“Yes, you are right,” Mark Twain said in a 1902 letter to a close friend. “I am a moralist in disguise; it gets me into heaps of trouble when I go thrashing around in political questions.”
This has never been truer than in Hoboken these last few weeks. To misquote Twain somewhat: being involved in politics is like being in a wasp’s nest in a short-sleeved shirt. Sooner or later, you will get stung.
Hoboken’s political scene got much more interesting this week as supporters of Mayor Dawn Zimmer retook control of the City Council they lost in last November’s special election between Michael Lenz and Tim Occhipinti.
The May election narrowly reversed Zimmer’s political fortunes, giving her people the ability to undo some of the political sabotage done against her administration over the last six months.
For those in opposition to Zimmer, the concept of “reformer” has a new meaning. Twain noted that anytime you’re on the wrong side of the majority, is it time to reform. It is clear that the Zimmer administration has learned some hard political lessons since last November, and one important lesson was not to take anything for granted – which may explain why they stuffed the agenda for this past Friday’s reorganization meeting with controversial proposals, determined apparently to make sure they get what they want done before political fortune stops smiling on them.
One of the most interesting changes being proposed was the introduction of an ordinance that will change municipal elections from May to November, allowing Zimmer a seven-month extension to her term with a simple council vote.
While touted as a money-saving effort, the move would also allow Zimmer to run on the same ballot as Gov. Christopher Christie in 2013, perhaps helping to boost her voter turnout which has been sagging lately.
The idea of May municipal elections was part of the 20th century reform movement that removed political party influence from local elections. In the past, candidates for local elections were at times able to ride the shirt tails of popular state and national figures into office, when they lacked their own local support.
The May elections were designed to give local voters more of a choice of who would run their communities free of outside influence.
One of the people who will be backing a challenger to Zimmer said moving the election won’t help the mayor.
“She can run on New Year’s Eve and we’re still going to beat her,” he said.
This is tall talk for an election that is still more than two years away – especially when the Zimmer administration has started playing political hardball.
Stack is a lone wolf
State Sen. Brian Stack reportedly isn’t doing too well with some of his colleagues. A number of people reported a meeting between Stack and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez at the Coach House Diner two weeks ago. The two powerful political figures did not look happy. Some believe that Stack’s close relationship to Gov. Christie has Menendez nervous, especially with Menendez’s 2013 reelection looming over him. The last thing Menendez needs is to have Stack steering Union City voters to some Republican challenger.
Meanwhile, Stack was apparently unable to sway Assemblyman Ruben Ramos to vote for the public employee health benefit package – leaving Stack as the only Hudson County legislator to support Christie’s reform. While the package passed anyway, this may have been a litmus test for Democrats here, and put Stack at odds with many of the people he will be running with in November.
Even state Sen. Sandra Cunningham – who has strong personal ties to Christie – voted against the measure.
Ramos, however, apparently received some words of encouragement from state Sen. Nicholas Sacco for sticking with the rest of the Democrats.
This was also something of a victory for Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith, chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, who won reelection to the chairmanship on June 9. The HCDO has had some hard times lately, and this seemed to bring back a little of the old spirit.
On another note, Stack’s ex-wife, Katia Stack, has agreed to reimburse the city for using a municipal vehicle for personal use, something that was highlighted in a Fox News program earlier this year.
Christie wins a big one
Attorney Anne Patterson was approved to serve on the New Jersey Supreme Court this week, more than a year after Christie nominated her for the post.
Democrats had blocked her nomination when Christie attempted to put her in place of Justice John Wallace, whom Christie refused to reappoint.
Democrats agreed to accept Patterson when Christie nominated her to replace retiring Justice Roberto Rivera-Sotoinstead. Patterson will start her term on the court after Rivera-Soto’s planned retirement on Sept. 1.
Fulop’s big challenge: not to fall asleep
With the municipal election in Jersey City still nearly two years away, the big job for the team supporting the mayoral hopes of Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop is how to stay enthused.
Fulop won several significant battles over the last few months, including supporting a ticket of candidate for the school board, a tough committee fight, and then, a fight for control of the municipal committee.
Now, his team may have to keep busy with other elections just to stay in shape, such as getting the Democratic ticket elected in November, and then supporting the reelection efforts of Menendez and President Barack Obama.
“It’s all about keeping in shape,” one of Fulop’s advisors said.