Dear Editor:
I read last week’s letter from “A Watchdog” with great amusement and nausea. He or she obviously has a lot of time on their hands, so it’s disappointing that none of it was used to research the facts. So, I’ll take the liberty of correcting him or her.
Watchdog scoffs at the payroll for the city’s new directors. What the Watchdog neglects to mention is that Mayor Russo’s directors and assorted political cronies pulled down a handsome little windfall last year to the tune of $700,000. That doesn’t even include extra bonuses generated by their creative accounting practices, like longevity pay, retroactive pay and “accumulated” vacation pay. But money isn’t the be all, end all. Watchdog expressed some concerns about the experience and credibility of the new city council and directors. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
Well, we know right away that the Watchdog doesn’t get out much. If he/she did, then he/she would know that Laurie Cotter has a reputation for being one of the best municipal business administrators in the entire state. If she can manage a $300 million budget in Jersey City, she can probably manage Hoboken’s $55 million budget, regardless of how big a deficit was left behind by the Russo administration. So she lives in Jersey City. So what? George Crimmins lived in Hoboken and where did that get us? A mismanaged city hall staffed by a cocky administration. I appreciate the Watchdog’s concern, but I’ll take my chances with the outsider.
Then there’s Carmelo Garcia. OK, so Carmelo has never worked in government. Is that a bad thing? The department of Human Services is a mess, and it’s going to take someone with real-world business experience to turn it around. The last thing we need is another lifelong local bureaucrat maintaining the status quo. Carmelo was a mortgage banker before starting his new job, and I’m sure that he’ll be able to apply his background in managing accounts and serving clients to making Human Services a better department.
Watchdog then calls Cassandra Wilday a “gardener with a degree and a license.” Well, I call Watchdog a political hack with no job and an axe to grind. Why would Cassandra leave a successful New York partnership for Hoboken City Hall? It’s called public service. I realize the concept is alien to a few people who used to be in Hoboken government, but it does still exist in this day and age. And if Pier A park is so flawed, why did it receive state and national honor awards from the American Society of Landscape Architectures?
And hey, Watchdog, why is Katia Stack’s marriage certificate such an important piece of paper to you? Why don’t we look at other pieces of paper with her name on it, like her accounting degree? Or how about the fact that she is a certified municipal finance officer? And why is it so odd that she has no plans to move to Hoboken? As you pointed out, her husband is the Mayor of Union City. Would you suggest she live apart from her husband because of her job? Not to mention, Mayor Stack is doing a good job of turning around a horrific financial situation left behind by Anthony Russo’s bumbling buddy Rudy Garcia. It sounds like Russo probably left us in a similar bind over here, so it might not be such a bad idea to have someone around like Katia Stack who has experience in cleaning up past mayors’ messes.
As for Esther Suarez referring to law books, I think that the people of Hoboken should feel relieved that the city now has an attorney who is actually concerned with the law. We should appreciate that she’ll build her credibility on merit, as opposed to the former city attorney who pegged his credibility to gray hair and thousand-dollar suits. As for the city’s legal bills, let’s not forget Esther Suarez already saved Hoboken taxpayers $133,000 before she ever even became corporation counsel. She was the attorney that dragged Russo and his buddies into court and made them return those illegal longevity payments.
Let’s also note that Bob Murray not only pulled down a salary from the city of Hoboken, but his law firm double-dipped and billed the city for corporation counsel work. Looking at Hoboken’s legal bills from last year, Murray’s law firm would have needed to commit one attorney, billing at around $300 an hour, to work on Hoboken legal work for 60 hours a week, every single week. I’m sorry, but isn’t that the work he was being paid a salary for?
How anyone can possibly attack Suzanne Hetman is beyond me. Fourteen years working at the state level is nothing to sneeze at, and I’m sure Hoboken city hall could use the fresh perspective that she’ll bring to the job. Suzanne is no secretary, but even if she were, why is “secretary” such a derogatory position. There are a lot of good people who are secretaries, and they work hard and most deserve to be paid a lot more than they make. Suffice it to say that Suzanne Hetman will do more in her one position this week than all of Russo’s assorted hacks ever did, and she’ll do it for a lot less money.
Watchdog asks “Do we need anymore development?” The answer, cute little pup, is “yes,” we need community development. You said in your letter that you didn’t want Hoboken to look like Jersey City. Open your eyes and look around, and you’ll see a developed waterfront with concentrations of low-income housing on the west end of the city. Look familiar? Community development isn’t just residential high rises. It’s street level retail, it’s finally building some indoor community space where people can congregate to hear a concert or hold a meeting. It’s about making our city into more of a community. Hence the name “Community Development.” Get it?
Another thing, the mayor is going to act as Public Safety at no salary. You’ll get no argument here that we have the finest people serving in our police and fire departments. But if you’re so concerned about taxpayer dollars, Watchdog, how can you justify allowing the two departments that make up more than 50 percent of the city’s budget to cruise along with no supervision from city hall? Perhaps Public Safety Director was a useless job when you and your friends were in charge, but blame that on the person, not the position.
Finally, Watchdog, you wondered if the new Council should be referred to as “City Children” because, in your opinion, a combined total of four years in elective office is too low. Spoken like a true politician who was once entrenched in power and now finds herself uprooted with nowhere to go. Since when is a lifelong career in politics the only bona fide qualification for serving in elective office? Did it ever occur to you that the very reason why so many people turned out on May 8 to vote in favor of Hoboken United was precisely because they are not career politicians? Look around you, Watchdog, our city is changing and your time is over.
Perhaps you and your associates are already frothing at the mouth because being out of power is like going cold turkey. But it’s only been two weeks, so don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. In the meantime, crawl back into your corner, chew on your squeaky toy and let the Big Dogs get to work.
The Dog Catcher