As the summer comes to a close, candidates seeking to fill the unexpired term of former Councilman Anthony Chiappone have slowly appeared, getting ready for the November special election.
Postmaster Terrence Ruane was named to the seat in May. Although he has yet to officially launch his campaign, he said after his swearing in that he intended to run on Nov. 8 for the unexpired term and again in the May election for a full four-year term.
The winner of the special election would take office immediately after the results are verified and would remain as councilperson until July 1, 2010, when the winner of the regular municipal election is sworn in.
Chiappone stepped down from his council seat in April as part of a deal that would guarantee Democratic support for his reelection to the state Assembly. Chiappone believed at the time that dual office holding would be banned in the state shortly.
Recently, two candidates said they would challenge Ruane in November – Rent Control Chairwoman Debra Noble and real estate agent John Cupo.
Yet to declare as possible candidates are Jack Butchko, who once served as a policy analyst and staff director for a United States Senate Subcommittee on Health and as a former vice chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Party, and former police officer and one-time mayoral candidate Leonard Kantor. Also a possible candidate is Stan Marko, a frequent resident speaker at council meetings.
Noble throws her hat in the race
Debra Noble actually submitted her resume for the position after Chiappone resigned, and said it appears to have been ignored.
“I’m running because I believe it is time,” she said.
Noble, an assistant controller for a company in Secaucus since 2000, brings to her campaign a wealth of accounting knowledge needed to help deal with some of the fiscal woes the city of Bayonne faces today.
But her principle reason for running, she said, is to give residents a better opportunity to be involved in government.
“People get to speak at the public meetings, but that’s not enough,” she said, claiming that residents should have more say in how the government is run, and that as a council person she would work towards providing more opportunities.
A life long resident from Bayonne, Noble served as state president of The American Legion Auxiliary from 2005-2006 and as a national executive committeewoman from the American Legion Auxiliary from 2006-2007. She has been a member of the Bayonne American Legion Auxiliary since 1968, even serving as its president five times and as the American Legion Auxiliary president four times.
She has served on the Bayonne Rent Control Board since 1995 and as its chairperson since 2006
“People get to speak at the public meetings, but that’s not enough.”– Debra Noble
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Elected officials must be accountable and accessible to the people they serve, she said.
She said affordability of living in Bayonne is a chief priority as well.
“People used to be proud to say they came from Bayonne, now people are trying to leave here,” she said. “I want to work to change that.”
Cupo is also in the race
Saying that he believed he could bring accountability to the City Council, John Cupo, a longtime resident of Bayonne, launched his bid for at-large council seat.
Cupo, a resident of Bayonne since 1969, is the first candidate to officially announce his running for the seat.
While the election is non-partisan, Cupo hopes to capitalize on the fact that he is a registered Republican and has already received the endorsement of the county and state Republican chairmen.
This is the first time he is running for public office – although he previously served as a commissioner on the Jersey City Zoning Board of Adjustment and has been a real estate instructor at St. Peter’s College.
He said the city of Bayonne has failed to meet its expenses for the last 10 years, and he said this means more taxes to the homeowner.
“The city has been relying on grants from the state and federal government to get things done,” he said. “It is time to stream line government and cut spending.”
Among the issues he is most concerned about are development and business.
He said the proposed Bayonne Crossing mall would be a disaster for the Broadway shopping district.
On the other hand, he said he would like to see more investment in Bayonne, but the kind that brings in more ratables without reducing what the city already takes in.
One area that he is very concerned about is the red tape associated with development. He said many companies are reluctant to come to Bayonne because it takes too long to get approvals, and projects are often delayed because of unnecessary red tape.