Dear Editor:
If I heed the advice of my Uncle Steve Cappiello, three time Mayor and 14 year Councilman of this great city, I would smile a lot and say very little publicly. But it’s not my nature, and it’s not the 1970s and 1980s.
There is such a fine mixture of candidates running for the Board of Education that I would be remiss not to mention this election.
Jimmy Farina is one of the most experienced, savvy and respected members of any Board of Education in the State of New Jersey. His dedication to our children and their recreation programs has been second to none. Felicia Rubino has not had the opportunity to serve but through her dedication to cause, her refusal to take “can’t be done” as an answer and her ability to dialogue and work with all representatives of our city, she has almost single-handedly brought our school district to rethink the K through 8 mentality. Theresa Burns, a former Marine, has been through some fierce battles at the Board in her nine year tenure as has Wanda Alicia, but they both have shown their class, dignity and dedication to the children they voluntarily serve.
Ultimately the women and men who get the most votes will win. In our new Hoboken there are many young professional and talented minds, and many of them have great opinions and ideas about what’s best for our educational system and our city. But only a few have the courage, conviction and gumption to run for an elected office.
God Bless all the candidates. Let’s pray that at the end of this political process there will be a balanced team in place at the Board of Education that will help Jack move our district into places we have not gone before.
Hoboken is one of the best places to live in this state. Let’s have a school system that is one of the best school districts in this state.
Sincerely,
Terry LaBruno
Vice-President
Hoboken City Council