Hoboken Ides of March


Happy Ides of March! 

Remember back in 44 BC when Julius Caeser got shivved by his friends in the Roman Senate?   It must be true, Al Sullivan reported it.

Well, ancient Rome's got nothing on Hoboken!

In Hoboken's political world, someone's always shivving a current/former friend;  alliances change like jockey shorts (or togas).

And when it comes to intrigue and betrayal, Hoboken's 2017 political season takes the cake. How many names can you think of to fill in the blank below:

"Et tu __________?"  

The following are folks who have already gotten the shiv, or are about to (only they don't know it):

Freeholder Anthony 'Stick' Romano 
Stick has been (famously) bullied to announce he's out of the Hoboken mayoral race, or else get thrown off the HCDO line on the ballot, and replaced with Ruben Ramos. Nice!  This is the loyalty Romano, a Hoboken native, gets from his Hudson County pals.   So, which 'friend' is planting the shiv into Stick?   Joey Muniz,  emcee at Stick's November 21, 2016 fundraiser.
Et tu Joey?

Mayor Dawn Zimmer
In a mutually beneficial political move, Mayor Zimmer welcomed Mike DeFusco onto the 2015 Reform ticket.  DeFusco did yeoman's work, pushing the Wicked Witch of the First Ward off her broomstick, but he had help from the Mayor, and her friends. The mayor's friends (like GA)  helped convince skeptical Reformers to trust his professed intentions.  Candidate DeFusco told the Observer , "I certainly think Mayor Zimmer is doing a fantastic job..."  Not so fantastic, it seems! After one year on the Council, Defusco is trying to take Zimmer's job, at which he promises to be even more fantastic than Zimmer.
Et tu, Michael?

Councilwoman Terry Castellano
Castellano nominated Michael DeFusco for the Zoning Board of Adjustments in 2011. Four years later, he yanked away her broomstick and beat her over the head with it. Bravo!  DeFusco also took her Council seat, sending her back to the schmata shop.  Word is, she hasn't forgiven him.
Et tu, Michael?

Councilman Mike DeFusco
This one hasn't happened yet...
But GA has a basis to believe that this is happening...  now.   This rumor floated to me from a place outside of Hoboken:  
The Mikey D mayoral attempt is a diversion courtesy of the Russo dynasty. The dynasty needs to have the mayor get reelected and not run again so Mikey R can sit it out until 2021.  Their bet is to cajole Mikey D to run now as a sacrificial lamb, undermine his campaign and then move him to the side so that Mikey R can take up the mantle in 2021, as Mikey D will be damaged goods as a failed mayoral candidate. And Mikey D is likely to fall for it.  As dyed in the wool grifters, they play the long game, IMO. It wouldn't surprise me if Mikey R was behind the whole Mello leak - just the right move to shake things up and get Mikey D dirtied up in the local contact sport of Hoboken politics. And if he can throw shade at Mello and try and get reform in a tizzy, so much the better.  
Wow.  Well, it certainly wouldn't be the first time a campaign was undermined from within- remember the 2013 campaign of mayoral candidate Tim Occhipinti?  Poor Tim got shivved by moles on his own campaign.
Et tu, Mikey? 

Joey Muniz
NJ Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco aide Joey Muniz, was supposed to put his mighty invisible hand into Hoboken's mayoral election.  Muniz' invisible hand was supposed to (1) push Phil Murphy away from Dawn Zimmer's April 17 fundraiser, (2) push Stick out of  Mike DeFusco's path for mayor, and (3) use his mighty powers to push DeFusco into the Mayor's office.  But you know, operatives are only effective when they are behind the scenes. Once the operative becomes the story, it' over.  Muniz is the story now in the Hoboken election.  We know all about his machinations against Mayor Zimmer, thanks to Max Pizzaro.
Et tu, Max?

