Dear Editor,
Please allow me to respond to last week’s story regarding Councilman Cunningham’s and Councilman Bhalla’s resolution, which they tacked onto an ordinance endorsed by the People for Open Government to strengthen our campaign finance laws. The City Council passed the ordinance unanimously, without their so-called “anti-wheeling” resolution, which is not really “anti-wheeling” at all. It’s just “anti-Beth”. As reported this resolution specifically targeted me and my ability to use my own money when running for office. Why? Because in last November’s election I supported Councilman Tim Occhipinti over their and Mayor Zimmer’s ally, Michael Lenz, for City Council.
I supported Tim because he is a bright new leader who represents a philosophical and generational change from the politics of old. Mr. Lenz on the other hand exemplified anything but good government. A dual job holder, Mr. Lenz waived the medical benefits from his full time County job so he could collect a bonus, and then cost Hoboken taxpayers the $23,000 annual charge of medical benefits for his part time Council position. He was also quoted as saying Council members are not elected to cut taxes, and his actions supported that philosophy. Reducing the burden on Hoboken’s taxpayers, in the Second Ward and elsewhere, is my number one goal, which Mr. Lenz obviously did not share.
My family and I were proud to contribute $13,000 of our hard-earned money to Councilman Occhipinti’s campaign, as were others; in fact, he raised almost six times the amount we contributed, from other people. Councilman Councilman Bhalla called my contribution the catalyst for his ordinance but in 2009 Mayor Zimmer contributed $100,000 to her own campaign and over $100,000 of her own money to Council members Bhalla, Marsh, and Mello during their Council-at-Large campaign. That was not illegal and was the Mayor’s right to do so with her own money, but it underscores the double standard on display.
Mayor Zimmer announced her support of the Cunningham-Bhalla ordinance by saying that it will limit the influence of outside contributors on Hoboken political races. But, among its other faults, this is exactly the opposite of what the ordinance actually says. The ordinance prohibits self-funding Hoboken candidate committees, such as mine, from contributing more than $500 to other candidates. But it leaves a gaping hole for developers and other outsiders to donate thousands of dollars to Hoboken candidate committees such as hers, with no corresponding $500 limit on her committee’s ability to contribute to the people she favors. This is the very essence of “wheeling”, which the Cunningham-Bhalla ordinance does nothing to stop. Instead, it targets people like me, who are willing to use our own resources to fight for Hoboken residents and taxpayers, and magnifies the influence of non-Hoboken money.
When crafting legislation there must be a higher standard than “how can I hurt people I disagree with today?” If Councilmen Cunningham and Bhalla are serious about campaign finance reform, an issue that they seem to have come to only recently, then I am happy to sit down and work with them on legislation that works for the entire community, and does not just target my family and other Hoboken residents who are not their best friends.
Councilwoman Beth Mason
City Council President