Hoboken Councilwoman Beth Mason, who came in third behind Dawn Zimmer and Peter Cammarano in last May’s regular Hoboken mayoral election (there was a runoff in June between Zimmer and Cammarano), put out a press release on Friday, the same day that Cammarano resigned and Zimmer took over as acting mayor.
The release has stirred discussions on sites like Hobokenrevolt and 411, with many people commenting that it was in poor taste to put out a release talking about her political ambitions on such a tumultous day. “Couldn’t this press release at least wait until Monday?,” asked Kurt G. of the blog HobokenJournal.
The Hoboken mayoral election will be held in November, the same day as the gubernatorial. There will be no runoff — it’s winner-take-all, according to Tim Carroll’s article in this weekend’s Hoboken Reporter. If Zimmer wins, there will be an election for her 4th Ward council seat in February. (Geez, can’t Hoboken ever just have one election per cycle for a position?)
By the way, some are already talking about who else will run besides Mason. Anyone who has ties to Cammarano may have to suffer by being tarred with that link this time around. And that’s a lot of people – including some former Mason stalwarts who got behind him during the runoff. (Mason herself backed Zimmer in the runoff.)
One commenter on the Hobokenrevolt.com site said he heard a rumor that Carla Katz, Gov. Corzine’s ex-girlfriend who lives in the Tea Building, may run in November. We haven’t heard that one at all, but good rumor! She was kicked out of her union in March based on financial allegations, so we don’t know how far she’d get. Still, she does need a job.
Anyway, here’s Beth Mason’s release:
“While this is certainly another sad day for the City of Hoboken, Peter Cammarano did the right thing this morning by offering his resignation…I wish acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer the best of luck and pledge to work with her in getting our local government back on track…
“That said, many of my supporters from across the city have asked me whether I intend to run for mayor in November’s special election. In a time of crisis, people are clearly looking for a viable alternative who can unite the people of Hoboken to fix the city’s problems. As a person who has been a corporate executive living here for over 25 years and who has been a good government advocate all of my life, I am confident that I have the experience and vision this City needs to move forward. I am taking this opportunity to discuss my future plans with my family and I plan on making a final decision announcing my plans in the near future.”
Kurt G. titled his entry on this release, “Third place mayoral candidate possibly seeks more unnecessary punishment and excessive expenditures.”
The last two parts sound like most elections in Hoboken. What do you think? Should Beth run? Should Carla? What about David Roberts? Comment below!
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