Senator Brian Stack
Why is District 32 State Senator Nick Sacco's aide Joey Muniz moving in to a municipality in State Senator Brian Stack's Legislative District 33?   Stack was seen in Hoboken last week, at a diner with Mayor Zimmer- a public appearance with a message for Sacco: isn't District 32 big enough for Joey to play in?
Et tu, Nick?

See what I mean, people?  And I didn't even get to the "intrigue" part!

Well, the calendar may change, but EVERYDAY is the Ides of March in Hoboken!


Dig in!

Comments

  1. That Mikey R story makes perfect sense, why didn't I see that coming? It's depressing to think about living in a town once again ruled by a Russo, let's hope something happens to prevent it.

    BTW, GA proves once again why it's THE best resource for local politics. Hands down, no contest.

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  2. Agree. Perfect payback for ending his cousin's council career. also clears a path for Castellano Jr in 2019.

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  3. Guy with high journalistic standardsMarch 15, 2017 at 3:39 PM

    I'm widely known as a guy with high journalistic standards. I live on that street with those signs. I'm sure we've met.

    As a guy with high journalistic standards - and by the way everyone says that, not just me - I can authoritatively tell you to never ever read this blog. It's terrible. Everything in it is unhelpful, ie, false. Read the paper instead. We have one of those right? What's it called? Read that.

    Also as a mom in my 3rd trimester I can tell you I don't want publications in my city where a lot of people who are still in their bathrobes are stabbing a guy in front of a library. That's just wrong. Get some clothes on if you need to do that.

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  4. From 2016: Chris Campos' bestie scrubs him off his Facebook. Et tu Carmelo?

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  5. Mikey R will never run in 2021. The OG voter numbers are declining and the new voters will all vote for reform even if they dont know what reform is. And Mike R will never be able to escape his past, especially in this day of social media, etc. Reminder to those who have forgotten or just never knew... www.russocorruption.com. Just look on the right column of GA's page, and scroll down a little and you will find it. Once corrupt, always corrupt. In case clicking is too big an effort, here is from the first page of that blog:

    "The tapes clearly show Russo agreeing to accept a bribe and specifying the account to deposit the money in: "Russo for Hoboken."
    The tapes also reveal:
    - Councilman Russo complaining about anti-corruption Pay-to-Play laws and how they force him to make back room deals with developers.
    - Councilman Russo boasting how he hand-picked current city Councilwoman Beth Mason's campaign slate when she was running for Mayor in 2009 in order to give Russo "complete control" over the city.
    - Councilman Russo explaining how he obtained a government subsidized apartment for a Hoboken Housing Authority commissioner and paid 4 months of his rent in return for political favors.

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    Replies
    1. DC Mayor Marion Barry got busted smoking crack on an FBI surveillance video. A couple years later he was reelected mayor. Never say never.

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  6. All you've gotta do is a blow a little smoke up Phony's hiney and don't kid yourself, the kid can dance like the best of em.

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  7. It was good to see Councilman DeFusco toned down his political rhetoric at tonights City Council meeting.

    It was disappointing to see Karen Nason make an unfounded personal attack on City Council President Gianntino tonight and corrected when the video record was checked, especially after making a serious unfounded charge about Mayor Zimmer at the previous Council meeting and being quickly corrected.

    It is good that people wish to get involved in the workings of the City but along with getting involved comes the responsibility of doing their homework and getting their facts correct.


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    1. Toned down, not turned off. I don't think DeFusco understood Doyles point about liability to the city for going too far in the hotel planning before the city designates a developer. Agree or not it was childish to snap at Doyle. I see temperament issues with him.

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    2. I think there is a lot Defusco is incapable of understanding.

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  8. Temperament issues? Ya think? The guy is like Jeckyl and Hyde. Almost as if Soares is contagious

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    Replies
    1. No joke about Soares. You have a point.

