City Councils hopefuls have until Monday to file for November electionThe political season begins again as candidates for the city’s 4th and 6th wards have until Monday at 4 p.m. to file with the city clerk their intention to run in the Nov. 6 special election.
The 4th Ward is in the southwest part of town. The 6th Ward is in the center of town. Both ward seats were vacated when the May elections put former 6th Ward Councilman David Roberts into the mayor’s seat and moved former 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, Jr. into a council-at-large slot.
Any resident who has lived in either of those wards for more than a year and is able get more than 1 percent of the registered voters of the ward to sign a petition is eligible to run in the election. In both wards, that works out to about 35 signatures.
In the very contentious 4th Ward, only two candidates have officially announced their intentions so far, but it is rumored that as many as seven politically minded people might file Monday. As of Friday morning, no one from either ward had filed at the city clerk’s office.
As wild and crazy as the 4th Ward is shaping up to be, the waterfront and high rent area of the 6th Ward looks not nearly as contentious, as only current councilman A. Nino Giacchi has announced his intention to run.
It could get crazy
The 4th Ward has been the source of much rumor and gossip ever since Mayor David Roberts took office on July 1. That area of town houses the majority of Hoboken’s affordable housing stock.
During the first City Council meeting of the Roberts era, the council voted to install Christopher Campos as the temporary councilman for the 4th Ward.
Campos has announced that he will be running for reelection in November. He has the distinct advantage of being backed by the administration and by City Council President Tony Soares and City Council Vice-president Ramos.
But it’s not all clear sailing for Campos, as questions have been raised in regard to his residency. In July, the Hoboken Housing Authority’s executive director released a memo stating that Campos has not lived in the HHA or the 4th Ward for the past year, a requirement to run for the office. Campos fervently contends that he has always lived there and has only left town to pursue schooling for an undergraduate and law degree. Joining Washington in accusing Campos was former City Council President Nellie Moyeno, who announced she would be running back in July. Moyeno ran for re-election for her at-large council position back in May but was soundly defeated.
But in the past month and a half, Moyeno has dropped out of the public eye. Moyeno is also a commissioner on the Hoboken Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners and has missed several meetings. Rumor has it that she might be considering dropping out of the race for the city council.
Attempts were made to contact Moyeno about her intentions but those phone calls were not returned.
Another person who was waiting until the last day to make a decision as to run or not is activist Lynda Walker. Back in June, she was rumored to be up for the 4th Ward selection that was given to Campos and at the time was upset about being passed over.
Although she was not completely overlooked by the Roberts Administration, as she was given a spot on the HHA Board of Commissioners; she still is contemplating a run at the office.
“I have the petitions and all the paperwork but I am going to take the weekend to decide what I’m going to do,” said Walker Thursday. “I care very much about what is going on down at the Housing Authority and I will do what ever I can to make the biggest difference possible. If that means running for the 4th Ward then that is what I will do. But right now I’m taking my time to make that decision.”
While Moyeno and Walker may be wavering, Housing Authority Resident and political newcomer Tammy Goodwin officially announced her intention to run at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting.
“For the past seven years I have sat back and watched, but it has just become to much to bear,” said Goodwin. “I’ve become sick of all the politics and all the backstabbing that goes on down there. We deserve better and I feel like I can do better.”
While Goodwin is new to the political arena, there are some old names that are being rumored to run. One is schoolteacher Terry LaBruno. .
If she were to run, this would be her fourth attempt at gaining office. In May she ran as an independent for an at-large seat. Although she did not win she did have by far the largest support of any independent candidate, with 1,541 votes, more than three times the next independent.
Another old face that has been rumored is Florence Amato. She ran unsuccessfully against Ramos in May of 1999. Amato served as a commissioner on the Hoboken Housing Authority for 1992 to 1997 and has worked as a construction supervisor for the Hoboken Parking Authority. She is married to former 4th Ward Councilman Andrew Amato.
Also rumored to be thinking about running is corrections officer Freddie Frazier, who has run for the 4th Ward council seat several times.
Not nearly as cluttered
As of Friday, no candidates had filed for the 6th Ward seat, and only interim Councilman Giacchi has announced his intentions to run. A lifelong Hoboken resident and Newark insurance defense attorney, Giacchi has said it has been a honor serving as the 6th Ward councilman, and he looks forward to the opportunity to run in November.
“I have really enjoyed working with the constituents and look forward to continuing my public service into the future,” said Giacchi Thursday.
And while it appears that there might not be much competition, Giacchi is not taking anything for granted.
“There are too many qualified candidates in this ward to take anything for granted,” he added. “But I do feel like I might have a little bit of a leg up. Mayor Roberts was the councilman here for 16 years and was so well respected. I feel that the mayor’s backing of me lets everyone in the 6th Ward know that he believes that I can continue with the quality leadership that he started.”
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