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| "We're heeeeere!" |
Look at the size of that thing double-parked in front of City Hall!
I'll bet you it's full of
How will we do it?
Two Hoboken officials: Hoboken Mayor Zimmer and Hoboken Freeholder Anthony "Stick" Romano have formed an "unlikely alliance" to protect City Hall from from the double-parked looting and pillaging bosses!
GA would call the Zimmer-Stick pairing more "detente" than "alliance," nevertheless, the forging of cooperation happened as a result of two behind-the-scenes events:
(1) Stick was bullied by North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco's North Bergen aide Joey Muniz to publicly announce he would not run for mayor. It got nasty, with threats to pull HCDO support from Romano and run Ruben Ramos for Freeholder on the HCDO line instead. Muniz, a "fierce DeFusco supporter" wanted Stick out of the way, to increase DeFusco's chance of beating Mayor Zimmer in a two-way race.So let's break it down: there is only one reason why Hudson County bosses would try to pick Hoboken's next mayor- see below.
(2) Muniz called gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy to say that Murphy could not align with Zimmer as long as he (Muniz) wanted DeFusco for mayor. Muniz demanded that Murphy withdraw from his April 17 "Special Guest" appearance at a Dawn Zimmer fundraiser.
It's all about Hoboken City Hall.
Hudson County bosses could care less about Stick's race. Forcing him out was simply a means to an end: ousting Mayor Dawn Zimmer and electing Mike DeFusco for mayor.
But hey, watch out for unintended consequences.
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| The Observer, NJ Politics- March 23, 2017 |
"According to a source, Romano is likely to back Zimmer in the Hoboken mayoral race in November if he does not enter the race himself. In that race, Zimmer is likely to face a challenge from Councilman Michael DeFusco. While DeFusco has yet to officially declare his candidacy, according to the source, DeFusco and Zimmer are currently battling it out for support throughout Hudson. Paired with early rumors that the HCDO was initially favoring Hoboken Councilman Ruben Ramos for Romano’s freeholder seat, the rumored shakeup led Romano and Zimmer to form an unlikely Hoboken-centric alliance. That alliance has continued even after the HCDO endorsement for Romano."Now, you ask: what's in this "alliance" for Mayor Zimmer?
Let's just say that "unlikely alliances" are forged on mutually beneficial returns.
In the meantime, Hoboken COUNTY taxpayers want to be "winners" in this mutually beneficial "unlikely alliance"- we will not be forgotten.
Mikey has quickly become Hoboken's version of Sisyphus.
ReplyDeleteYet he willingly condemned himself to his fate,
There is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.
Remember that time when Phil Cohen ran with the support of HCDO and Zimmer and lost? Let's not look too much into this, zimmer just doesn't want to get embarrassed again. She's the one who struck a deal -- stick stays out of the race in exchange for her blessing for the line. But they didn't figure in DeFusco, so the deal evolves.....maybe to the point where stick (or a red headed heron close to stick) stays in the race on the mayor's behalf. In exchange for?? That's the question GA should be asking....
DeleteI don't think anyone ever took Anthony Romano as a serious candidate for mayor of Hoboken. Not even Romano.
DeleteAs we all know there hasn't been an effective Freeholder from Hoboken .
Except for the person collecting the checks it is a throwaway, position reserved for far too long for insider political County hacks Fitz and Stick.
An unlikely alliance, indeed! Me thinks we've got some serious spin going on. Zimmer working with Romano! Another high-dollar MV resident benefiting from, but who doesn't belong in, subsidized housing!Guess Zimmer wants to pull the Marine View vote away from DeFusco. All she needs now is to join forces with Russo to lock down Church Towers.
ReplyDeleteLike whats his name did when he needed an appointment with health benefits ?
DeleteI think Mayor Zimmer understood that the wise course of action would not to waste energy on the Freeholder race that the good old boys wanted for their go along friend. After all Hoboken been able to prosper without having a effective Freeholder that did anything positive for Hoboken in the last two decades .
Oh, you must mean Raia with the health bennies. Another Zimmer pal. Your spin is getting thin.
DeleteNo, I was thinking of Anthony "Tony" Soares who went to the Russo's to beg for seat on the Hudson County Sewerage Authority Board.
