"He who represents himself has a fool for a client."
-Abraham Lincoln
According to Hudson County View, Ruben Ramos, in his capacity as a 4th Ward Councilman and Council President, is not taking his lawyer's advice. He is listening to his own advice.
Hudson County View wrote that Ramos "made it clear that he remains unconvinced" by Hoboken's Legal Department findings that Ordinance B-10 is illegal. ( The ordinance transfers mayoral appointment powers to the council, so the council can reappoint 2 Giattino campaign workers to Hoboken's Rent Leveling Board.)
Yes, Hoboken's Legal Department concluded Ordinance B-10 is illegal. Ruben Ramos says it's not.
Where'd you get your law degree, Ruben?
Ramos' main argument is that some other NJ municipalities under the Faulkner Act allow Council members to make Rent Leveling Board appointments. He told John Heinis:
Ruben's "other guys do it" argument was made in the unsigned gift-opinion Council VP Jen Giattino obtained from North Bergen lawyer Jason Ryglicki. Hoboken's Law Department rejected that argument with these strong words:
Note, any layperson can see that the "other guys do it" argument is absurd. Think about the abolition of practices considered legal in other states or municipalities: Jim Crow, voting rights, segregation.
Just because it has not been challenged in court does not make any practice legal.
But, all of this is beside GA's point.
My point: a rogue Council is poised to ignore the determination of Hoboken's Law Department that legislation they wish to create for (2) patronage appointments is illegal.
In that case, I think our law department has to figure out a remedy to protect the City if the mayors veto of Ordinance B-10 is overturned. As a lawyer told me, seating Rent Leveling Board members appointed under these circumstance make every decision subject to appeal by the aggrieved party- tenant or landlord.
Further, it is clear why Jen's North Bergen lawyer did not sign his opinion. Had he signed it, he would be assuming liability for litigation arising from following his opinion. In other words, the North Bergen attorney gave the Council political cover, but not legal protection.
Why should the City protect Councilpersons who refuse to accept its legal advice?
Here are suggestions- don't know if they are viable, because I am not a lawyer.
(1) Challenge the overturned veto in HudCo Superior Court. Do not indemnify members who don't follow the City's Legal advice.
(2) Do not allow Rent Leveling Board appointees without legal standing in Hoboken to be sworn in.
(3) Confirm position of Hoboken's insurance carrier on protecting the City in litigation involving Rent Leveling Board members without legal standing.
(4) Do not indemnify Rent Leveling Board members who do not have legal standing.
Here is where the rubber meets the road, people. Next week we'll see who follows the advice of Hoboken's Law Department and who follows Ruben's advice.
Didn't Giattino, Ramos, Fisher, Cunningham, and DeFusco notice that the Ryglicki opinion was unsigned? Couldn't they figure out why?
The rent leveling board's page on the city's website states that: "These hearings are open to all members of the public and testimonies will be given under oath and will limited to 5 minutes per person."
ReplyDeleteSo presumably, since testimonies are sworn in, the rent leveling board has an attorney too, and therefore in addition to corporation counsel rendering an opinion as to the legality of snatching the appointment authority away from the mayor, the rent leveling board's attorney should tell Lenz and Fallick to stand down, or risk having the decisions they're involved with overturned and getting us sued. And as you pointed out, GA, the city's insurer should refused to indemnify Lenz and Falick, which exposes them to personal liability.
While it may be true that city might not be able to sue Ryglicki for a bad opinion he didn't sign, the courts would weigh the intent, which was to enable Hoboken's city council to usurp the mayor's authority, so that political friends might be rewarded.
Another example of how the Council of No does not have Hoboken's best interests on their warped agendas. November 5th, 2019 can't get here soon enough.
Councilman Ramos's uninformed comments about the law just amplified the fact that he is not a lawyer. Hopefully, these idiots will reconsider the wisdom of falling on their swords for the likes of Lenz and Fallick and seek a face saving solution.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely no one in Hoboken, except Lenz and Fallick themselves and their small coterie of friends, thinks Lenz and Fallick's Board positions are worth fighting for. Most people in Hoboken don't know anything about this idiocy yet, and its certainly in the enlightened self interest of those facing 2019 re-election that they never do so perhaps saner heads will prevail.
That doesn't seem likely from the posturing but hope springs eternal.
Perhaps the most adorable thing about Cunningham, Fisher and Giattino in this is the fact that they think Lenz wouldn't throw any and all of them under the bus without hesitation if there was even the most remote political leverage in it for him. Guy would sell his own mother for a shot at a public position with clout and a stipend. And Fallick has no scruples whatsoever. Behind the haughty veneer of "advocacy" stands a craven political prostitute speaking with the most forked tongue of all.
DeleteThe second-most adorable thing about these buffoons is the way they're getting played by Ramos, who's despised Lenz for decades and is showing himself to be uncharacteristically shrewd in his willingness to fan the flames of reform's civil cold war with the clear intent of being the one to come out on top.
Doofuses, all of them. Freaking doofuses.
I agree Ramos is playing them all, especially DeFusco, like a fiddle. As in Highlander, in the end there can only be one (mayoral challenger) and it ain't gonna be DeFusco, Fisher or Giattino.
ReplyDeleteIf Ramos hasn't yet figured out that Tiff will double-cross him in the end because this is all about her including Jen for Mayor.... C'mon, man, it's Reality TV 101.
ReplyDeleteThey will all double-cross each other and that includes both the CC members and their their boot licking minions.
Deleteramos may not be the sharpest knife in the draw but unlike tiff, he's been around the block in terms of local politics and will end up wiping the floor with her and the rest of butthurt nation.
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