Dear Editor:
I’ve been watching the debate between dog owners and parents with much interest, as letters appear almost every week in the Hoboken Reporter. I had hoped that this issue would remain non-political and that at some point things would work themselves out.
What is troubling, however, was the recent photo published in the Reporter that noted the fact that Council members Dave Roberts, Tony Soares and Ruben Ramos purchased lunch for a dog association event.
As council members, these three individuals have the responsibility to remain impartial, and represent the interests of all residents, dog owners and children, our senior citizens, everyone in our community. Why are they attempting to buy the support of dog owners with a free lunch?
Perhaps they feel that they can ingratiate themselves with this group for their support in elections? Instead of working with their colleagues on the City Council, it appears Roberts, Soares and Ramos are taking sides by buying lunch for the dog owners association.
This reminds me of the late 1980s, when David Roberts up for reelection and allegedly bought kegs of beer for Stevens fraternity members. He was indicted for allegedly trying to get fraternity members to vote using the names of students who had already graduated but were still on the voter rolls.
So, again, we are seeing David’s way of enticing a group of citizens with his money. The sad part is that Ramos and Soares are blindly following his lead. The dog association should have rejected their lunch for the sake of appearance and the way it has now made their goals look political in the eyes of the public.
Angela Francolino
Editor’s Note: That indictment was eventually dropped.