Third Ward candidate Ron Bautista kicks off!

Nice turnout last night for Third Ward candidate Ron Bautista's Kick-off ; "40+" he tells me. I'd concur.  

The Stewed Cow is a deep, narrow space.  Last night it filled with a diverse mix of local activists, members of Ron's Church, neighborhood friends, former and current School Board Trustees, Democratic committee members and a candidate- 4th ward council candidate Lisa Sprengle.   

Well, no matter which political faction one is aligned with in this divided City, everybody from all wards came out  for the same reason: new blood on the Hoboken City Council.   And not just any new blood- Ron Bautista's.  

And since Ron's blood type is O+ (critical in trauma care) he is just what the ailing Third Ward needs now.  For example, GA is appalled at the plight of a double- amputee who was denied a reserved handicapped parking spot for a year-- these spots granted by a committee that Mike Russo leads. That is outrageous. Ron will help correct the system that showed monumental incompetence and failed to serve a most needy Hoboken resident.

Bautista is thoughtful, progressive, visionary, incapable of corruption.  Listen to the speeches.  

My concern: that Ron is a bit of a one-man band, and so I implore Third Ward residents to volunteer, and help his campaign.  The last reformer to tackle the Third Ward was Greg Lincoln in 2011. He and campaign manager Deirdre Wall did a tremendous job in a ward no one thought was winnable. Well, they didn't win, but out-performed expectations.  They ran on a strong anti-corruption platform. 

Times have changed since 2011; they're more favorable to an anti-corruption message. In 2019, Pupie Raia was convicted of vote-by-mail bribery, and multiple players are federal witnesses or possible targets of an ongoing prosecution.

GA believes this next election will be a referendum on local political corruption.  Ron Bautista is running against history. That is not negative campaigning that is truthful campaigning. Seriously, Ron is a great candidate, but needs a team.  That's a shout-out to Third Ward people.  

In the above photo, the fellow standing next to Ron (who introduced him) is Michael Watson, founder of the Hoboken's chapter of The Climate Mobilization. 

Watson and his fiancee, Julianne Cort, who was there too, are climate activists who are also elected Hoboken Democratic Committee members.  In fact, when the Hudson County Democratic Organization allowed Michael DeFusco and Tiffanie Fisher to pull Bhalla's committee candidates off Column A on the ballot, Watson was a victim.  So yes, Watson ran off the line and still won.  (Same as Margret Clarkson, who was pulled off the line for Cheryl Fallick and won.) 

Anyway, it's interesting to note that Watson's Hoboken Chapter of The Climate Mobilization has about 200 members, and is growing. Their mission? As noble as it is daunting: 

"to initiate a WWII-scale mobilization to reverse global warming and the mass extinction of species in order to protect humanity and the natural world from climate catastrophe. We are an innovation lab that develops and launches policy frameworks, messaging, and organizing approaches to accelerate the global transition into “Emergency Mode” to address the climate emergency."

Godspeed.

Packed room

Ron's  church friends

More Ron supporters