"Don't forget MEEE!"

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Well!

24 hours after the Observer.com  published "Sources: Former Ally Poised to Challenge Mayor Zimmer in Hoboken,"  Freeholder Anthony "Stick" Romano chimed in with:  "I am weighing my options (for a Hoboken mayoral run)."

GA thinks Romano meant to say: "I am weighing my options to see if Zimmer runs a Freeholder candidate against me..."

One imagines that his campaign manager, Pablo Fonseca wants to keep his candidate relevant in Hoboken mayoral politics, create buzz, and perhaps send a message (or two).

One message might be to potential DeFusco donors: "not yet."

Stick's  public flirtation with a mayoral run could impact DeFusco's ability to raise money; it's likely two Zimmer opponents are competing for the same donors.  

Another message might be that Romano has the power help/hurt Zimmer in case Defusco does run;   he could throw in and split the OG vote like Tim Occhipinti did in 2013 or sit it out.

What about DeFusco?
Well, GA thought yesterday's Observer article that Mike was "prepping for a campaign" was interesting.  Not the "prepping" part, because that rumor's been out there for awhile.... and a rumor leaked by unnamed sources online doesn't elevate it above a rumor.

The fact that no one would go on the record on the "prepping for a campaign" stuff is the interesting part.  To me!

GA wanted to know if that was a sanctioned or unsanctioned leak.  So I asked a source close to the DeFusco campaign who told me that DeFusco did not sanction that leak, providing neither  confirmation nor denial of its truth.

That be the case,  GA is going to give Mike, whom I personally like, some unsolicited advice.

Find out who leaked to the press and get rid of them.  That person did you no favors.  If/when you do announce, it should come from you and not some anonymous, blabbering idiot. It's my POV that leaky anonymous operatives speaking for the candidate or the campaign make the candidate look weak, indecisive and the campaign look disorganized. Some might even question the motives of the leaker, and the info- is it reliable?  Is it malicious?  Was the leaker for real or just some wannabe player or doofus or troublemaker?

Hey, it's not that complicated.  Let folks hear you at a time and place of your choosing. My two cents.

From the Mouth of Bah-ler
GA  had asked Councilman Ravi Bhalla the other night what he thought of the dueling fundraising events (his and Mike's) on the same night.  

The unflappable Bhalla called it an "inadvertent scheduling overlap," was gracious- no stream of epithets or foot-stomping.  Talk about mellow...  the guy has sat for 8 years listening to Jimmy Farina mangle his last name- "Bah-ler" and taken it like a champ.

Then Ravi added (I had him repeat and took notes): "I’m grateful that Councilman DeFusco has repeatedly expressed to me in the past that he is fully supportive of my re-election and supporting the Mayor last year, and similarly, I’m looking forward to supporting him in his re-election in 2019."

Gotta love Hoboken politics!