman that was sent out via email over the weekend:Friends, family and neighbors,
The events over the last two weeks as you would agree have been extraordinary. While there continues to be rumor that more local officials may fall, it is only just that - rumor. We must move on and overcome, and continue the healing process so we can accomplish our goals.
With Mayor Zimmer at the helm, and having had the pleasure of being very close to the action recently, support for Dawn Zimmer through various cross sections of our City is very strong. Though nothing is ever a given in Hoboken, I will be working very hard to support Dawn Zimmer for the permanent mayoral position in November, and hope that you will too. In my opinion, anyone else that decides to run is excercising their political ego, and truly has little regard for the greater good of Hoboken. We are still healing from the June election, and with last week's resignation, another contentious election would not help Hoboken move forward from all these events. We have important work to accomplish for the people of Hoboken who deserve our undivided attention now. Our goals of a substantially reducing the budget, managing challenging redevelopment projects and addressing serious quality of life issues need to be addressed now with no distractions. And Mayor Zimmer is off to a good start in providing necessary "hands on" leadership at City Hall.
Wednesday's City Council Meeting saw two important measures passed. The zoning ordinance, first introduced July 1, 2009, passed its second and final reading. This was a contentious measure which aimed to restore the City Council's appointing authority of members to the Zoning Board of Adjustments (Mayor was previously the sole appointing authority) AND reaffirmed the City Council as the Redevelopment Agency of the City. The second ordinance was a salary ordinance which set the salaries for the Mayor, Directors and City Council. While I still believe these positions are over paid, we finally moved to contain unnecessary employment/pension costs. For instance, we reduced (reinstate) the Mayor's salary from 129,894 to 116,904; and eliminated "longevity" payments for all those positions; and capped Public Safety at $27,500. This second ordinance passed on first reading, and is a step in the right direction in reducing salary costs. Second and final reading will be September 5th.
Around the community, expect to see more of Hoboken's Finest. I am pleased to report that the Police Department's community policing and traffic group will be more visible in addressing our on going problem with pedestrian safety versus vehicular traffic, especially as we move closer to the new school year. While I will not disclose specific locations, next week we will start to see a series of measures to educate, data collect and enforce motor vehicle laws within our neighborhood streets. I am excited about the program and confident of it's expected success in educating motor vehicle users, pedestrians and the public in general that we will not tolerate unsafe streets. However, mutual respect among, pedestrians, motor vehicles and bikes is necessary to be successful.
With that in mind, a community meeting is being planned for the week of August 17. I am working with Chief Falco and Lt. Ferrante to form a evening program tailored around our community's public safety needs. Let's consider it a "cop"tail party/meet and greet, where we will have an opportunity to meet members of the Hoboken Police Department to discuss parking, traffic, pedestrian and burglary issues. It is intended to be an informative and mutually respectful evening. Any thoughts in advance are welcome.
That's it for now. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer, and as usual, feel free to send this note around and reach out should you have any questions.
Peter Cunningham
5th Ward Councilman
My Comment: Peter's remark in bold certainly got the attention of the local press. I am fairly certain of whom it was directed towards. I will very likely be supporting Dawn in the Fall as well but she still needs to show me in the next 3 month that she is up for the job. I appreciate Peter Cunningham's loyalty and support of Dawn Zimmer but this is a free country and whoever wants to run should run if they feel Dawn doesn't deliver what they are looking for (most likely keeping the Hudson County political gravy train going). Enter Paul Swibinski. Paul have you met Beth Mason? Oh I see you have, never mind.:)
Needless to say, I will be placing my vote on the mayoral candidate who best represents a departure from the pandering patronage of the old ways of the political system. ◦
