Checked power

Zimmer Claus delivered a veto of the run-off  ordinance on Day 2 of her 10-day legal time window. Ho Ho Ho! 

GA is going to miss Mayor Zimmer.  Say what you will about her (and many of you do), GA admires her steel balls, honesty, and very hard work which I believe was starting to have a deleterious effect on her physical health. 

The City Hall she entered in 2009 had been run- according to a professional who once worked there- "like a criminal enterprise."  Alleged 'profit-sharing' in litigation settlements was the norm. As a rule, the City did not fight litigation back then. When Zimmer came in she ended that Dark Side practice.

Amongst other practices ended by Zimmer and her Council, merit hires came back to City Hall.  Yes!  Also gone were the City Hall jobs bank and health insurance bennies for ex-officials.

Yep, when Zimmer came in, Dark Side grifting went out.

Note, a similar situation was happening concurrently at the Hoboken BoE.  The same year that Zimmer came into power, Kids First swept the BoE race, and similarly cleaned house of dead wood.  One piece of dead wood in particular continues his personal vendetta against the Reform BoE coalition to this day.   

And so... did the Dark Side lay down when the new Mayor and BoE tried to take away their goody bag? 

Nope.  An epic backlash ensued. 

On the frontlines of the Dark Side's 2010  "Reform Resistance" were Beth Mason, Mike Russo, Theresa Castellano and Timmy O.  Anything and everything put forward by Mayor Zimmer and the Reform Council was attacked and voted down. Back then, the Reform council included Ravi Bhalla and Jen Giattino. 

The 2010 Reform Resistance tried to kill the hospital sale, sued to keep Jim Doyle off the Council in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, kept parks closed because they wouldn't bond for Sandy repairs, wouldn't bond to replace all HOP buses destroyed by Sandy forcing one line to shut down, voted "NO" on a cost-free garage bond conversion costing the city $4.5 million... and on.  

Reduced public service, loss of a hospital, closed parks.... all of it done to make Zimmer look weak and incompetent.  

Why are we back there again? 

It is fascinating and dreadful to see the drift of former Reformers to the Dark Side as the  2017 "Reform Resistance." 

I am not talking about the 2 fools with dead blogs.  They do not matter.  The 2017 Reform Resistance are elected officials who feel personally betrayed by a colleague, and do not want him to succeed.  Bruised egos, bruised feelings.

In that regard, they are sorely out-of-step with most folks who, in spite of whomever they voted for, want the next mayor to succeed.

As the "resistance" drifts towards the Dark Side and refuses to question the questionable ($73.9K paid to a Washington D.C. political consultant "at the wrong address," Tiffanie Fisher appointing herself to an Executive oversight committee), they are leaving the rest of us behind.  

If one looks at it in purely political terms, they've abandoned their base. Ho ho ho.  

  

GA wants a council that encourages public debate- whether it's a renegotiated SUEZ contract or bringing back run-off elections.  Both are huge issues of public concern.  Shoving run-off elections through at the end of December without public debate, and when nobody's paying attention is crap.  So is pulling SUEZ off the agenda and canceling a SUEZ presentation. Crap.  

So far, the 2017 Reform Resistance Council has worked with Mike DeFusco and Ruben Ramos to shut down debate. Craptastic.

Ironically, the divisive political environment Bhalla is stepping in to is very similar to what Zimmer stepped into in 2009- only some deck chairs are rearranged.  Like Zimmer, Ravi is not going to have an easy time with a Council that does not want him to succeed. 

So far, Bhalla's taken a different approach than Zimmer.  He is aiming for reconciliation. If it doesn't come (don't hold your breath!) he may surprise those who continue to underestimate him.  

So, it's the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Take a moment to think about where you want this City to be in 4 years.  That's where we need to go.