Dear Editor:
I am happy to endorse my friend Beth Mason for Mayor. I came to Hoboken almost 25 years ago, like Beth, and like Beth and her husband Ricky who are raising their daughters Shipley and Virginia here, we’re raising our girls here too. Beth has served as Second Ward Councilwoman since 2007. I would be proud for her to be our Mayor.
Beth has been fighting for Hoboken taxpayers and residents every day, year after year. Most recently, she was the only Mayoral candidate to sponsor an independent forensic audit of the City’s finances, and to consistently vote “NO” on Mayor Roberts’ wasteful budget. She has declined to take a Council salary, and has gone to court at her own expense to force City Hall to show us how our taxpayer money is being spent. As recent events have made clear, Beth’s fights for fiscal transparency were critical (and unpopular) fights to fight, necessitated by the mismanagement of the Roberts administration. While I have long been impressed with Beth’s leadership on the City Council and her willingness to ask hard budget questions, leafing through thick printouts at City Council meetings, and seeking answers from City managers, she has been a leader on many other important issues. As chair of Hoboken’s Master Plan subcommittee, Beth fought to include parks, open space and affordable housing in the city’s development plans.
Beth also showed leadership when, to help her fix a broken City Hall, she assembled a talented and diverse Council ticket to represent our community. Anthony Pasquale is a retired senior executive of AXA, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. Tony has overseen budgets many times larger than Hoboken’s and will bring a keen businessman’s eye to our fiscal issues. Vinny Addeo, a senior official with the International Association of Machinists, AFL-CIO, understands that municipal labor costs are a significant issue; he will join with Beth and City Hall employees to address those costs in a way that gets the job done while respecting our city employees’ important contributions. Raul Morales is a young lawyer with a bright future, who graduated from Hoboken High School, Brown University and my alma mater, Rutgers University School of Law in Newark.
Given the fiscal crisis we face, we need a strong leader with a track record for taking on tough and unpopular fights for fiscal transparency and good government. Beth is that leader. She is hard-working and determined, and she will make us proud. On May 12th, please join me in electing Beth Mason and the Mason Team.
Sincerely,
Phil Cohen
Hoboken