I left my heart in Old San Juan...
But the rest of me is back in Hoboken. So, for some late breaking news...
There is a new 5th ward candidate and a split in that funky Dark Side coalition.
How did that happen?
It seems that the Team Ramos slate (Jen Giattino, Mike DeFusco, Tiffanie Fisher and Ruben Ramos) can not agree on who should fill their 3rd and 5th ward slots.
Re: the 3rd ward, HHA Commissioner Andrew Impastato was their rumored candidate, but that has not yet materialized. Why not? Some suspect a deal was made with Mike Russo, a guy not married to any coalition who'd be the swing vote on a 4-4 council. Or perhaps Andrew got cold feet, or will jump in late. The deadline to file petitions is September 3.
As for the 5th ward, DeFusco picked his doppelganger, Nicola Maganuco. But... now Peter Cunningham has picked his replacement on the Ramos ticket, Tim Crowell.
That makes TWO Team Ramos 5th Ward candidates!
Re: the 3rd ward, HHA Commissioner Andrew Impastato was their rumored candidate, but that has not yet materialized. Why not? Some suspect a deal was made with Mike Russo, a guy not married to any coalition who'd be the swing vote on a 4-4 council. Or perhaps Andrew got cold feet, or will jump in late. The deadline to file petitions is September 3.
As for the 5th ward, DeFusco picked his doppelganger, Nicola Maganuco. But... now Peter Cunningham has picked his replacement on the Ramos ticket, Tim Crowell.
That makes TWO Team Ramos 5th Ward candidates!
Which is curious: Giattino, Ramos, Fisher and DeFusco share the same campaign management. Their management Team worked for Beth Mason's 2009 losing mayoral campaign, Ruben Ramos' 2013 losing mayoral campaign and Mike DeFusco's 2017 losing mayoral campaign.
Is Nicola getting the dump? He really seems like a nice kid but... in my opinion, needs to ripen on the vine.
So, it was last Saturday night when an email went out introducing the new 5th Ward candidate, who sounds like a lovely fellow. Really. GA applauds folks stepping up to run for office in good faith.
But, in fact I had to annotate the email because it is extremely misleading; misleading to those unfamiliar with the 2017 post- election splintering of the Reform faction. In a nutshell, the sore-losing campaigns (Jen Giattino's and Mike DeFusco's) formed a political coalition hellbent on hurting the Mayor's ability to govern Hoboken.
This faction purged reformers like Jim Doyle, Jon Otto and Phil Cohen off the City's most important municipal boards, churned out legislation to weaken the Mayor-- to fire his staff, cut their salaries, cut their nominal overtime stipend-- and they refused to vote for his Rent leveling Board nominees, forcing Bhalla nominee Father Warren Hall to bow out (Hall told Bhalla that he did not want to be "in the political crossfire"). Oh, and they attacked the charity Easter Seals because the Mayor's aide is on the NJ Easter Seals Board, trying to block them from using a vacant City-owned room after they lost their rent-free Jersey City space. This mean-spirited attack on a beloved charity enraged the public, so they caved. What else? This coalition refused to reimburse a young mayoral aide for coffee and croissants that she paid for out-of-pocket (for an open public meeting.) They eventually caved on that, too. What else? Fisher co-sponsored a Mike DeFusco ordinance that would increase lot coverage allowances (shrinking the Hoboken "donut hole" block interior open space and increasing developer profits). DeFusco's lot coverage ordinance directly benefited a pending Planning Board Applicant-- while DeFusco sat on the Planning Board! And these alleged "reformers" Fisher and Giattino and Cunningham all looked the other way when Ruben Ramos slid his political crony Eduardo Gonzalez into a hospital board seat reserved for a City Council member. Instead, they attacked Emily Jabbour for bringing this misdeed to the public's attention. Oh yes, the anti-reform behavior of this shady alliance goes on and on.
This faction purged reformers like Jim Doyle, Jon Otto and Phil Cohen off the City's most important municipal boards, churned out legislation to weaken the Mayor-- to fire his staff, cut their salaries, cut their nominal overtime stipend-- and they refused to vote for his Rent leveling Board nominees, forcing Bhalla nominee Father Warren Hall to bow out (Hall told Bhalla that he did not want to be "in the political crossfire"). Oh, and they attacked the charity Easter Seals because the Mayor's aide is on the NJ Easter Seals Board, trying to block them from using a vacant City-owned room after they lost their rent-free Jersey City space. This mean-spirited attack on a beloved charity enraged the public, so they caved. What else? This coalition refused to reimburse a young mayoral aide for coffee and croissants that she paid for out-of-pocket (for an open public meeting.) They eventually caved on that, too. What else? Fisher co-sponsored a Mike DeFusco ordinance that would increase lot coverage allowances (shrinking the Hoboken "donut hole" block interior open space and increasing developer profits). DeFusco's lot coverage ordinance directly benefited a pending Planning Board Applicant-- while DeFusco sat on the Planning Board! And these alleged "reformers" Fisher and Giattino and Cunningham all looked the other way when Ruben Ramos slid his political crony Eduardo Gonzalez into a hospital board seat reserved for a City Council member. Instead, they attacked Emily Jabbour for bringing this misdeed to the public's attention. Oh yes, the anti-reform behavior of this shady alliance goes on and on.
In the spirit of truth, GA had to annotate this email. (I don't know the author except she's called me "mean" on a live meeting Facebook thread, after I called Mike DeFusco an "idiot.")
Welcome to Hoboken politics, Tim!
Anyone aligned with those clowns is bad news if only because they are enabling those clowns. Hard pass on Tim.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't interpret this as a split in tbe DeFusco/Fisher alliance - it's a steategy that allows them each to support a candidate consistent with their brand while trying to get Nicolo into a runoff.
ReplyDeleteI doubt this guy Tim Crowell is in on the plan where he serves as stalking horse to hurt Phil and elect Nicolo. He probably was sold on the nonsensical idea that Cunningham's mighty endorsement would by itself make him a real contender (how did that work out for Jen?)
He and his family (since running for office is pretty hard on families) are kind of victims here. If this guy was persuaded to run without full disclosure of the political realities that is pretty scummy (though par for the course).
I don't think the plan will work - I like Phil's chances even if the race goes to a runoff. But this does give DeFusco a better chance to steal the fifth ward seat.
I agree, it's a strategy but it is a split, albeit self-serving. I don't think there is any path to electing Nicola in the 5th ward, though clearly their strategy is to deplete the Bhalla slate's resources in a run-off election.
DeleteI feel sorry for Tim, a fresh canvas, who is being used by Fisher and Giattino to cover the stink of their union with Dark Side vbm harvesters and Pay-to-Players. A knock on Phil Cohen's reform credentials I've seen spread online by Team Ramos operatives is Phil's support for Beth Mason in 2009. Ironic, since Fisher and Giattino are being repped by Beth Mason's 2009 PR strategists; their 2009 re-branding of Mason was a spectacular failure in Hoboken. IMO Fisher and Giattino have rebranded themselves by lending their 'good government' credentials to snakes, all to hold on to political power, driven by animus for Bhalla. Ravi hasn't changed who he was when they supported him for all of those years.
Councilman Russo can exercise a great amount of influence over the voters in the Church Tower buildings. One of those buildings is in Councilwoman Giattino's Ward and could very well be the determining votes in November's election. An attack on Russo directly from her would ensure her losing those votes. Even without an agreement the Giattino will remain silent regarding Russo. It should also be remembered Giattino was unable to garner enough votes to win her own Ward when she ran for Mayor.
ReplyDelete