Dear Editor:
After careful consideration, I am supporting Tim Occhipinti for Mayor, Frank Raia, Peter Biancamano, and Britney Montgomery-Cook for City Council on Tuesday, November 5th. The “One Hoboken” team will unite our community and help me provide the leadership and professionalism that is currently lacking in City Hall.
Tim Occhipinti is a dedicated public servant. He’s the only candidate who has proven he can – and will – deliver real results for the residents of Hoboken. Together on the City Council, we worked to improve Hoboken’s quality-of-life and provide an independent voice that isn’t beholden to the Mayor. In particular, we opposed the Zimmer Administration’s decision to give an out-of-state developer a $155 million parking subsidy for the next 100 years. This reckless decision resulted in Hoboken having the lowest number of parking spots for residents. As a result, many small businesses, such as Maxwell’s, were forced to close their doors creating storefront vacancies up and down Washington Street.
Tim stands with me on the City Council fighting for everyday Hobokenites in my Ward, and around the city. He has proven himself to be a true ally to seniors, small businesses owners, workers and students. Together, we’ve delivered results time and time again. Tim will make sure that City Hall listens to the needs of all of Hoboken and that’s what makes him the right choice to lead our city forward.
Tim and I worked together to successfully pass a budget this year that included a tax cut. If not for Tim’s efforts, the Zimmer Administration would have raised your taxes again. You have helped me fight past administration’s mismanagement of the city’s budget, and I hope you will join Tim and me as we fight the Zimmer machine’s mismanagement now. They promised to cut taxes 25 percent, and haven’t. The Zimmer machine inherited a $25 million budget surplus, but they squandered most of it on lavish trips instead of giving it back to the tax payers. As Mayor, Tim Occhipinti will immediately conduct a desk audit in City Hall to eliminate wasteful spending, governmental redundancies, and patronage hires.
Frank Raia, Peter Biancamano, and Britney Montgomery-Cook are dedicated to improving the quality-of-life in Hoboken. They will work to immediately install three wet weather pumps to finally put an end to Hoboken’s flooding. They will also work to revise Hoboken’s unfair and confusing parking laws. In addition, they will put an end to the irresponsible practice of using revenue from the Hoboken Parking Utility to fill budget deficits. Instead, they will use these revenues to create more parking in Hoboken.
On Tuesday, November 5th, please stand with me and vote for Tim Occhipinti (1J) for Mayor and Frank Raia (5K), Peter Biancamano (6K), and Britney Montgomery-Cook (7K) for City Council. Together we will unite our community and create One Hoboken!
Thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Theresa Castellano
1st Ward Councilwoman