HOBOKEN – Hoboken City Council candidate Eduardo Gonzalez, who is part of Ruben Ramos’s campaign slate that will challenge the leadership of incumbent Mayor Dawn Zimmer in a November election, filed a complaint with the city’s pay-to-play compliance officer over contributions Zimmer received last spring that he said he believes violates city code.
The contributions in question, $150 from Boswell Engineering on March 14 and $150 from Bernard Kenny of the law firm Florio & Kenny LLP on April 4, both cause those donors to exceed the aggregate amount any professional firm can donate to a political candidate, $300. With the newest contributions, both Kenny and Boswell have given Zimmer $450 each.
After Gonzalez filed his complaint with the city, Ramos blasted the mayor, saying that her “Do as I say, not as I do” attitude has gone far enough.
“Mayor Zimmer doesn’t seem to care about ordinances, rules or deadlines when they don’t fit her own political agenda,” he said in a press release. “We all have heard over and over that the mayor ran as a reformer, but what she has done since getting elected is grab power and become just another politician that causes a traffic jam in City Hall.”
Zimmer said last week that she planned to return the contributions, but her most recent filing with the Election Law Enforcement Commission showed no refunds. It was filed on July 15, well past the state’s 45-day grace period for returning such contributions.
Zimmer did not offer comment by the end of the day on Wednesday, but said that her campaign’s treasurer would issue a response to Ramos’ criticisms as soon as possible. Keep an eye on hudsonreporter.com as this story develops. – Dean DeChiaro
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