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  9. DeFusco crushes Zimmer. He is well spoken and polished. Zimmer would have lost to Ramos if not for Timmy getting in the race. Zimmer's operatives are desperate for Stick to run as well. Zimmer cannot win a 1 on 1 race. She is not a majority Mayor. And Karen doesn't count as a 3rd candidate because she has no voter base and no ability to get the vote out. She is the Pat Waiters of this race.

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    1. Most shysters are well spoken and polished.

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    2. Yer kiddin right? The kid needs a civics course.

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    3. Spoken like a true op. Clueless and bursting with confidence. Patty Waiters got 1521 votes running in the BOE in 2015. 100% OG. You register your fear of an OG candidate with your mention of Romano. Which also means you recognize your client Defusco as OG even if he is "well spoke and polished" in your fevered estimation. That being the case any Patty Waiters type insurgency will come right off your bottom line.

      Yer gonna get schooled, slick.

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    4. The DeFusco ticket, if accurate, will include two former Cammarano opps (DeFusco and Soares) and a former Giacchi opp (Fallick). It's shaping up to look like a repeat of the 2010 Occhipinti campaign. Except this is citywide, not a fourth-ward fraud show. And they won't be running against anyone stupid enough to take clandestine lunches with campaign donors.

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    5. Cammarano opps? Giacchi opps? What about the other ticket where you have the Raia/Amato opp (Zimmer) and the Mason opps (Doyle and Bhalla)?

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    6. lol you're a dope!

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    7. Is that what you've been telling MDF? His PR guy takes 10%, North Bergen gets contracts, TS is for TS- is anyone telling this kid the truth?

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    8. "she has no voter base and no ability to get the vote out."

      You do realize that except for the gender, you've described DeFusco. Patty actually has a far bigger voter base of her own than he does, as does Karen Nason. He's counting on Ruben, Raia, Romano and Russo all lending him their bases. If that were to happen Mike would still be an underdog, though perhaps not a prohibitive one, and that doesn't seem likely to happen.

      For the record, Rubin would have lost a one on one and he's a way better candidate than DeFusco in pretty much every way including being smart enough to keep his distance from Tony Soares.

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    9. Mike is the OG's useful idiot of the election cycle. Going to take a lot of free beers tomorrow to get anyone to forget that for more than 2 minutes.

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    10. Waiters has a bigger base ? Seems like you have no idea who you are talking about ..
      one is approachable.. and knows how to reach the masses .. the other one .. well.. makes you want to put your foot on the door before you open it slightly to say hello ..

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  10. Really intelligent stuff on here, I can see why this is a huge success. Keep up the good work!

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    1. Zimmerman knows she can't beat DeFusco. Her only hope is to throw so much mud his way before he announces that he gets so disgusted that he decides not to run. But Mike is a pretty tough cookie and his support is strong. He's not going to back down because of some pathetic attacks by Zimmerman's blogger shills.

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    2. Who is Zimmerman? Sounds like an antisemitic shot at mayor Zimmer. Nice supporters DeFusco's got. No one wants him to drop out... Tim needs company on the island.

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  11. I mean .. Zimmerman sounds more appropriate haha .. dude needs a haircut

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    Replies
    1. Surnames do no have genders. No one critiques the haircut of the person who lowers their taxes. Idiot.

      Defusco - for the good of this city, stop hiring assholes.

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    2. Could it be possible that Mike D actually thinks that the morons on here posting drivel are actually helping him? If so, then he is delusional and not a very astute politician. But then again, if he was'nt delusional and was an astute politician, he would not be running for Mayor with the dregs of Hoboken politics.

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  12. Misogynists for DefuscoMarch 17, 2017 at 7:00 AM

    Misogynists for Defusco approves your message 11:26. Like you and our hero Mike we are tired of this girl mayor and her haircut and crappy clothes. Let's get a man in there and get the job done right!

    The PC days are over. Go Defusco, Go Trump!!!

    Let's quit pretending a girl can do a man's job. She can't! We're glad someone finally had the balls to say it: MIKE DEFUSCO!!!!!

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