HOBOKEN – Among the various campaign kickoffs and fundraisers that are starting to take place in Hoboken in advance of the six May City Council races, one campaign has a bit of an unusual twist for Hoboken – a candidate who is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, otherwise known as the Mormons.
Greg Lincoln, who has lived in Hoboken with his family for six years, kicks off his campaign for 3rd Ward council against incumbent Michael Russo this Thursday.
He has degrees from colleges in Minnesota and Nebraska, and his wife’s degrees are from Brigham Young University in Utah and from Nebraska and Northwestern University in Illinois. He traveled east to Hoboken — where he and his wife first rented, then purchased — because of his wife’s job as a faculty member at Sloane Kettering Memorial Hospital in New York, he says.
Recently, Hoboken saw its first Sikh council member elected in Ravi Bhalla, and saw a Jewish mayor and council president in Dawn Zimmer and Beth Mason. Since members of the Mormon church are not all that common in Hoboken, Lincoln was asked if he’s heard of any others of the LDS faith running for office in this region.
“I know Tony Soares, while he was on the council, became a member of the LDS church,” noted Lincoln, who worships with his family in Jersey City, where he met former Councilman Soares.
But Soares converted after his election, so Lincoln may well be the first LDS candidate for office in Hoboken.
“With such a religiously diverse council I don’t see that religion should be a main focus point of my campaign or whether I’m worthy,” he noted. “People should judge me on the issues.”
But is it a culture shock coming to a bar-laden town from a Mormon background, considering those in the religion are encouraged to abstain from drinking (not to mention cursing?)
“I didn’t grow up Mormon,” he said. “I was Lutheran. I converted at the ripe old age of 25. I lived in Chicago for a couple of years, and coming out here is not too different than that. When we lived in Evanston, you walked everywhere. It [was similar to] Hoboken.”
Lincoln said it’s a “long story” as to why he decided to choose the Mormon faith. (Both Zimmer and Mason are also converts to their religion.)
Lincoln says he “absolutely” sticks to the tenets of no drinking or cussin’. So don’t expect to see any F-bombs flying on his fliers this spring.
He said he got involved in local politics after his taxes skyrocked toward the end of the Mayor Dave Roberts administration. He supported Zimmer for mayor and doesn’t feel that 3rd Ward Councilman Michael Russo has been representing his views.
A press release on his campaign kickoff notes, “Church is something we prioritize as a family, attending every Sunday we are able. We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Christian church, attending our congregation in Jersey City (also known as the Mormon church). I know not everyone is familiar with our church, but if you would like to learn a bit more I would invite you to check out http://www.mormon.org/ to see what some of the most basic beliefs are. My own belief is that a person’s religion doesn’t really matter much in the course of politics, but is helpful for better understanding a person’s perspective. In that our current City Council is comprised of members of the Catholic Church, Jewish Synagogue, and Sikh Coalition, I think I’ll fit right in.”
Meanwhile, he’s not the only candidate sharing aspects of his personal life as he kicks off his campaign. His opponent, Russo, recently noted on his campaign website that he is expecting his first child. There’s even an ultrasound photo of the next Russo at his campaign website — now, that’s another first!
Like Russo, Lincoln has a campaign website. He also had a blog at Lincolnblogger.blogspot, but says he is taking it private for the duration of the campaign.
For more on the upcoming elections, keep reading the Hoboken Reporter over the next few months.