Tonight, we got a phone call that seems to be spurred by the mayoral aspirations of Councilwoman Beth Mason, who has indicated she may run in November against Acting Mayor/Council President Dawn Zimmer. Disclaimer: we don’t know for sure, but the anti-Zimmer, pro-Mason questions are a hint.
The poll started off asking about the statewide and local elections in general, but eventually got down to the nitty gritty: Asking how we felt about various positive things about Mason, and then asking how we thought about some negative things about Zimmer.
It asked if we’d be less likely to support Zimmer if we knew that her experience was largely as a freelance photographer. It also said she once grossly misstated the size of Hoboken’s city budget when asked about it, and didn’t have enough management experience.
It also asked how we felt about her being city council president and acting mayor at once, even though she doesn’t have to do both.
Then, it laid out Mason’s resume of employment and service.
It also asked how we felt about Mason’s conceptual plan to develop the area north of the Hoboken Viaduct with small businesses and a recreational area (possibly a minor league baseball field).
It asked how we felt about the following Hoboken politicos:
Assemblyman Ruben Ramos Jr.
Former Mayor David Roberts
Mason
Zimmer
Former Board of Ed President and frequent political candidate Frank Raia
Councilman Michael Russo
Zoning Board Member and former council candidate Michael Novak.
Then there were several questions asking how Mason, Zimmer, and Raia stack up against each other. (Apparently Raia may be the “old Hoboken” candidate in this election.
It asked how we’d feel about selling the hospital to a private corporation, considering that this might cause it to close. Also, would we prefer stable development, or a moratorium on new buildings?
It asked if we’d want to use absentee ballots in order to avoid having to vote on Election Day.
It also asked some questions about how we feel about Barack Obama.
Warning: This is a long and involved poll. If you want to do your part to help out these poor phone pollsters who are trying to make an hourly wage, please do, but just remember it may take a while!
What do you think? Should Mason run? Should Russo? Should Raia? Is this poll meant to get information, or is it a “push poll” just meant to disparage one of the candidates? Is it put out by Mason, or is it Raia or Zimmer trying to throw off suspicion? COMMENT BELOW!
Mason seems to be polling for mayor of Hoboken
