Dear Editor:
Corruption in Hudson County has always been a daily operational procedure of accepted standards, especially in Jersey City. The recent indictments, of a Deputy Mayor, Members of the City Council, Candidates, Political Figures and Municipal Department Employees, have awakened a sense of humiliation with an enormous regression of our own self esteem. If there was a law in which we were able to indict all those who lie and show their useless inabilities to govern, while impersonating a competent government administrator, then most City officials would be behind bars.
An individual doesn’t have to accept a monetary kickback to be corrupt; they could also be an outrageous detriment to society and their constituents by adversely affecting their quality of life. For example, an eleven and a half percent property tax increase, during a recession, when foreclosures on are the rise, unemployment is at an all time high, and tax abatements were given freely to real estate developers. These puppet failures increased the financial burdens of daily living, to the struggling family, creating an atmosphere of despair.
These disparaging chains of events were finally brought to a head by Federal indictments, which were administered to candidates, together with elected and non–elected employees which were hand picked by our Mayor. Some of these indicted individuals studied their options with the final analysis of admitting their guilt. While others decided to take the low road by staying in office, further degrading our City Government, making a mockery out of us, a clown out of themselves, and a reputation of having no ethical morals or standards. This basically confirmed our speculations pertaining to a corrupt undignified Administration, lacking any scruples. All this was happening while Mayor Jeremiah Healy fiddled and most of the City Council danced to his tune of dishonesty.
We, the people aren’t totally innocent victims in all this. Look at the last previous Municipal elections, which were highlighted by the shameful reality of escalated voter apathy. Honestly, we didn’t have the best and brightest to choose from, especially with the notifications of multiple candidates indicted, after the elections, for accepting illegal campaign contributions and another trying to justify her municipal residency.
These mishaps should offer us an incentive, to relentlessly search, entice or draft individuals to run for office, that have good morals, scruples, ethics, integrity and intelligence, dedicated to the people. Obviously, relinquishing our precious vote is not the answer.
This retreat in ignoring the elections is committing social sacrilege. This states that we are willing to accept leadership characteristics comprised of the self serving, conceited, arrogant, incompetent puppets and corrupt thieves. This repetitious mistake throughout the years created an open door policy, for the unprincipled, to constantly pick our pockets clean. Every citizen that has the power to vote, must, on Election Day, whether it’s the Primary, General Elections, Federal, State, County, Municipal, or School Board positions, because by sitting on your hands, you are summiting and yielding control of your own destiny and your family to others.
William P. Frasca
Jersey City, N.J.