Did you know that the only winning candidate in the 2015 Ward elections to get less than 50% of the vote was Tiffanie Fisher?
In 2015, Ramos ran a spoiler, Bonnie Murray- the wife of Ramos ally, Brian Murray. It appears Ramos' target was Peter Biancamano, who was backed by Frank 'Pupie' Raia.
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| Ramos backed the wife of Brian Murray (pictured) as 2015 spoiler. |
Ramos remained pissed with Raia for running a third ticket, Tim Occhipinti, against him in 2013, which he believed handed City Hall to Dawn Zimmer. So two years later, in came Bonnie Murray, a finger in Pupie's eye to split the Biancamano vote in the 2nd Ward. Why does GA think this was a campaign in name only?
Look at Murray's ELEC report filed after the November 3, 2015 election.
Murray's campaign raised a total of $4,550, spent $913.50, and left a balance of 3,636.50 which she "disbursed" after the election.
Check out Murray's reported disbursements.... not only don't they add up to $3,636.50, but the kinds of disbursements are not exactly typical of a robust (real) campaign.
So, in spite of Biancamano having the backing of the development community, he would have been neck-in-neck with Fisher, and in the runoff... who would have prevailed- Biancaano or Fisher- in a mid-December run-off is anybody's guess.
But really, that's not GA's point!
My point is to those "reformers" poised to OVERTURN Mayor Bhalla's VETO: watch out for what you wish for.
Not only would Fisher have probably lost her 2015 runoff against Biancamano, but the 2nd, 5th and 6th ward Councilpersons are weak in their wards.
Against a Bhalla ward slate, lotsa luck winning your runoffs-- if you even make it to the runoff. Politically-speaking, nobody has your back now. Not Ramos and DeFusco who laugh at you to their crew.
Beth Mason played both sides, and lost both in the end.
But, check your email... pathetic, long-winded, finger-pointing. The "reform" flippers want the mayor to unilaterally solve VBM fraud while they open the door to bring back low-turnout runoff elections- playing into the hands of the vote-buyers.
Yep, the Giattino-Fisher-Cunningham decision to override Bhalla's veto and join the vote-buyers has been made... Holy Moses!
I posted this on the previous thread but think it's worth re-posting here:
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I think the term "sell out" is a misnomer. Someone who "sells out" is "selling"something meaning getting paid something in return.
'Cunningham, Giattino and Fisher are empowering Ramos and DeFusco at their own expense. They aren't only receiving nothing in return, they are spending whatever political capital they had."
It's NOT worth re-posting! I replied to you on the other thread. You are wrong! There is not necessarily the guarantee of reward when one "sells-out." A sell-out simply seeks some kind of advancement- that is the motivation to abandon one's convictions, integrity, principles, etc. Now, it is possible that a "sell-out" has made a deal (like we can assume they have) then your example would apply. But, a sell-out is a term that describes the actor-- whatever their motivations may be. Look it up in the urban dictionary!
DeleteRespectfully, GA, I believe the commenter's point is that from the standpoint of morals and ethics, they may be "selling out" in terms of abandoning past principles in a manner they perceive to be transactional, but from the standpoint of streetsmarts and political savvy, they are technically not selling anything, since they are giving away their reputations and probably their political careers, and will receive nothing in return, regardless of what they may think is going to happen.
DeleteTo truly "sell out," one must be both unprincipled and smart. They've only got half the ingredients to make the cut.
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DeleteGhost, I don't believe selling out requires brains- I see craven ambition, a lack of empathy for those they 'sell-out" and narcissism as driving qualities. Anyway, I am NOT changing my graphic for you nitpickers!
DeletePrecisely Swayze. GA I think you misunderstand my point. I absolutely agree that the three of them think they are getting something in return so IMHO wannabee sellouts would be more accurate.
DeleteThey believe they receive power and influence in return for the deals they are cutting so in their minds they surely are "selling."
But IMHO that belief is stupid to the point of being delusional so they are donating their souls - not selling them.
Not saying you should. Just highlighting that while it only takes one craven scoundrel to put their soul on the market, it takes two parties to make it a "sale." Agree with you that their souls are for sale. Agree with numbers that they're too dumb to negotiate a transaction that benefits them in any way. Something about buying cows when free milk is flowing, and what not.
DeleteIt's all good, Ghost. Is there dirty dancing in the Afterlife?
DeleteAll dancing here is just like on earth -- you have to dance with them whut brung ya. Hope Peter, Tiff and Jen are taking lessons, because Ruben's pretty good on his feet.
Deleteif it wasn't so potentially damaging for hoboken, it would be rather entertaining to watch jen, tiff and peter naively get rolled by the OG and subsequently kicked to the curb by reform voters in the next elections. they're walking into a buzzsaw yet think they have things under control...actually, even worse, they think they're making the right move. no surprise that most of them are no longer in the business world, all signs indicate they're too naive and delusional to hack it. cunningham still works for a living right? i certainly hope he's more on the ball in that world than he's proven himself to be in the local political scene.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that it has taken until now - after 4 City Council votes and 2 mayoral vetoes - for Cunningham, Giattino and Fisher to even try to offer lame explanations for this.
ReplyDeleteObviously they expected this to fly through under the radar in December with minimal coverage or discussion. They hadn't even concocted explanations because their "braintrust" though he was so clever they could slide through without ever providing any beyond mumbling something about letting the people decide.
Thankfully, Mayors Zimmer and Bhalla didn't let that happen and the sunlight is shining brightly.
It's never a good idea for elected officials to treat their neighbors as if they're stupid. They are not.
Fisher would have been torn to shreds in the runoff. Folks in her ward don't have time to take off from work to deal with a runoff for a CC race. Sorry, not happening. And based on her recent performance, Peter would have been no worse for reformers than her. She has been a bust the last few months.
