Now that the election has been certified, GA will muse on some of the winners and losers- including, but not limited to, the obvious.
1. Kids First- of course! Three parents with children in Hoboken public schools: Ruthy McAllister, Tom Kluepfel and Jean Marie Mitchell won our BoE election with a volunteer, grassroots campaign dwarfed by the financial and political resources of their opponents, Move Forward.
The local politicos backing Move Forward- who campaigned with SWASTIKAS- include Tim Occhipinti, Theresa Castellano, Ruben Ramos, Jamie Cryan and of course, Hoboken's own Cruella DeVille, Beth Mason (or 'CAAB' for short- that's 'crazy as a bedbug').
Unlike their opponents, Kids First ran honest and clean, and were able to articulate issues and objectives on the campaign trail. Their quiet campaign treated our electorate like intelligent beings, not Pavlovian morons who drool at midnight flyers and Nazi Trucks. Intelligent, honest, sincere people campaign like intelligent, honest, sincere people. Mean-spirited, small-minded morons campaign like mean-spirited, small-minded morons. And on November 6, 2012 the public chose intelligent, honest, sincere people making decisions for our district and not that other kind. Thank G-d.
2. Mayor Dawn Zimmer. The fact that so many voters asked, "Who does the mayor support for School Board?" tells you all you need to know about the confidence the public has in her judgment and in the direction she's led the City. Also...
City Council Reformers Ravi Bhalla, Peter Cunningham, Jen Giattino, Dave Mello, and Jim Doyle (he'll be back).
3. Neil Torres- owner of World Media Entertainment. Neil lucked out when Move Forward hired him to thrill the adults and children of Hoboken with hours of looping swastikas for 5 days in October.
According to Patch, "Renting the truck costs $100 an hour and there's a minimum of four hours." So at a minimum, Torres' earned $2,000 for driving voters away from Move Forward to Kids First and offending Hoboken's entire Jewish community.
GA believes Torres earned at least $3,000 based on eyewitness sightings, but you can ask his friend Joe Branco. Branco booked him in April 201l to play Russo's FBI surveillance tape at City Hall then this October to attack Kids First using swastikas-making Hoboken political history. (The Nazi Truck campaign was orchestrated by Beth Mason operative James Barracato.) Perhaps another Move Forward backer like Tim Occhipinti, Terry Castellano or Ruben Ramos could tell you how many hours the Nazi Truck rode the streets of Hoboken. None of them ever denounced it, right? So if hey weren't against it, they were for it. (The guy sitting next to the driver looks familiar... Timmy, is that you?)
Anyway, Torres made out like a bandit just for popping in Beth Mason videogrpaher Tim Brendel's video that he produced and driving his truck.
Hey, I know how we solve the mystery of how many hours the Nazi truck drove around Hoboken.... we check Move Forward's next ELEC report.
4. Tim Brendel- Beth Mason's videographer. Here he is filming me at the Zoning Board last April for the Nazi Truck. (I wore a black dress that night.)
One hopes Tim makes great money for such tough assignments. Like this one: bringing Dad Barry 'Not-Perry' Brendel (another Mason operative) to ZBA meetings where Brendel Sr. naps while Brendel Jr. takes stock footage of citizens performing volunteer, public service to deploy on video trucks and midnight flyers.
5. Celebrity Generator. Incredible, but the red monster that appeared outside Move Forwards's 1200 Washington Street offices right before Election Day became a local celebrity.
The press gushed: "A generator was brought in from Georgia and set up in front of Mason’s Civic League office where people came to charge their phones, computers, and get warm. In addition, a coffee stand was installed and continues to operate.
“Most people couldn’t brew a cup of coffee. People were so grateful,” said Felice Vazquez, one of the first volunteers to help after the storm hit.
“A lot of employers are opening up, so people are trying to figure out how to get to work and how to work with children out of school,” said Anthony Oland, one of the 10 percent who did not lose power.
Hey, Vasquez and Oland were Move Forward candidates! What a coincidence. I guess they were there to gawk at the famous generator or get an autograph. Is the red monster still there?
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1. James 'Finboy' Barracato- Beth Mason operative. GA is told that if one wants to deal with Mason, they have to go through Barracato first.
