Reports that former County Administrator Abe Antun will return to that post in November, provided Tom DeGise win the election to become county executive, have a lot of people talking. Although the news has shocked many, it also has all the element of a bad comedy. Does Antun really want to return to a scene in which nearly everybody is acting out a part in a Three Stooges movie? How long can this remarkable and gifted financial mind handle watching people poking out each other’s eyes and pulling out each other’s hair? Don’t count on Antun returning soon, especially with so many possible options in the state finance offices.
U.S. Senator Jon Corzine, who is the process of moving into Hoboken, proved his is not crazy when he appointed Maggie Moran of Belmar as his new state director. Moran coordinated Gov. Jim McGreevey’s campaign and is considered a very bright and knowledgeable figure in state politics, even at 33 years old. Proving just how at home in Hudson County Corzine has become, he had breakfast at Hoboken’s Malibu Dinner this week – with political guru Paul Byrne.
No nicknames, please
As if providing evidence as to how ludicrous the political comedy can get, candidates for the November election received letters from the Hudson County Clerk’s office saying that they can no longer use nicknames on the ballot.
This came as the result of a decision on Independent Freeholder Candidate in North Bergen Francisco “Panchito” Armendariz, who has been fighting the removal of his nickname from the ballot. He said election officials initially told him he could not have his nickname in quotes on the ballot, then later informed him he couldn’t have the nickname at all. After four bouts in court over the matter, he now faces the prospect of changing his slogan to include the nickname. The problem is that election officials said the deadline for that has passed as well.
The letter issued out of the county clerk’s office said that in the legal opinion of the County Counsel Joseph Sherman, nicknames, prefixes and or suffixes are no longer permitted. State statute states that only a candidate’s formal first and last name as it would appear on the birth certificate should be printed on the ballot. This means that you cannot include a Ph.D., M.D. or blood type on the ballot. Of course, it might be helpful to include candidates IQs, but that wouldn’t be allowed either.
Taken for a ride
If you ask Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts, Between the Lines got taken for a ride in reporting how a handful of Little Leaguers supposedly got left at the dock during a ceremony marking the naming of a New York Waterways ferry “The Hoboken.” In teasing Roberts about his lack of knowledge about the matter, the column described him as “blissfully unaware” of the situation, giving him the impression the newspaper blamed him for it when no one did. Nearly as upsetting to Roberts was the fact that the column gave credit to Councilwoman Theresa Castellano for helping the kids out. She seems to symbolize the previous municipal administration in Roberts’ mind.
Roberts, who is in the middle of his second year as mayor, may not be wrong about the plots and counter plots ongoing in Hoboken’s political scene. As Nicholas Machavelli pointed out in his master work on politics, The Prince, if you want to remove a leader, you get to him early before workers and others develop a loyalty to him. Once entrenched, it takes hell and high water to get rid of him. One other important reality that many politicians know well: good works might not keep you in office, but one bad rap could get you out – and sometimes you aren’t even guilty of anything.
Hoboken Councilman Tony Soares raised some eyebrows this week when he went to East LA – Robert’s restaurant – for a meal and stumbled upon the mayor’s political meeting. Soares also served as the official representative of state Sen. Bernard Kenny the South Jersey debate between U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli and Republican challenger Douglas Forrester. Michael Lenz, the possible head of Hoboken’s revamped Parking Authority, acted as Soares’ driver and proved how far you had to go to find a parking space in Hoboken when he accidentally steered the car into Pennsylvania.
Speaking of Lenz, will Mayor Roberts be advertising for resumes for the position of head of parking, as he promised to do with major city jobs during the campaign? Since Lenz was Roberts’ campaign manager, he would theoretically be in favor of seeking resumes for such a position and getting the best possible person. But Roberts must already have Lenz’s resume from the city job he just got.
Mayor Madenaldo?
Councilman Junior Maldonado got the silent treatment from Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham at the Sept. 12 City Council meeting as the mayor lectured the council on his perception of their flaws. This silence toward Maldonaldo spoke volumes about the growing threat Maldonaldo poses as power gathers behind him for a possible run against Cunningham in the 2005 election. While many people expect a free for all in the primary, thanks to Cunningham’s attack on Rep. Bob Menendez during the primary battle for county executive earlier this year, Maldenaldo seems to be gathering strength in a way few other contenders have. Maggie Doyle is running Mayor Cunningham’s boat ride on Thursday, a symbolic trip that leave some to wonder whether it will be the Minnow from Gilligan’s Island or the Titanic?
Could Schundler do it again?
In 1993, Bret Schundler, newly baptized as a Republican, slipped out of crowded field of candidates to achieve something no one had done previously in almost a century, to become a Republican mayor of Jersey City. So sick were voters of in-fighting among Democrats, Schundler slipped into office in the regular election by garnering 29,000 out of 43,000 votes cast.
While Schundler has been out of the limelight since his failed run for governor in 2001, he has not been inactive in Hudson County. Behind the scenes, Schundler has had an influence on Republican opposition in several municipalities. While his summer vacation left him out of Hudson County during the recent visit of Republican senatorial candidate Forrester, Schundler did make an appearance at a recent photo Sept. 11 photo exhibit in Jersey City, suggesting he has finished licking his wounds and may soon set his sights on some new goal – or perhaps something he wants to get back, such as City Hall.
No thanks, Secaucus
A segment of Between the Lines blasting some of the arguments a few residents of Secaucus are using against a townhouse development has inspired a whole new thread of rumors.
Because the Secaucus edition of the Hudson Reporter sought to explain carefully Town Hall’s position on the development and because of Between the Lines’ efforts to show the lack of logic in criticisms against the project, critics now claim the reporter and column writer has made a deal with Baker Industries, the townhouses’ developer. This rumor claims the reporter will be allowed to purchase one of the new townhouses at a reduced rate for his supporting the project. This is news to the writer. Perhaps the critics can be enlightening enough to let us know where we can pick up the keys?