HOBOKEN — Two weeks ago, Hoboken Councilwoman Beth Mason sent out a letter to her constituents about the Hoboken municipal garage issue, but also chided Zoning Board Chairman (and longtime Hoboken activist) Tony Soares for, according to Mason, bringing her children into political debate.
Since then, Mason supporters and opponents have argued in print over the issue. Some said Mason was exaggerating for political reasons and that she has kept quiet about others who have made low blows. Others have said that Soares didn’t actually bring her children into the debate. (Soares did mention them in a blog response on thehobokenjournal.blogspot.com two weeks ago that you can view at that site, although others have argued that this was not an attack). Still others said that Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s supporters, including Soares, can be quite acid-tongued. (See the whopping 45 comments from last week on this issue in the “most commented” column of hudsonreporter.com).
Now, Soares has addressed the issue, specifically since Mason’s husband wrote a letter to the Reporter this weekend.
Soares responds:
Dear Editor,
A man who defends his wife is a quite a noble individual in my opinion. However, a man who tries to destroy a person’s reputation while insinuating deplorable behavior and attacking a person’s right to earn a living is anything but noble.
Again Beth and Ricky are at it; telling half truths hoping nobody will listen to the other half or draw their own conclusions.
Two weeks ago Ms Mason published a press release regarding her opinion on the municipal garage, but then went on to tell the story of her family (again) and how much they love Hoboken.
I think it’s safe to assume all of us love this city.
Ms. Mason names her children by name and discusses their lives here. I did not. Here is her quote: “My husband, Ricky, and I have lived in Hoboken longer than any other place in our lives. Our daughters Shipley and Virginia were born here and are being raised in Hoboken, which is very much our family’s hometown. ”
Here’s what I said in response to her press release on one blog: “Beth Mason is a liar, a bully and worst incompetent.
Claiming she knows sealed bid information is a violation of her sworn oath of office and she should be brought up on ethics charges.
She limos her kids to elite private schools in Manhattan, her husband’s own endorsement letter for his wife stated ‘we owned our home here but lived our lives in NYC.’
I never brought Mason’s kids into it; she did. I never mentioned them by name; she did.
I criticized a public official who based on her public comments over the years did not use any school in Hoboken.
Mr and Mrs Mason let’s agree: leave children out of it; along with people’s weight, height, disability, volunteer service and low paying substitute teaching positions.
Tony Soares