For the last 12 years, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner has turned over the reins of Town Hall for one day to the prospective leaders of tomorrow. Weehawken High School seniors got the chance to participate and learn about local government in this annual “Student Day” event.
However, this year’s group received a special treat that no other Weehawken Student Day contingent ever had – an impromptu visit from the governor.
Weehawken Public Safety Director Jeff Welz received a phone call early Thursday morning asking permission for the New Jersey State Police helicopter, carrying Gov. Jim McGreevey, to land on the field at Weehawken Stadium.
McGreevey had to attend a press conference in Manhattan involving the Fleet Week ships that were being paraded in the Hudson River as part of the Memorial Day weekend. However, the helicopter couldn’t land in New York, so the State Police figured Weehawken’s baseball diamond was the best and most convenient spot.
Before the students headed off to their respective City Hall departments, accompanied by the township’s department heads, they had a brief visit with New Jersey’s premier political figure.
“I was really surprised to see the helicopter land,” said Obed Bazikian, who was a township councilman for the day. “It was great to see the Governor again.”
Many of these students already had a chance to meet McGreevey, since the high school marching band had been selected to perform at the inaugural parade when McGreevey took office in January.
However, it was an impressive way for the students to begin their day in charge of Weehawken’s government. “He’s quite a character,” said Karina Espaillat. “I didn’t expect to see the governor today.”
After their brush with greatness, the students then headed off to take their respective tours of the township’s infrastructure.
Some of the students took a tour of the Hoboken sewerage treatment facility. Others spent the day learning about the responsibilities of the municipal employees. However, recreation director Chuck Barone was given the assignment of being paired with a familiar face – son Victor, who was recreation director for the day.
“I sort of knew what he did already,” the younger Barone said.
After accompanying the town’s leaders for the morning session, the students returned to Town Hall for lunch with Turner, to partake in a question and answer session. Because of the recent election, which Turner and his ticket of incumbents won in mammoth proportions last week, the students were actually in tune with the issues concerning the township.
The students asked questions about the Roseland Properties’ Port Imperial South waterfront development project, the proposed revitalization of Park Avenue, the inclusion of the upcoming NJ TRANSIT Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system and other issues, like the growth of trees throughout the township.
Chayanne Moya, who was mayor for the day and presided over an actual township council meeting Thursday evening, was actually unaware that the town utilizes the manager/council form of government, that Turner was not elected as mayor (only appointed by the council after being elected to it) and holds only a part-time position with the town.
“I had no idea about any of this before the election,” Moya said. “I thought we just voted for mayor. I think it helped that we all knew a lot coming into today, because we paid attention to the election, reading about it in the papers, and realizing what was going on. The election helped us all to be more aware.”
“You always see the town workers from the outside, but you never get a chance to appreciate what they do,” said Gabriel Garcia, who was the Department of Public Works director for the day, accompanying current director Vincent Giusto. “I think we all got the chance to see how our government works and we now have a better appreciation.”
Learning about politics
Turner explained to the students that “politics is an amazing business. No one wants to admit that they are a politician, but if they run for public office and they win, they’re politicians. We have to constantly sell what we do. I think everyone has a heightened awareness because of the election.”
Turner also said that the current administration now has its work cut out for it over the next four years.
“We started with a premise and made sure the premise was carried through,” Turner told the students when speaking of the proposed waterfront development. “Now, we approved the plan, so the next step is to make sure that the plan is done and done right. It’s on our shoulders over the next few years to make sure that what has been approved is actually built.”
Turner believed that the day was a success, especially with the visit from McGreevey.
“I find that having a day like this is always important, because it explains the form of government and how we operate,” Turner said. “But I truly believe that we had a head start because of the elections. They were all aware of the issues that were brought out in the election and I think now they appreciate it all better.”