On Tuesday, residents in the city’s 3rd Ward, located in the center of the west side of town, will have the opportunity to elect a councilperson to serve for the next three and a half years. The polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
The 3rd Ward post became vacant when recently elected councilman and former mayor Anthony Russo resigned because of the reoccurrence of his cancer. Russo said the cancer is now in his left adrenal gland. He has been undergoing chemotherapy and is scheduled to have surgery.
Since resigning, Russo has also been indicted on charges of allegedly taking money during the 1990s in exchange for action on municipal contracts. He has pleaded not guilty on all charges and is awaiting trial.
Running in Tuesday’s race are former City Councilwoman Roseanne Andreula, 56, interim Councilman Vincent Addeo, 43, who was handpicked by Mayor David Roberts, and Michael Russo, 28, a physical therapist who is the son of Anthony Russo.
Councilpersons in Hoboken earn approximately $20,000 per year.
Vincent Addeo
Addeo, 43, is currently serving as the interim 3rd Ward councilman and is running in the upcoming special election with Roberts’ support.
Addeo was voted in by the City Council in August as an interim councilman, replacing Anthony Russo.
Addeo is currently a District Organizer for the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers, IAMAW, AFL-CIO Transportation Department.
Addeo ran against the mayor’s candidate in May and finished third in the voting behind Anthony Russo and Andreula. Addeo’s team, Hoboken First, had been critical of Roberts’ team during the elections, but ended up supporting them during a subsequent runoff between Russo and Andreula, which Russo won. Now Addeo is hoping that the mayor’s support and campaign funds will be enough to put him over the top.
Roseanne Andreula
A former 10-year council member, Andreula, 54, first joined the council in a November 1993 election to replace Anthony Russo, who became mayor earlier that year. In 1995 and 1999 she ran on Russo’s ticket.
In the election in May, she ran as the incumbent against Russo on Roberts’ Hoboken United slate. She lost her seat to Russo by about 100 votes in the runoff. Andreula will attempt to get her seat back as an independent, which is a new experience for the former councilwoman.
Andreula is a medical assistant and EKG technician at a local cardiologist’s office.
While Anthony Russo’s indictment has been an issue during this election season, there is a precedent in the 3rd Ward of a successful campaign despite the legal troubles of family members. In 1999, former ABC Chairman Frank Andreula, Rosanne’s husband, pleaded guilty to taking kickbacks from an ABC attorney and bar owners during the mid-1990s. That same year, Roseanne Andreula was successful in her bid to be re-elected in the 3rd Ward.
Michael Russo
Michael Russo, 28, is running to fill his father’s vacant seat in the 3rd Ward. Russo is a born-and-raised Hoboken resident, and a product of the public school system. As a licensed physical therapist, he now owns and operates a private practice in Hoboken while pursuing a clinical doctorate degree.
The big question is, will Anthony Russo’s name hurt or help his son’s chances in the election? The younger Russo is running a platform he calls his own. But the shadow his father cast over this election cannot be overlooked. The former mayor won convincingly in May and has strong support and loyal friends in the neighborhood.
Last week, the Reporter published in-depth profiles of all of the candidates. To learn more, visit www.hobokenreporter.com or stop into our offices at 14th and Washington streets during business hours to request copies of that issue. Sidebar:
Signs of the times
Negative politicking and campaigning are not new occurrences in Hoboken, and it appears to be no different this election season, with all sides complaining that the other is trying to gain an unfair advantage.
Several reported verbal spats between campaign workers ensued after supporters of 3rd Ward Candidate Michael Russo said they saw city workers tearing his political posters down from telephone and utility poles. On Monday afternoon, Russo said that Mayor David Roberts, who is supporting Vincent Addeo in the race, was using city workers on city time to “actively campaign” for his opponent. He also said that it was his belief that the workers were tearing down his posters while leaving Addeo’s intact.
“The city is using city workers on city time, costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars, to openly and publicly campaign for my opponent,” said Russo.
Tuesday morning, Roberts said that the workers were removing all signs, including political ones, from utility poles.
Citing quality-of-life issues addressed by residents and city sanitation inspectors, Roberts said Tuesday that his administration is implementing a “zero tolerance” policy on advertisement signs on utility poles.
“It is illegal to post advertisements of any type on utility poles,” said Roberts. “This is a quality-of-life issue. It’s ugly and invasive and against the law. City inspectors have been instructed to remove all signs.”
He added that sanitation inspectors on Monday morning have begun the citywide removal of signs from utility poles and public signs such as stop signs. He referenced City Code #168 section 23 which “prohibits any placement on poles or public signs.” Further, he said, the State Roadside Sign Control and Outdoor Advertising Act (N.J.S.A 27:5-9.f) “prohibits the placing or maintaining of signs on utility poles.”
“From a utility perspective, any item placed on a utility pole poses a safety hazard to utility workers, especially when flyers or signs are attached by staples or nails,” said Richard Dwyer, public affairs manager for PSE&G.
Russo said that Roberts’ “zero-tolerance” policy on the signs is a “joke.” He added that if the mayor was really concerned about “ugly and invasive” campaigning then he should not have put “Hoboken United” flyers under the windshields of cars during the May election season. In addition, he noted, there were many posters for Rep. Robert Menendez last May that were left up for nearly two weeks.
In addition to Russo and Addeo, Rosanne Andreula, the former 3rd Ward councilwoman who was defeated by Anthony Russo in a June runoff election, is also running to return to the council. – Tom Jennemann