Historians will look back at 2010 as a banner year for Hoboken conspiracies, especially with regard to the hole growing on Sinatra Drive.
We’re going to get film clips aka Watergate of Councilman Michael Russo asking, “I want to know what she knew and when she knew it,” in regards to Mayor Dawn Zimmer the way we had when Congressional Democrats took President Richard M. Nixon to task.
Next we’ll get some whacko somewhere asking if someone deliberately put the worms in the wood so that the roadway would collapse for some unimaginable reason.
Meanwhile, maybe the hole will get bigger and bigger and like some 1950s horror movie, will soon gobble up all of Hoboken and the parade of political figures so busy looking for someone to blame that they forgot the hole had to be fixed.
Nixon nemesis John F. Kennedy once said “Ask not what your country can do for you, etc,” but that’s not how politics works in Hudson County. Here the mantra is: find someone to blame.
This battle over the hole, of course, is set against the backdrop of the Nov. 2 special election in the 4th ward, where appointed Councilman Michael Lenz is trying to fend off a stronger than expected challenge from Tim Occhipinti, and where any attack on Zimmer automatically strikes at Lenz, who is her supporter.
Reports claim that the county has already received as many as 500 mail-in ballots, a number that is expected to increase by Nov. 2, and some in the Occhipinti camp are claiming more than 400 of these are his. Lenz has an uphill battle to fight.
Can he get his vote out in enough numbers to counter the very focused campaign against him?
The problem is that he is facing a perfect storm. With no other candidates in the race, Lenz stands alone against a concentrated force of anti-Zimmer people, such as Michael Russo, Frank Raia, Ruben Ramos and others, all of whom would be home knitting mittens for Christmas if they didn’t have this election to keep them occupied.
In a normal election, each would be fighting in his or her own ward, so could not send their armies into the 4th ward to get at Lenz, who along with Zimmer has made some symbolic political blunders to aid his enemy: announcing police lay offs, arguments with a parish priest, and, of course, the “Holegate” on Sinatra Drive.
Lenz – who was once considered a front runner to a no-name Occhipinti early in the campaign – seems to be in the political fight of his life, and the implications are enormous, since with Lenz goes control of the City Council, creating possible chaos for Zimmer going into next May’s regularly-scheduled elections.
To debate or not debate
Rep. Albio Sires and Rep. Steve Rothman have both refused to debate their challengers, Henrietta Dwyer and Michael Agosta, in the upcoming election for House of Representatives —
a politically wise move in the sense that this refusal keeps their opponents from gaining a platform on which to attack them.
Some argue this is a disservice to the public that has the right to have their candidates answer questions in a public forum. But gauging from the circus some made of Rothman’s Town Meetings over healthcare last year where Tea Partiers stacked the audience with hecklers, a debate makes no sense for either incumbent, who apparently see no need to give their opponents a voice when poll numbers show they are in the lead.
In many cases, people out of power generally talk about public rights, while those in power think debates in public forums merely aid their political opponents.
Secaucus election a sleeper
Take Back Secaucus, the party that helped propel into the mayor’s seat last year, is seen as the front runner in ward elections on Nov. 2, although Secaucus sometimes surprises people. With the Democratic Party there in disarray last year after the arrest of then-Mayor Dennis Elwell in the federal sting operation, it may not have had time to rebuild.
But without the shadow of scandal, much of the election will fall on the shoulders of the individual candidates, and whether or not people see them as the right person for the job. With John Shinnick choosing to not run this year, the third ward race is up for grabs, where Susan Pirro faces Mark Bruscino. Otherwise, the advantage will be in the hands of the incumbents, Gary Jeffas against Democrat Michael Zych in the first ward and Jim Clancy against Nancy Mateo in the third.
Sheriff’s race is uphill battle for Perez
Very few political observers see much chance for Republican incumbent Juan Perez to beat Democratic challenger Frank Schillari, mostly because Schillari can count on three very powerful political machines: North Bergen, Union City and Bayonne.
The merits of the candidate are almost beside the point in Hudson County, where political bosses decide your fate, and though Perez is putting up a fight with the backing of the Republican Party, he has an uphill climb to retain his seat. The last remaining Latino countywide elected official, Perez might be able to draw on a Latino vote. But will it be enough?
Things get ugly in the 31st District
Appointed incumbent state Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell is being challenged by three candidates in the 31st district: independent Democrats Robert Mays and Denis Wilbeck, as well as Republican Joseph Turula. While everything seems clean on the surface, O’Donnell has become victim of behind the scenes attack, street fliers generated by fellow Democrats who would like to see O’Donnell run out of office. What might occur, however, is voter apathy over the ugliness or perhaps even a shift to vote for Turula as someone seen running an issue-oriented campaign. While few Republicans historically have won state wide seats in Hudson County, this is a year when anything is possible, since many people are sick of politics as usual.