Does this Council majority ever consult with Hoboken's Corporation Council on the legality of their legislative shenanigans?
Let me break this one down for you.
COUNCIL SHENANIGANS- HOW TO GIVE BOARD SEATS TO YOUR FRIENDS
Next Thursday will be the Second Reading of the Council majority's ordinance (B-10) to seize appointment power to Hoboken's Rent Leveling Board from the Mayor. This Board has 7 full seats and 2 alternates; because two of Jen Giattino's inner circle supporters were not reappointed to this board, ordinance B-10 is a hostile takeover of Executive power to give these two political friends their board seats back.
Also next Thursday (same meeting) are Resolutions which use their newly-granted appointment powers to place their two political chums in full seats (plus the mayor's choices into alternate seats).
GA questions the legality of their actions. Follow this:
(1) An ordinance is not law (enforceable) until the mayor approves it. The mayor has the option, by law, to veto the ordinance with reasons. If the mayor does not act within 20 days of the ordinance passing, it becomes law.
ORDINANCE B-10, 2nd Reading
SPONSORED BY JEN GIATTINO AND RUBEN RAMOS
See that? Apparently, this Council wishes to cut the mayor out of the process because...
(2) They have introduced a Resolution (CL-7) calling the need to appoint their political pals to the Rent Leveling board an "EMERGENCY." Resolution CL-7 makes Ordinance B-10 effective immediately, waiving the mayor's 20-day review/approval/veto period.
RESOLUTION CL-7
There is no emergency. Just dishonest poli-trickery to reward political pals with board appointments.
You follow? Clearly, they don't want the mayor to participate in the legislative process at all. What a dishonest load of crap- a ruthless power grab.
Here's proof this alleged "emergency" is phony:
- The next scheduled meeting of Hoboken's Rent Leveling Board is on March 28, 2018. That is 13 days after the Council meeting, only 7 days before the 20-day waiver expires. There is no "emergency" Rent Leveling Board meeting scheduled.
- The Rent Leveling Board currently has a Quorum (4) plus (1) member. GA sat on a ZBA that met for months with barely a Quorum.
- The Council has other options to fill the board immediately. If they give consent on the mayor's appointees Heath Urban and Warren Hall (Resolutions CL-6, CL-9, last meeting), these seats can be filled immediately.
- There can be no "emergency" if the council elected, without cause, to deny consent on the Mayor's appointees.
- Council President Ruben Ramos cancelled this week's meeting. If there were a true "emergency" in spite of the underwhelming storm, the council had the option to meet before the Rent Leveling Board's scheduled March 14 meeting. Ramos waived that option. What "emergency?"
(3) Here are the Resolutions that the Giattino-Ramos majority are labeling as "emergencies" requiring them to waive the mayor's review and approval/veto.
EMERGENCY APPOINTMENTS!
CONCLUSION- IT STINKS
What does the Corporation Counsel say about this?
Is it legal to declare an "emergency" in order to cut the mayor completely out of the legislative process in which they are changing rules to appoint political friends?
GA is no lawyer but, this looks real bad, possibly illegal. At a minimum, it's some real crappy governing, courtesy of Butthurt Nation.
Making law (and making-up "emergencies") in order to appoint friends to boards is not how Reform is supposed to roll. No Board seat is for life, no one is irreplaceable. We expect lawmakers to follow the law, not rewrite it to empower themselves and their friends.
This kind of governing is why in 2019, these people must GO. ALL of them.
elections have consequences. the people of hoboken elected mayor bhalla and....the city council (aka, losers lounge) decide to defy the will of the people by trying to go around the mayor on everything for political purposes.
ReplyDeleteman, the build up of this crew's bad karma is approaching beth mason levels. beware.
So much for working with the Mayor. At least they haven't formally declared war, maybe that's next.
ReplyDeleteso it is an emergency that two political hacks who only care about themselves didn't get selected by the mayor to be on the rent leveling board? give me a break. those two are a cancer on this town.
ReplyDeleteEnough of this crap. Time for a recall.
This will come back to haunt them.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I have gotten so disgusted with Jen, Tiff and Peter that I'd even back a Russo over any of those 3 for just about anything.
DeleteThe contortions that GiaFusco are going through to deliver this board position to to these two individuals, who represent 2/3 of the Giattini brain trust (Fisher being the 3rd component) are absolutely astonishing.
ReplyDeleteEvery municipality in NJ that I'm aware of (and I've researched quite a few) gives the mayor the authority to appoint the rent leveling board members subject to advice and consent of the governing body. That uniformity could simply be a herding effect, but more likely it reflects the requirements of state law meaning this attempted power grab is, among other things, probably illegal.
Hopefully, the process will be guided through the advice and expertise of the City's actual lawyers and not through the imaginary "expertise" of Fisher, Lenz and Fallick non lawyers all, who share one attribute in common - the enormous gap between their actual knowledge base and skill set and the ones they attribute to themselves and to each other.
This stunt is so stupid for Giattino and Cunningham that it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the brain trust triumverate has taken over the entirety of Giattino's and Cunningham's brains like some sort of demonic possession.
The only solution might be an exorcism. Does anyone know how to exorcise a three headed angry, delusional, entitled, pompous, self interested, ego driven power hungry demon?
No sponsor/co-sponsor for "Emergency" Resolution CL-7. What a surprise. Listen, all we can do is wait 19 more months to get a lawful counsel majority and reverse the damage. What else can be done? If we can wait for a Blue Wave to cleanse the U.S. Legislature in 2018 to restore presidential accountability and the rule of law, we can wait a little longer to cleanse our council. Even Beth Mason lacked the audacity to pull a stunt like this. That is a very low bar.
DeleteLet them see this blow up in their faces - all so they can help two people the vast majority of reformers in town absolutely detest with extreme prejudice. Have they put anyone in any position of authority reformers at all support or trust? It seems like they are going out of their way to alienate the voters in their respective wards. Next election cycle they better hope DeFusco throws them a ton of money so they can buy their seats back b/c they won't win at the ballot box.
DeleteChanging the law and distorting the law to falsely declare an emergency are serious transgressions for lawmakers. Again, this will come back to hurt them badly.
ReplyDelete