Mayor collaborates with (2) Councilpersons to BLOCK "illegal" Rent Leveling Board appointment POWER-GRAB
Isn't this interesting!
It appears that 2 members of Hoboken City Council have put political partisanship aside to work with Mayor Bhalla- ultimately in the best interest of Hoboken- to thwart unlawful appointments to the City's Rent Leveling Board (RLB).
As it stands now, Giattino, Ramos, Fisher, Cunningham and DeFusco are poised to overturn the Mayor's veto of Ordinance B-10 at the April 4th Council meeting. They seem to assume they'll have a 6th vote required in order to overturn Bhalla's veto.
Do they?
(Quick recap: Ordinance B-10, sponsored by Giattino and Ramos, removed 5 Rent Leveling Board appointments (3 full seats, 2 alternate) from the mayor to the City Council. It was crafted in order to re-appoint Giattino campaign workers Cheryl Fallick and Michael Lenz. Hoboken's Law Department issued its opinion that B-10 was invalid, and violated the Faulkner Act; Giattino proffered a contradictory unsigned opinion for a Sacco-allied attorney which she publicly admitted was a gift. On March 23, 2018, Bhalla vetoed Ordinance B-10, with a 10-page opinion from Hoboken's Legal Department.)
Apparently the anti-Bhalla faction assumes they'll have (at least) 6 votes to overturn Bhalla's veto because they have put Resolutions on the April 4, 2018 meeting agenda to make RLB appointments with themselves as the sole appointing authority.
Not so fast...
See that? Two lawful resolutions seeking council consent to appoint mayoral choices to Hoboken's Rent Leveling Board: Heath Urban and Cheryl Fallick.
Clearly, Falco and Russo have taken a collaborative approach, one which protects the City from the consequences of ramming through an illegal ordinance, and seating board members without legal standing. Any way you look at it, the consequences of defying Corporation Counsel on the legality of Ordinance B-10 would open a Pandora's box of appeals by tenants/landlords receiving adverse RLB decisions.
The fact that Giattino, Ramos, Fisher, DeFusco, and Cunningham have collaborated against the interest of Hoboken residents, who would pay for litigating appeals, should be remembered.
GA is quite cynical. I don't think Giattino and Fisher recognize any law that doesn't fit their narrative of entitlement. Both have behaved like spoiled brats since losing the election. They seem to be governing to obstruct and disrupt the mayor from exercising his legal authority, that includes appointments to the Rent Leveling Board. Of course, Ramos and DeFusco are playing them like a fiddle to inflame an already-divided Reform.
So... what will happen?
Falco and/or Russo will be under pressure to flip. Falco is a strong woman; IMO Russo is the weak link. Let's see.
If their veto over-turn does fail, will the petulant council brats table the Falco-Russo Resolutions indefinitely? This has been going on for too long, it's way past stupid. We are in stubborn brat territory.
If their veto over-turn does fail, will the petulant council brats table the Falco-Russo Resolutions indefinitely? This has been going on for too long, it's way past stupid. We are in stubborn brat territory.
Its all about collaborating for what is in the best interest of the City. The Mayor can work with council members who pick up the phone.
Stay Tuned.
CASUALTY: FATHER WARREN HALL
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| CASUALTY of Giattino-Fisher meddling |
Father Warren Hall withdrew his application to Hoboken's Rent Leveling Board. City Hall sources tell GA:
"The mayor and Father Hall had a discussion. Hall said he felt uncomfortable being caught in the political crossfire."
WHO put him in the political crossfire?
Father Hall's appointment should have sailed through on February 21st. Instead, Giattino chose to pull it from the agenda while Ramos, Giattino, Fisher, DeFusco and Cunningham hatched a plot to turn RLB appointments into a fight against the mayor.
But, the worst thing they did was "talk to" Father Hall and Keith Urban to tell them they should be "alternates" - and yes, Giattino and Fisher spoke to them about why they should step aside for "more experienced" board members.
OUTRAGEOUS. That is 'soft bullying' in an asymmetric power relationship. Those with power (officials) telling the powerless (applicants) where they are best suited; telling Hall and Urban they can be alternates mislead both to believe that Giattino and Fisher had the power to shuffle the appointment deck. They did NOT. The Councilwomen had no business meddling with mayoral appointees.
What were Hall and Urban supposed to say to them?
That "talking to" was an abuse of power by Councilwomen with NO legal standing to "offer" mayoral appointees Alternate seats on the City's Rent Leveling Board.
What should the Councilwomen have done instead? Given Hall and Urban a vote, up or down.
Their meddling turned a simple board appointment into a shitshow. The Council majority's political shenanigans and asymmetric soft-bullying, put Hall and Urban in the middle of a political fight they never wanted. Giattino and Fisher cannot honestly say that either "wanted to be an alternate"- after they were spoken to.
What should the Councilwomen have done instead? Given Hall and Urban a vote, up or down.
Their meddling turned a simple board appointment into a shitshow. The Council majority's political shenanigans and asymmetric soft-bullying, put Hall and Urban in the middle of a political fight they never wanted. Giattino and Fisher cannot honestly say that either "wanted to be an alternate"- after they were spoken to.
In conclusion, the conduct of Ramos, Giattino, Fisher, DeFusco and Cunningham have driven a wonderful public servant off the Rent Leveling Board, and possibly from considering service on other Hoboken municipal boards.
It is disgusting and disgraceful.
They own this.
You couldn't find a more useless and self-serving person than Fallick if you tried.
ReplyDeleteGA, I quibble with this line, “I don't think Giattino and Fisher recognize any law that doesn't fit their narrative of entitlement. Both have behaved like spoiled brats since losing the election.”
ReplyDeleteIn fact Jen and Tiffanie have behaved as if they are entitled to that which they don’t deserve, before the election in addition to after it.
We all know, shit they know, that based on experience, professional qualifications, City Council track record, the Mayor’s support, that Ravi has always been much more qualified to be the Mayor. It wasn’t even close. Of course Ravi’s record after getting elected —- whether it be staring down NY Waterway on Union Dry Dock, cleaning up LepreCon, or forcing Hilton Hotels to significantly reduce the height of their planned hotel —- has made this even more clear. Could you imagine Jen driving such hard bargains or do you imagine her dithering? She couldn’t even tell us whether she supported Christie or not during the Governor’s race. Ravi on the other hand knows who he is and what he’s doing and is executing left and right.
But they thought they were some how entitled. According to multiple independent accounts, they invoked bigotry before the election and told many around town that Ravi was unelectable and also bit their tongues while Roman dog whistled and even financially supported his cesspool blog. They were entitled, terrible people before the election. Instead of learning from it, they plowed on. I’m so glad Ravi finally gave up on them. Their actions are their actions. Look forward to voting them out. They are the B or C team. I want more people like Jim and Emily.
Fair enough. I had hoped that we could at least work together, post-election, on the governing body based on an 8 year history of supporting Reform. But reconciliation, at least for the purposes of governing, did not happen. I know that Ravi tried. Giattino was the only mayoral candidate to turn down a position on the Transition. Then they shut out Jim and Emily on the reorg to team up with Ramos and DeFusco and purged Zimmer appointees from all boards, including planning. Also, I know that Ravi wanted reconciliation on the Hoboken Dem Committee. All of the so-called Reformers suffer from Bhalla-derangement syndrome. And yes, Tiffanie has been using a virulently anti-Bhalla, alt-right blog for messaging- the same blog that recently attacked Parkland shooting survivors Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg. I look forward to voting them out, too.
Delete