The political dynamics, subtexts and undercurrents were palpable Wednesday night as a steely-eyed Councilman-elect Michael Russo sat in the third row of the audience of the City Council chambers, surrounded by several dozen pro-Russo supporters who booed and hissed as the City Council passed its controversial $59.9 million budget.
The story actually starts on Tuesday, when Russo beat Mayor David Roberts-supported candidate Vincent Addeo and former Councilwoman Roseanne Andreula in a special election to fill the 3rd Ward seat left vacant by Anthony Russo, Michael’s father. If the election had not been challenged, the results could have been certified the next day and the candidate-elect could have been sworn into the council.
But it has become commonplace in Hoboken to allege voting irregularities when it comes to absentee ballots, and earlier this week Addeo, with the aid of Roberts’ Hoboken United lawyers, marched into court to challenge more than 130 absentee ballots for a host of different reasons.
Those ballots were ordered impounded by Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli. Roberts said Thursday that he will “continue to fight” the absentee ballot matter. “Rest assured that we will be checking these signatures,” said Roberts. “We will be closely looking at these ballots, and should the investigation warrant it, we will take action.”
The mayor added that he has also called for a recount. Michael Russo won by 48 votes on the machines.
This challenge has thrown things into limbo because the Hudson County Superintendent of Elections can’t certify the election while it is being challenged. Without the certification, Russo cannot be sworn in.
Interim councilman debate
That takes the action to Wednesday night, where Russo sat with friends and family in the audience. On the agenda was the city’s budget. During Russo’s campaign, city spending was one of his biggest issues, and he has been a vocal critic of the proposed budget.
As the meeting opened, anti-Roberts Councilwoman Theresa Castellano introduced a resolution to appoint Russo as interim city councilman. In August, the council appointed Addeo to serve as interim councilman until a permanent councilperson could be elected. Addeo was not present at Wednesday’s meeting, and the chair set aside for the 3rd Ward councilman was empty.
With Addeo defeated, Castellano said that it would be appropriate to replace Addeo with “the voters’ choice.” This ignited a fierce debate over whether it was possible to replace Addeo with Russo in the interim position until the election is officially certified. “There is already somebody in that position until the special election is certified,” said City Attorney Joseph Sherman.
“The people of the 3rd Ward want this seat filled,” responded Castellano, and called for a vote, despite the advice of the attorney. Councilman Tony Soares added that the interim council position is a discretionary position, and it is well within the purview of the council to replace Addeo if the governing body so desires.
The council voted on the matter, and the vote ended in a 4-4 tie. In what was seen by some as a bold move, Councilman Richard Del Boccio, who usually votes in favor of the administration, voted with the opposition.
Legal advice questioned
The tie created another level of tension. During the public comment portion of the meeting, Russo asked where the mayor was. It was his contention that the mayor is the only person who has the authority to break a tie when it comes to filling a vacant council position. Without a tie-breaker vote, a tie is considered a vote in the negative.
The mayor has made it a policy to not attend City Council meetings, as former Mayor Anthony Russo had sometimes been accused of meddling when he came to the meetings and argued with opponents. Roberts was not present at Wednesday night’s meeting.
Sherman responded to Russo’s charge by saying that, in his legal opinion, the mayor did not have authority to make the tie-breaking vote anyway. That interpretation was challenged by Russo and former city Business Administrator George Crimmins, who had been employed in Anthony Russo’s administration.
Tuesday, Sherman approached the Reporter and corrected himself. He said Crimmins and Russo were right in saying that the mayor would have had the proper authority to break the tie. But he added the caveat that the “vote was illegal” in the first place because the seat was not vacant, therefore his erroneous legal interpretation was irrelevant.
“The fact of the matter is,” said Sherman. “There was no vacancy to fill because [Addeo] is still the [legal interim councilman] until the election results are certified.”
No 3rd Ward representation
After it became evident that Russo would not sit Wednesday night, Castellano made a motion that the budget be tabled. Her motion failed by a 3-5 vote.
Russo said that administration is disenfranchising 3rd Ward residents by not allowing their elected representative to speak on their behalf on an issue that as important as the city budget. The budget increased more than $2 million since it was first introduced earlier this year.
“This is a farce,” said Russo. “Even if my vote isn’t enough to make a difference, the fact is that people living in my ward have no representation on the council. This is nothing more than politics as usual.”
Soares said that challenging the absentee ballots is a political move to delay Russo’s swearing in.
Roberts responded that it is the Judge Maurice Gallipoli, not him, that ruled that the ballots should be impounded. “These [attacks] are nothing more than political rhetoric,” said Roberts. He added that the Russo family is laying siege to his administration in an orchestrated attempt to “get back into this [the mayor’s] office.”
The implication is that the mayor thinks that Michael Russo could be gearing up for a mayoral run in 2005.
Roberts said he is proud to stand on his record and the record of his administration. He said the city is “great” shape fiscally.
“If you look at all the positive things that are happening in Hoboken, it is clear that we are moving forward,” said Roberts. “Our tax rate is stable, our streets are cleaner, and we have more police [officers] patrolling our streets. Just in the past week and a half, Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant opened, we announced the first major affordable housing [project] in nearly two decades, and opened a new skateboard park on the waterfront.”
Budget passes
Amidst all the political wrangling, the $59.9 million 2003-2004 budget was passed by a 5-3 vote. The budget is up from an original $57.4 million spending plan proposed a month ago. For the past several months, Roberts said that layoff were looming, and only at the last minute were new revenues plugged into the budget, saving nearly 100 jobs.
The budget does not have to raise taxes because of a controversial bond ordinance that allows more money to remain in the city’s coffers now but will cost more in the future.
Roberts said that the budget is successful in maintaining a stable tax rate while preserving the current level of services “that the community has come to appreciate, without layoffs.”
Critics have said that the administration has used threats of layoffs as a “divide and conquer” tactic that put fear into city employees. They have said that the Roberts administration used the employees as leverage to get a refinancing passed that will add $15 million in extra future debt.