DeleteIt was a big scandal at the time severely hurt his already crumbling credibility in Hoboken ever since.
GA does realize that HCDO is united with their slate of candidates, and Sacco is part of that, yes? Zimmer endorsed Stick to get him out of the race, or stay in until last min and drop out so zimmer could run unopposed.
ReplyDeleteThe Murphy thing comes from Danny Bryan, mayor's former chief of staff and current Murphy advisor hoping to get a junior job in Trenton. If he shows that he can "deliver" Hoboken, he's golden. Is GA okay with hoboken being used as a political bargaining chip for career advancement?
Of course Hoboken is going for Murphy. He already bought the gov seat with his Goldman Sachs $$$$s. Can't believe that Bryan would be rewarded for delivering something that the preordained dem nominee already paid for. NJ politics - gotta love it.
DeleteWell you know, that's what civil wars are about.
DeleteLD32 v LD33 or a united Hudson County?
Akin to siblings fighting with each other; they can pick each other apart, but outsiders can't.
ReplyDeleteSeems the buzzards know they can't step on Zimmer and have identified Defusco as an easy mark.
But, is he really such an easy mark? Kid works hard, has half a brain, is liked by the millennials. I'd say this one might be a toss-up. Does ol' town Hob + millennials = a squeak-through for DeFusco? Or will Raia work his "magic" on the VBM for Zimmer once again? Who knows?
DeleteI wouldn't put my money on either of them yet. Too soon to make the call.
I've never underestimated Mike's political prowess- not after he pushed the Wicked Witch of the South off her broomstick and beat her over the head with it. Yes, reform helped, but the kid worked his butt off.
DeleteWinning elections is one skill set, governing is another.
I completely agree with you GA. But what do you say to those of us that are disappointed in the Mayor for leaving us behind? We don't see DeFusco as the answer or the solution but, we're ready for a change.
DeleteViva Giattino!
Well, that's up to you. Not sure what you mean. Some wanted to 'fix' Obamacare, others wanted it tossed. Are you a fixer or a tosser? I guess it depends on how deeply flawed you find the object of your unhappiness- in this case the incumbent mayor.
DeleteYou know, we just have different POVs. I don't agree with Zimmer 100% of the time, but I mostly like how she has governed. You, not so much. You personally may not think there is a fix, that she is too flawed in which case, you should support whoever you think will do better.
Feeling left behind isn't a good thing, so maybe you want to articulate how so, why, what you think she can do to 'fix' and make yourself heard. Or, you may just want change.
In that case I would say, watch out for what you wish for.
I think he is a tosser.
Delete"A "tosser" is literally a man who is overly fond of masturbation. By extension in general usage, it denotes someone (usually male) who behaves in a selfish and inconsiderate manner.
Hey, GA. I don't go to your site and I'm not on it now. Where's the Bhalla invitation I didn't ask for when I wasn't here? It's not for me, it's for all the Reform Stalwarts and Pioneers out there. Even though they don't come here either because it's so pro-Trump. You probably wrote this post yourself.
ReplyDeleteHi, OhWankyBoy! Truth be told, I learned about Ravi's fundraiser in the comments section here and over at MSV, where I was sharply criticized for not posting it. So... I have a surprise in store for the cranks and miscreants who insinuated there was something nefarious going on.
DeleteNot telling! Don't you like surprises? Stay tuned.
More of your threats I see! Look who's crazy now. I'm not here because I don't even come to this site, but you think you are talking to me! Hah! But if I ever did come here, which is never, I would want to see Bhalla's bribe dinner covered. I guess Stan told you to cover it up. Well you know what they say? The cover up is worse than the crime! It will come out and then you will be kicked out of reform!
DeleteGood afternoon! What's the fuss here all about? It's not like Zimmer and Stick are swapping spit. There is no Fusion ticket, Stick is not coming to the Light and Zimmer is not going to the Dark. It is officials from 2 factions putting down their guns for the greater good of Hoboken. Call it what you want- a truce, a temporary peace agreement. Stick may still run for mayor against Zimmer. Now, they were collecting signatures for Phil Murphy. If Murphy gets elected, he will know who supported him.
ReplyDeleteNo, Stick does NOT get a pass acting like a head of lettuce instead of demanding the County make cuts to spare Hoboken more tax increases. Maybe it has dawned on Stick that some of his HCDO friends were eager to shiv him to make way for DeFusco.
