In you’re planning to run for Hoboken City Council, you’d better hurry up. The deadline to file with the city clerk’s office for the May 10 election was moved three days earlier last week to March 14 at 4 p.m. by order of the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).
The governing body is made up of nine representatives: one council member from each of the six wards and three “at-large” representatives. Only the six ward seats will be up for grabs in May, and the races stand to be heated. Though Hoboken technically has “non-partisan” elections, which means candidates do not have to declare a political party, there are still two groups that will square off in this election.
The deadline to register to vote in the council election is April 19.
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Council meetings are often more than four hours long as members fight tooth and nail for attention.
Although many members of the council and current candidates are employed full-time in other fields (including law, retail, finance, and insurance), council members receive an annual salary. The council president earns $26,541 annually, and other council members earn $24,130, according to Juan Melli, city spokesperson. Council members are also offered city health benefits.
Snapshot of the six
The first candidate to file for the race was Tom Greaney, who will challenge Council President Beth Mason in the 2nd Ward.
The race in the 2nd Ward, which encompasses the northwest corner of the city, is expected to be heated and expensive. Greaney, as of Jan. 15, had already pumped $20,000 of his own money into his campaign, and raised an additional $2,000. His opponent’s political action committee, Friends of Beth Mason for Council, is expected to be very well-financed.
Mason, who has served as the council president since Councilman Tim Occhipinti was elected in the fall and provided the fifth vote in her favor, has run for mayor against current Mayor Dawn Zimmer in the past, and lost.
As reported by local news blogs, a third candidate, Franz Paetzold, is actively obtaining signatures to run for office, but has not filed paperwork yet.
In order to run for office, a candidate must gather a certain amount of signatures from residents on petitions, determined by the population of the ward. In order to run in the 1st Ward, candidates need 61 petitions. In the 2nd Ward, candidates need 58 signatures. In the 3rd Ward, candidates need 60. In the 4th Ward, candidates need 61 signatures. In the 5th and 6th wards, candidates need 52 signatures, according to City Clerk James Farina.
In the 1st Ward, Councilwoman Theresa Castellano will run for a fifth term, and will be challenged by Eric Kurta. The 1st Ward covers the southeast portion of the city, along the waterfront and the Jersey City border.
Castellano, who owns a store on Washington Street, is often at odds with Zimmer. Kurta recently placed an advertisement directly across the street from Castellano’s store in a prominent space on Washington Street.
In the 3rd Ward, Councilman Michael Russo, the vice president of the council, will face off against newcomer Greg Lincoln. Russo has said he one day aspires to be mayor. He is the son of former Mayor Anthony Russo and a cousin of Castellano.
The 3rd Ward is in the western portion of Hoboken, with parts of the ward between 3rd and 9th streets.
In the 4th Ward, which makes up a portion of the southwestern portion of the city, the election will feature a race between the younger politicians on Hoboken’s scene as new Councilman Tim Occhipinti, 33, squares off against challenger Rami Pinchevsky, 30.
In the uptown 5th Ward, which borders Weehawken and Union City on the west side of Hoboken, incumbent Peter Cunningham will be challenged by Lenny Luizzi, the city’s historian. Perry Belfiore, a former Board of Education member who often speaks at council meetings, has been gathering signatures to run for office but has not officially declared. He will also most likely be a candidate to challenge Cunningham. He has challenged and lost to Cunningham in the past.
Cunningham is the only incumbent on the council whose seat is up who is running with Zimmer’s support. The other three Zimmer supporters on the council hold at-large seats and are up for election in two years.
In the 6th Ward, relative political newcomer and resident Jennifer Giattino will challenge Councilman Nino Giacchi, an attorney. Giattino has supported Zimmer in the past, and Giacchi is considered a member of the current “council majority,” although he has voted independently on some issues. The 6th Ward includes a portion of the waterfront and the majority of midtown.
Are headquarters becoming obsolete?
There is no standard approach to running a campaign.
Cunningham, Greaney, and Giattino will not have a campaign headquarters this year, and will instead run their elections on the streets and over the Internet, according to a spokesperson for the three.
Kurta and Pinchevsky decided to share a headquarters this year, with campaign managers sitting on either side of the office on First Street and Willow Avenue.
Occhipinti will continue to use the former Hoboken Fish and Pets Store on Monroe Street, where he operated his campaign from last November in a special election.
Mason’s headquarters, on Washington and 12th streets, had a “soft opening” during the Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day Parade, but work still remains. The campaign is hoping to officially open the headquarters in mid-March, according to one campaign worker in the building last week.
Castellano will use her Washington Street store, City Discount, as her headquarters, and Russo will operate out of the Michael Russo Civic Association on Adams Street.
The deadline to register to vote in the council election is April 19.
For complete election coverage, stick with The Hoboken Reporter from now until Election Day (and beyond).
Ray Smith may be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com
SIDEBAR:
School board race is a harbinger
In addition to council seats up for election, three seats on the Hoboken School Board will expire this spring. Last week, nine candidates filed to run by the deadline on Tuesday afternoon. The school board elections in Hoboken are often seen as a sign of how the council elections will go because council members often support school board members in their campaigns.
The challenger candidates are Peter Biancamano, Steven Feinstein, Clifford Godfrey, John Madigan, Anthony Oland, and Patricia Waiters.
The incumbents are Carmelo Garcia, Frances Rhodes Kearns, and Jean Marie Mitchell.
The drawing for the positioning on the ballot will be held on March 17, and elections are held on April 27 at regular polling places. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The deadline to register to vote for Hoboken School Board is April 6.