Judging from the trash talk GA's been hearing about this guy and WHO it's come from, he may never get his fins on a political campaign in Hudson County again. Barracato is getting the blame from his own people for Move Forward's loss. Why? He masterminded the Nazi Truck, the midnight flyers and the entire brainless focus on bloggers- wasting valuable resources, grossing out voters, and forgetting his job is to win elections not expend capital and time on personal vendettas.
GA can tell you this: Barracato's Nazi Truck shtick ties into ANOTHER scheme which he planned well over a year ago and coordinated with others. You'll hear about it eventually-- from them, and one is an elected official.
Yep, his unseemly obsession with me and my blog (as any observer of Hoboken politics since 2010 can tell you) has caused heaps trouble for himself, his boss and those who counted on Move Forward to win the election. Somebody clean up the fish tank.
2. John Castellano- Move Forward campaign manager. One of the fresh, young faces trotted out by the Old Guard to succeed them as they inevitably 'move forward' into eternity, Castellano was more 'air' than 'heir' in his debut running a political campaign.
He seemed just a figurehead, allowing Barracato to run amok and hijack what was supposed to be HIS campaign- hijack it for a weird personal vendetta. Castellano's leadership was incredibly weak, and had he dressed down Barracato, and taken control over the campaign's direction, it wouldn't have veered off into the realm of Nazi Trucks and irrelevant personal issues.
Unless... Castellano actually ENDORSED such a politically toxic strategy, in which case he should be kept far away from engagement in politics until the end of time. How many strikes does being Terry's son get John Castellano before he's called 'out'? Russo for Hoboken's Treasurer couldn't tell us (or ELEC) where the $18K deposit went. And this election he walked in the shadow of the Mason operative, whose horrible judgment and mania over bloggers destroyed his campaign.
3. Joe Branco- Move Forward campaign co-manager. GA had no idea that Joe had such animus toward me that he would have participated in Move Forward's Nazi Truck and midnight flyer attacks. Well, you reap what you sow is all I can say.
4. Beth Mason- Read this blog.
5. Move Forward candidates. Yes, GA has heard that they knew about the Nazi Truck and allowed it to 'move forward' under their name.
Their disgusting midnight flyers were left in the Boys and Girls Club for G-d's sake.
And their Nazi Truck flashed swastikas outside of Wallace School. Such people do not belong on our Board of Education.
WINNERS
The local politicos backing Move Forward- who campaigned with SWASTIKAS- include Tim Occhipinti, Theresa Castellano, Ruben Ramos, Jamie Cryan and of course, Hoboken's own Cruella DeVille, Beth Mason (or 'CAAB' for short- that's 'crazy as a bedbug').
Unlike their opponents, Kids First ran honest and clean, and were able to articulate issues and objectives on the campaign trail. Their quiet campaign treated our electorate like intelligent beings, not Pavlovian morons who drool at midnight flyers and Nazi Trucks. Intelligent, honest, sincere people campaign like intelligent, honest, sincere people. Mean-spirited, small-minded morons campaign like mean-spirited, small-minded morons. And on November 6, 2012 the public chose intelligent, honest, sincere people making decisions for our district and not that other kind. Thank G-d.
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City Council Reformers Ravi Bhalla, Peter Cunningham, Jen Giattino, Dave Mello, and Jim Doyle (he'll be back).
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According to Patch, "Renting the truck costs $100 an hour and there's a minimum of four hours." So at a minimum, Torres' earned $2,000 for driving voters away from Move Forward to Kids First and offending Hoboken's entire Jewish community.
GA believes Torres earned at least $3,000 based on eyewitness sightings, but you can ask his friend Joe Branco. Branco booked him in April 201l to play Russo's FBI surveillance tape at City Hall then this October to attack Kids First using swastikas-making Hoboken political history. (The Nazi Truck campaign was orchestrated by Beth Mason operative James Barracato.) Perhaps another Move Forward backer like Tim Occhipinti, Terry Castellano or Ruben Ramos could tell you how many hours the Nazi Truck rode the streets of Hoboken. None of them ever denounced it, right? So if hey weren't against it, they were for it. (The guy sitting next to the driver looks familiar... Timmy, is that you?)
