Dear Editor:
While I have the highest regard for Helen Hirsch and agree with her views on a variety of subjects, I respectfully disagree with much of her letter (“Goofed”) which was published in the Hoboken Reporter of April 25 for the following reasons:
1. I do not agree with Ms. Hirsch’s assertion that Mayor Zimmer reneged on her commitment to work towards a Council-Business Administrator form of government, as evidenced by the mayor’s recommendation to the City Council to approve the hiring of Arch Liston for the position of Business Administrator;
2. I do not agree with Ms. Hirsch’s assertion that Mr. Liston’s experience in smaller municipalities leaves him ill-equipped to act as Hoboken’s Business Administrator. The members of the City Council who vetted Mr. Liston found him qualified for the position and the Council voted 8 to 1 to approve his hiring. Competent people grow into their jobs and, judging from Mr. Liston’s credentials and his excellent performance fielding questions from members of the council at its meeting on Wednesday, April 21, he seems well qualified to provide overall management and coordination of all of the city’s various departments and functions;
3. I do not agree with Ms. Hirsch’s opinion that a sitting mayor (or other public office holder) forfeits his/her First Amendment right to freely speak out for candidates whose views she/he supports. Mayor Zimmer’s public support of First Kids is entirely appropriate and evidences her view that she can work better and smarter with a BOE slate with whom she shares fundamental goals of reform;
4. While I might agree that a particular graphic image posted by the blogger described by Ms. Hirsch in her letter is inappropriate, the author of that communication, not Mayor Zimmer, should be solely responsible for its publication and whether or not he/she will agree to be censored; and
5. Throughout Ms. Hirsch’s letter, save for the last paragraph, she refers to the mayor, using her given name, “Dawn”. Mayor Zimmer won a decisive victory over her opponents last November and she deserves the respect of being addressed as “Mayor Zimmer”. I doubt that Hoboken residents who wrote letters to the Hudson Reporter in the past referred to Mayor Roberts and/or Mayor Russo as “Dave” or “David” and/or “Tony” or “Anthony”.
This letter should not be construed as an attack against anyone, especially Helen Hirsch. I merely wanted to state another point of view. I also wish to remind readers that Hoboken’s many problems have been years in the making and that Mayor Zimmer has been the elected mayor of Hoboken a mere five months. It takes considerably more time to change course and undo the mistakes of the past than it does to simply go forward.
Sincerely,
Deborah Hulbert