ReplyDeleteWell if this passes, let's hope she wastes her time and money for this end result.
DeleteI'm not sure who would have won. Mayor Zimmer was (and is) extremely popular in the 2nd ward and, since it would have been the only race in town, she might have been able to focus enough of her energy and resources to carry Fisher in.
DeleteExcept for Cunningham in 2007, the three of them have never run in an election where they didn't have the benefit of the strong active support of a popular mayor (who was particularly popular in their wards.) In fact, the same is true of DeFusco.
Of course the synergies worked both ways, but the outsized importance of Mayor Zimmer's efforts on their behalf in their ward elections was always a tough fact for then to acknowledge.
The 2017 results would have been an eye opener for anyone capable of opening their eyes.
good point. they do come across as a pack of ungrateful little snots don't they?
DeleteI believe those most damned in Dante’s Inferno were the fence sitters, the ones who could not pick a side. That idea seems to be playing out here. Their swing vote strategy is destroying what is left of their base, leaving them dependent on either Ravi or Mike/Ruben for their bases. It’s making them politically less relevant not more.
ReplyDeleteI have to ask, at what point will they get over Dawn genuinely believing Jen was less ready to be Mayor?
I wonder if Dawn is as surprised by the behavior of the Fisher led cabal as others are? Perhaps she knew them and their "brain trust"better than we did and that informed her decision?
DeleteSurely it would have been easier for Dawn to just go with the flow, and "unify" reform behind Jen.
One if Dawn's greatest strength as a leader has been that she has never taken the"easy" way out instead of doing what she thought was best for Hoboken.
My observation is that Dawn had plenty of strategic thinkig to guide her on HOW to achieve to an objective. With regard to WHAT to aim for her grand and brilliant strategy was to simply do the right thing as she saw it. People got it and appreciated it, that’s why she was a popular Mayor. For all the machinations of this Lenz’s and Kenny’s of the world, Dawn in fact offered Peter-Tiff-Jen a better strategic approach on what to aim for. This referendum idea is the opposite of Dawn’s approach and they are and will lose support because they took the opposite approach.
DeleteWhat's funny about Lenz is that he actually poses the most legitimate evidence validating the notion that paid VBM's don't matter -- in his election, paid VBMs reached unprecedented levels, yet he still lost on the machines. Ergo, in that instance, paid VBMs really didn't matter.
DeleteI don't think that's the point they're looking to highlight though.
i recently wondered: in this day in age, why do local politicians pay attention to mike lenz? nothing personal, i'm sure he's a swell guy and all but seriously, how does he seemingly have a hold on local politicians? what power does he have? does he have a voter base? is he some masterful behind-the-scenes wheeler and dealer or kingmaker? if so, what, exactly, has he wheeled and dealed in recent years? what kings has he made in recent years? i don't get it.
Delete@me: Lenz appeals to a certain type of person. He ingratiates himself immediately to everyone he meets. He'll say, "You know snoopy, I was listening to you talk and you really know a lot about [topic]. I'd like to hear more." He continues with the "you're so smart, tell me more about your thoughts" until you're hooked on him. He FINALLY validates everything you've always known about yourself: You're smart, you're thoughtful, you're well spoken, you're the cream of the crop-- and he saw it in you from the beginning! From the very first! And he's so smart, not only because he saw in you what you've always known was there (but you were never appreciated enough for those qualities), but also because he knows so many things (the history of HudCo politics for example).
DeleteSo, he's SUPER smart because he validates his audience and can regurgitate things most people under 40 (or over 40, but who haven't lived in Hoboken for 20+ years) didn't live through or know. People don't realize if you've lived through it, you're likely to remember it better than if you just read it online.
The old guard sees through him b/c they were here and also know what he knows. So his "intellect" is lost on them. Also, he tried to steal their power. So they don't like him.
You'll note that 90% of his protégées are women? Why is that? Because, due to the very nature of being a woman, women are more likely to feel looked over, undervalued and underappreciated. Any woman who is self-confident or has been taken by this type of guy in her younger years sees through him pretty quickly (see: Dawn Zimmer), but other women who lack experience, self-esteem or self-confidence fall for his b.s. and become his lifelong devotee (see: Carol Marsh). His perfect mark is a woman whose looks are fading (due to age), and who was never given the opportunity to achieve whatever she set out to do (personally or professionally) due to circumstances she believes were out of her control.
The only man I have ever known him to be friends with long-term is Tony, and everyone heard the story of Mike claiming that he's only friends with Tony because he'd rather have him pissing out of the tent than into it.
I suspect Mike has no time for men because the Timmys and DeFuscos of this world are fewer and farther between and thus harder to pick out than the Jens and Carols.
that's some amazing historical perspective, snoopy, thanks. i've lived here for 30 year but never been an "insider", just an outside observer, and never knew the back story. those are pretty tough depictions of local women candidates/politicians in his orbit, but have to reluctantly admit it makes sense.
Deletefascinating, and also cases a slightly different light on jen's mayoral run for me. while it was clear to me that she got poor political advice, i didn't realize the depth of his influence.
@me - it's just my opinion. Others may have a different take on it.
DeleteThis is a harsh truth is that Jen is not the sharpest tool in the toolbox and Mike has been courting her for years. The phrase he used soon after her election was, “there’s a battle for the heart and soul of Jen Giattino.” It took years of courting Jen, meeting with her since she does not have a full-time job and Mike works for the County. To his credit he successfully convinced her, Tiff, Peter that 2015 voters would walk with them in 2017 and so Jen had a viable Mayoral candidacy. Whoops. Don’t know who is advising them now but this neither here nor there approach is rapidly killing what support they had left after 2017.
ReplyDelete