Bunch of drama queens! 10:35- you're an idiot if you think Raia and Dawn are pals after Reform booted him off the NHSA. Posting it here doesn't make it so.
Stop disparaging Dan Bryan- you sound jealous. The relationship between Murphy and Reform officials in Hoboken is founded in much more than a former Zimmer aide.
Don't get swallowed by the green-eyed monster!
Romano doing something for the greater good of Hoboken! I don't think so...
Delete
ReplyDeleteGA - why are Murphy aids Jenny Davis and Adam Alonso, both key in Cammarano's 'victory' working so closely with Dan Bryan to secure dawn an endorsement? Hmmmmmm. Or why you think it's okay to blast an LGBT fundraiser, but not even write about how Ravi's Friday fundraiser was hosted by Cammarano's defense attorney? We all get you have a slant, but you can't hand out hall passes if you're a "reform" blogger.
EXACTLY! If Camarno took a bribe it stands to reason that his attorney did too! Nailed it!
DeleteWhat about it GA? Where's the coverage of Bhalla's bribe dinner?
12:52- Hogwash. I simply asked WHERE the $ was going for Mike's LGBT fundraiser since the invitation was blank. I got 2 different answers: NJ LGBT Democrats and Hudson Pride. WRONG! The invitations now ask checks to be payable to "NJ LGBT Democratic Caucus". But not for this blog calling attention to WHERE the $ was going, we never would have known what it was being used for. Now we do. You call it "blasting", I call it "sunshine" and it worked out very well- now the NJ LGBT Dem Caucus will receive the donations! Thank me later!
DeleteAs for Ravi's event, you are so wrong. I learned of the event in the comments section here and on MSV where I was "blasted" for not posting an invitation I never got and didn't know about. Since you have spun it as something nefarious, I will throw some sunshine on that. You know what happens with sunshine? It makes the rats scurry.
As for your Camamrano aspersions- lotsa luck with that, ask your candidate.
Happy Sunday!
I don’t know what all of the fuss is about. Perhaps it is just Stick the Dick understands that he is no longer that big of a deal in Hoboken. He got OBLITERATED in the BOE election last year. He also knows that he has negatives, one of which is living in Marine View while pulling down a big block of cheddar from the County and his pension (and don’t forget his bar and other properties that he owns around town). The freeholder district is not favorably mapped to enable a Hobokenite being elected without outside support from other Hudson County pols. The County pols still snigger and laugh at Hoboken and the inability of the grifters of the OG (i.e. The Russo Clan) to keep the hold of the purse strings at the BOE or City Hall. So they just gerrymander the freeholder district to keep Hoboken from having a significant voice. All the while the demographics look worse and worse every year for the OG. How many times have they tried to co-opt some empty headed suit (or skirt) to try and appeal to the “yuppies” in order to put a bobble head into office? Besides Occhipinti – how has that worked out for them? Let’s face it, the Mayor is a rebel – has cleaned up Hoboken and is not all that popular with the entrenched folks in HudCo. Making peace with Stick is a pretty savvy move. Throwing in with Fulop is also a good move. He seems to be a better ally than Stick at the County level. Seems like the pansy asses on here are crying foul because the Mayor that they derided as a political neophyte with no political skills or managerial experience and that could never survive when she was first elected has, much to their chagrin, turned out to be pretty astute and successful and they are now burning up with jealously. The snide sniping at the mayor is just that – petty pecking at her, hoping that if they nibble and peck her like a duck she will bleed and die from a thousand small nicks from those tiny little duck teeth. I don’t think that the mayor will ever become duck bait. It seems instead that she has plucked some ducks herself, and left them marginalized, hanging like so many dead duck carcasses in a store front in Chinatown. I can envision a DeFusco carcass in that storefront someday soon.
DeleteAlonso was also involved with Mason. He's not too bright.