Anyway, Torres made out like a bandit just for popping in Beth Mason videogrpaher Tim Brendel's video that he produced and driving his truck.
Hey, I know how we solve the mystery of how many hours the Nazi truck drove around Hoboken.... we check Move Forward's next ELEC report.
______________________________________________
One hopes Tim makes great money for such tough assignments. Like this one: bringing Dad Barry 'Not-Perry' Brendel (another Mason operative) to ZBA meetings where Brendel Sr. naps while Brendel Jr. takes stock footage of citizens performing volunteer, public service to deploy on video trucks and midnight flyers.
______________________________________________
The press gushed: "A generator was brought in from Georgia and set up in front of Mason’s Civic League office where people came to charge their phones, computers, and get warm. In addition, a coffee stand was installed and continues to operate.
“Most people couldn’t brew a cup of coffee. People were so grateful,” said Felice Vazquez, one of the first volunteers to help after the storm hit.
“A lot of employers are opening up, so people are trying to figure out how to get to work and how to work with children out of school,” said Anthony Oland, one of the 10 percent who did not lose power.
Hey, Vasquez and Oland were Move Forward candidates! What a coincidence. I guess they were there to gawk at the famous generator or get an autograph. Is the red monster still there?
______________________________________________
LOSERS
Judging from the trash talk GA's been hearing about this guy and WHO it's come from, he may never get his fins on a political campaign in Hudson County again. Barracato is getting the blame from his own people for Move Forward's loss. Why? He masterminded the Nazi Truck, the midnight flyers and the entire brainless focus on bloggers- wasting valuable resources, grossing out voters, and forgetting his job is to win elections not expend capital and time on personal vendettas.
GA can tell you this: Barracato's Nazi Truck shtick ties into ANOTHER scheme which he planned well over a year ago and coordinated with others. You'll hear about it eventually-- from them, and one is an elected official.
Yep, his unseemly obsession with me and my blog (as any observer of Hoboken politics since 2010 can tell you) has caused heaps trouble for himself, his boss and those who counted on Move Forward to win the election. Somebody clean up the fish tank.
______________________________________________
2. John Castellano- Move Forward campaign manager. One of the fresh, young faces trotted out by the Old Guard to succeed them as they inevitably 'move forward' into eternity, Castellano was more 'air' than 'heir' in his debut running a political campaign.He seemed just a figurehead, allowing Barracato to run amok and hijack what was supposed to be HIS campaign- hijack it for a weird personal vendetta. Castellano's leadership was incredibly weak, and had he dressed down Barracato, and taken control over the campaign's direction, it wouldn't have veered off into the realm of Nazi Trucks and irrelevant personal issues.
Unless... Castellano actually ENDORSED such a politically toxic strategy, in which case he should be kept far away from engagement in politics until the end of time. How many strikes does being Terry's son get John Castellano before he's called 'out'? Russo for Hoboken's Treasurer couldn't tell us (or ELEC) where the $18K deposit went. And this election he walked in the shadow of the Mason operative, whose horrible judgment and mania over bloggers destroyed his campaign.
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3. Joe Branco- Move Forward campaign co-manager. GA had no idea that Joe had such animus toward me that he would have participated in Move Forward's Nazi Truck and midnight flyer attacks. Well, you reap what you sow is all I can say.
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Their disgusting midnight flyers were left in the Boys and Girls Club for G-d's sake.
And their Nazi Truck flashed swastikas outside of Wallace School. Such people do not belong on our Board of Education.
You forgot to mention the tenants of Hoboken. They won a dirty fight against the greedy developers and professional landlords and real estate industry. With no money and a volunteer force, it was real people power.
ReplyDeleteHi Hudsonette. Nope, nobody's forgotten- this post is about the BoE election.
DeleteI avoid public discussion on some matters, you can guess why.
I think the old guard doesn't realize the demographics of Hoboken are changed...for good. No longer can they win through appealing to emotion without substance, through using scare tactics and avoiding substance. So Hoboken citizens are the real winners.
ReplyDelete