Battle for the Fourth Ward in Hoboken

Looking ahead, the mid-term 2015 municipal elections in Hoboken may seem a bit like déjà vu all over again if reports are to be believed that former Assemblyman Ruben Ramos will seek to unseat incumbent 4th Ward Councilman Tim Occhipinti. Bad feelings between the two political figures apparently still linger after both men ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Dawn Zimmer last November, splitting the anti-Zimmer vote and allowing her to retain her office. Ramos and Occhipinti together earned more votes than Zimmer did.
Hoboken splits its City Council elections with the mayor and at-large council candidates running in one election, and the six ward candidates running two years later.
The council is split 5-4, with Zimmer allies in the majority, so the mid-term elections next year could swing control back to the anti-Zimmer side, provided in-fighting doesn’t split them again.
The Ramos/Occhipinti fight could re-ignite animosity between the anti-Zimmer factions, and allow the mayor to retain control of the council.
Some of the Zimmer ward candidates are apparently debating whether to run for reelection. That could put a strain on the fragile political machine Zimmer has constructed. Unlike “old Hoboken’s” political machines of the past, Zimmer doesn’t have a lot of replacements she can plug into gaps. Her current control of the council relies on the loyalty of its current members.
In most cases where there are elected boards of education, mayors of towns can draw from school boards for political recruits for council seats. But Kids First, the group of board members Zimmer has supported in the past, is split over a number of issues, in particular charter schools, which the mayor supports. The reform community that is Zimmer’s base is arguing over the funding of charter schools. Critics of charter schools believe they drain critical resources from the public school system. The school board in Hoboken has filed a lawsuit to try to stop a charter school from expanding into the upper grades.
Some believe that Zimmer is falling out of touch with a new population of parents who have decided to remain in Hoboken to raise families rather than flee to the suburbs as newcomers tended to do in the past. This means they want to rebuild the public school system as part of an investment in the community.
Many of these people have backed Zimmer in the past, but are struggling to retain their belief in her policies. Some of them find it difficult to talk to her, and are irate because Zimmer – regardless of her public demeanor – reportedly does not handle criticism well, and this leads to even more bad feelings.
Other controversial issues include plans to install double bicycle lanes along some city streets, putting Zimmer in conflict with some who take public transportation such as buses. Some question her piecemeal approach to planning, and point out that the master plan that was in the works for years has yet to be adopted.
One point that has raised some concern is the proposal by the Zimmer administration that Observer Highway – a critical conduit to traffic in and out of Hoboken – be made into a one-way road.
“Some people can’t bicycle everywhere,” one former Zimmer zealot said. “Some people have jobs in other parts of New Jersey, and need cars to get to them.”
Zimmer’s lack of business experience also seems to be an issue for some reformers, who believe that businesses need to be embraced and do not see Zimmer doing this.

Dissatisfaction with mayors

With apparent threats of violence being made against Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli and Union City Mayor Brian Stack, Hudson County has finally entered the 21st century. Although a serious issue, Gonnelli and Stack are the last two politicians in Hudson County anyone should threaten. A threat against “Mayor Mikey” Gonnelli is like making a threat against Winnie the Pooh. It’s easy to see Gonnelli as a loveable bear who doesn’t even have anyone running against his candidates this year. Stack, on the other hand, was raised on the streets of Union City, and he’s the last guy anyone should pick a fight with.
In Bayonne, Mayor James Davis is less under fire than those he has chosen to be close to him. Over the last few months, some Davis supporters have gone after Business Administrator Joe DeMarco. But currently, the wrath has fallen onto an unpaid staff member, Jeff Meyers. At the last council meeting, a diverse group of former and possible future political figures lined up to take their best shot at Meyers, and it is unclear what has fueled this protest.

The ARC tunnel debate

Readers of this column spoke out this week about the Port Authority’s proposed rebuilding of the Greenville Yards to accommodate containers barged across from Brooklyn. This column pointed out that the out of date barge system would have been unnecessary if Gov. Christopher Christie had continued with the ARC tunnel under the Hudson River.
One reader said that the PA explored the idea of using the tunnel for freight, but could not get the larger cars through the train platforms at Penn Station in New York. These cars are wider and would have required extensive and expensive rebuilding of the platforms. Freight trains are longer and slow, and would have had a limited time period when they would not have interfered with passenger traffic.
“ARC, initially a good idea that devolved over a decade’s time into a stub-end, parallel line to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC), was envisioned as a passenger rail item,” Douglas John Bowen, managing editor of Railway Age, said. “There were no rail equivalents of ‘exit ramps’ in the works to serve Croxton Yards, or indeed any freight rail yard in the Jersey Meadows — the Secaucus Loop, when dealt with at all, would not have been an answer.”

Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.

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