DeleteI guess I just see this entirely differently... Stick is nervous about his political future and staying relevant. More focused on himself, then the group of dark siders. He knows that he cannot win in Hoboken. After getting crushed during the last BOE he realizes that (a) his followers are reducing exponentially vs. the new entrants to Hoboken who are unlikely to vote away from the incumbent and (b) the only votes he can really get are the paid for ones that are under much more public scrutiny. He has only one choice he can make - run for Freeholder. The position that most Hobokenites don't even know what it is. He can hide behind this until a very strong candidate comes out to run against him - someone much stronger than Phil Cohen who only the Mayor seems to like. So back to the Mayor...this is where I think the jury is still out on who he supports. Mike DeFusco is not a change for the sake of change candidate IMHO. He is a little kid, without any practical leadership or management experience, who has chosen to accept the support of our local thugs, hooligans and amateur crime families. Not unlike Timmy and Peter Biancammano did right around this same point in their careers. Bad early judgement. Mike accepted the Zimmer support during his 1st ward campaign because he needed it to beat Terry. That is who he is - he uses people for his own gain. Now his vision is clouded by his own, amateur ambition and the smoke that is being blown up his you know what by the ugly HudCo bosses. He is about an inch away from making a very misguided mistake that will have significant long term implications. Just look at both Timmy and Peter B. Zimmer may not be the best mayor when push comes to shove, but the general good feeling felt by the majority of Hobokenites about Hoboken will be ascribed to her in an election. Most people, especially the uninformed voters, will not feel the need for change for the sake of change. And, unlike DeFusco, Zimmer will have the backing of all the credible community leaders in town. DeFusco, on the other hand, will only have supporters like Russo, Ramos, Soares and Raia...and all the developers. Not a message I would want to be making in Hoboken in these times...
ReplyDeleteWhat credible community leaders will support Zimmer? The bike guy?
DeleteGo back to sleep, moron.
DeleteWhat credible community leaders?
DeleteAh, that's the old Mason mistake, the primary mistake of all the middle-shelf pols that have come along since the Russo ship started taking on water in the past decade. You think Hoboken wants to be led. Look around. You still don't understand the city after all this time. So why could you understand the appeal of a mayor who is everything Beth didn't know how to be.
But never mind that. Go find us some "leaders". We'll wait. All these people who leave town every morning and come back every night? That's just want they're waiting for - you guys picking out some leaders that they can follow. Hurry and go find some. Can't wait.
Talk about morons... My question about what credible community "leaders" were backing Zimmer was a question I was asking anon at 4:45 since he or she said:
Delete"...And, unlike DeFusco, Zimmer will have the backing of all the credible community leaders in town..."
I agree, it was an absolutely idiotic comment that anon 4:45 made and I was interested to hear who was on this "credible community leaders" list. I figured it would be good for a laugh.
It is March and none of this insider spin and counter means a thing to anyone beyond the hand full political junkies.
DeleteHoboken is better place since Mayor Zimmer and her administration took office and it keeps getting better. Voters always vote in their own best interest.
Doesn't matter to voters but a lot is going on behind the scenes that will shape the campaigns.
DeleteYou are right all the behind the scenes maneuvering doesn't matter to the voters who are already predisposed to continue to the positive changes that Mayor Dawn Zimmer and her team has brought to Hoboken.
DeleteAnon 4:45 here. Credible including Councilmembers Giattino, Cunnigham, and Fisher, along with municipal board members, and other locally active Hobokenites who have worked hard for the City and have not committed crimes, required payback of some sort, nor paid people to vote. A different group than those backing DeFusco. DeFusco won't split reform. He'll only get the Old Guard vote and some old school reformers like Soares who have kept to the other side. You can't have both in Hoboken - it's one or the other and DeFusco is about to get in bed with the other...
DeleteSo far the only one to step up for DeFusco has been the often pedantic and abrasive Soares who has hurt him more than helped. Ramos already a loser once for mayor has been made to look like a pliable pawn being told by his out of town betters, if and when he can run.
ReplyDeleteRusso and Raia are understandably MIA at this point looking to make their own side deals.
I overheard an interesting conversation at dinner this weekend. If what I overheard is correct, DeFusco will announce sometime in early to mid April. He had hoped his ELEC bankroll would show his strength, but he's lowered his sights to getting enough to look credible. His ticket is not yet completely set though. Soares may be out, it depends on another candidate under consideration instead who may be stalling on committing. These guys said the guy was told they needed to know by next week.
ReplyDeleteReduced expectations already appears an early theme.
DeleteHow pissed will Soares be if he gets tossed?
Delete