Dear Editor:
I have lived in the area for seven years now, during which I’ve spent a lot of time with Beth Mason and come to hold her in the highest regard. I’ve gone through several major changes in my life over the past few years, and Beth has been a good friend and a major inspiration to me and helped make me feel like a valued member of the community.
My husband and I first came to know Beth, Ricky and their children Shipley and Virginia through the United Synagogue of Hoboken. On many, many occasions they have invited us into their home for dinners and Jewish holiday events, and the warmth and joy I’ve experienced in their home has meant a great deal to me, as I moved here from Minnesota and don’t get to see my parents and siblings very often, and my husband and I have not yet started a family of our own.
I’ve also come to admire how tirelessly Beth works for the betterment of our community, and how informed she is about all the intricacies of the issues facing our city. If not for her, I wouldn’t understand even a fraction of what’s going on and what needs to be done to set things on the right track. When I first met Beth, she was still working on these issues and too many projects to count purely as a citizen activist, not even running for office. I was ecstatic to see her win a City Council seat two years ago, and even more thrilled to hear she was planning to run for Mayor. I cannot think of a better person to take charge of a city that so desperately needs new leadership.
Adding to my excitement about Beth’s mayoral run has been the ticket she put together, representing all different pockets of the community and bringing a broad base of perspectives. I have met Vinny Addeo, Raul Morales II and Anthony Pasquale on several occasions and think they make the perfect complement to Beth’s expertise and vision, and will be the ideal allies to put her vision into effect.
As a resident of the Fourth Ward who was excited to see Chris Campos leave office two years ago, I can’t say I’ve seen a whole lot of different under our new representation. I just can’t say Dawn Zimmer has the experience and commitment to be a very effective leader. Mason and her team have the know-how to get things done, and a proven record of fighting for the people of Hoboken. I am voting for them all on May 12 and hope you do too.
Sincerely,
Rachelle Stuiver