Dear Editor:
Our city is in desperate need for leadership and by now, Hoboken voters are probably tired of hearing candidates talking about change. On Tuesday, May 12, I ask your readers to join me in support of the team that is best equipped to deliver the change Hoboken needs. I am voting for Beth Mason for Mayor and for Vincent Addeo, Raul Morales II and Anthony Pasquale for Council-at-Large.
I first met Beth Mason when she was chair of the Master Plan sub-committee of the Hoboken Planning Board. Under Beth’s leadership, an unprecedented open public process produced a comprehensive plan that defined Hoboken’s vision for growth. Beth then went on to shine a bright light on the workings of Hoboken’s city government. She has never given up her rights (and ours) to know how our money and public resources are used. Beth never gave up until our city and schools agreed to televise public meetings and provide most public documents in electronic form. Advocacy groups, members of the press and the average citizen that wants to know about the city’s finances or about a construction project in their neighborhood benefit from the type of change that Beth Mason delivers to Hoboken.
I have had the pleasure of campaigning in the past eight weeks not just with my good friend Beth, but with her running mates for council. I have seen first hand how much Anthony Pasquale, Vinny Addeo and Raul Morales II love Hoboken and why so many in our city love them. As active members of their churches, as coaches to our city’s youth or as mentors to young people through a scholarship program, they have all earned my respect and admiration as outstanding leaders in our community. They also possess a diverse set of professional skills that are urgently needed at this critical period in our city’s history as we navigate uncharted waters with a state-appointed fiscal monitor in charge, a crushing tax increase and a national economic downturn.
The Mason Team for One Hoboken has earned my vote and deserves your consideration in order to achieve a clear majority on May 12. They represent our best choice to restore Hoboken’s status as the best small city in New Jersey.
Ines Garcia Keim
Editor’s Note: Keim is the unpaid chairwoman of the Mason campaign.