The Paulas

 
Maybe it's a GA-thing, but the notion that Hoboken's 2 It Girls at the center of our churning zeitgeist are both Paulas seems, well... funny.

First, there's Paula Ohaus, who's become a cause célèbre around town, as admired for her theater as she's loathed for her theatrics. It depends on who you ask. And like buzzards circling a rotting corpse are the politicians tearing at our wounds, neither assessing nor caring about collateral damage.  In this case, students in the district who aren't served by the escalation of acrimony between School Board factions, the Superintendent and parents.

But what do such politicians care?  Many avoided the public schools like they would a leper colony. Because public schools are for other people's children.  So why not stir a lynch mob when our Superintendent enforces rules designed to protect other peoples' children?  And our district. Who cares if the massive distraction undermines the ability of the School Board and Superintendent to tend to the massive majority of kids who are not in the HHS theater program.

Makes sense to me. 

Rules are for the Little People.  So bourgeois.

Next there's Paula Dow, the N.J. Attorney General.  GA is saying she's the Paula behind the criminal probe at City Hall.  Does anyone think the F.B.I. got off at the wrong bus stop? Who else would have sent them in?   No, the noise from Hoboken was too loud to ignore.  The stink of Al Arezzo, election fraud criminal complaints, GA's citizen petition asking for the AG's election oversight,  rumblings from mistreated City employees... 

I'll credit Mayor Zimmer for her courtesy to Republican  Governor Christie with her early endorsement of his 'tool kit', a lone Democrat extending the hand of bipartisan cooperation in densely Democratic Hudson County.  Either it warmed the Big Guy's heart or it's the political calculus of returning a favor or the thrill of Democratic scalps dangling from his belt at the 2012 Republican Convention-  probably all of those.  

Who cares?

As long as our girl Paula is here.  Because if there's one thing we know about our girl, she takes care of business:

PATERSON — Eleven people have been arrested for voter fraud connected to the May 2010 city council election in Paterson.

State Attorney General Paula Dow announced the arrests today.

The defendants are accused of tampering with mail-in ballots and filling out mail-in ballots on behalf of voters who either did not receive the ballots or who did not authorize them to vote for them.

One of the women arrested was accused of voting twice — once using her maiden name, and once with her married name.

Authorities began investigating after receiving complaints of possible voter fraud following the 2010 election.

If convicted, the maximum sentence is 10 years in jail and a $150,000 fine.

That case took 8 months to develop.  The 4th Ward special election was 6 1/2 months ago. Is that why Paula's here (if she is)?  If  so, why would the IT room be a padlocked 'crime scene'?  And the videographer/ IT Department head M.I.A.? 

It's anybody's guess why she's here, but one imagines that as our Paula roots around City Hall her net will widen.

Here's a third Paula to weigh in.