Dear Resident,
With Election Day less than one week away, I'm getting a crash course in why regular people like me choose not to run for office.
A friend recently shared an email that my opponent, Jen Giattino, sent to our 6th Ward neighbors. In it, she accuses me of violating pay-to-play laws. The integrity of our elections is a huge priority for me, so I reached out to Alyssa Bongiovanni, Hoboken's Pay to Play Compliance Officer (and a city lawyer), to make sure that I hadn't unwittingly broken any rules. Her official response?
“I have reviewed this matter, and conclude that there is no violation of Hoboken’s pay to play regulations.” -Alyssa Bongiovanni, Hoboken's Pay to Play Compliance Officer
I also discovered that my opponent had not even checked with Ms. Bongiovanni before publicly accusing me.
I wish I could say I was shocked, but to me it's one more instance of my Councilwoman deciding that she knows better than the professionals who are hired to enforce and guide our laws.
As I've mentioned previously, Jen Giattino sided with developers last year on an ordinance that would shrink the open space behind our houses (known as the "donut"), despite the fact that our Planning Board said that it was against both Hoboken's land use guidelines and our Master Plan.
Jen also willfully disregarded the professional advice of experts on the Historic Preservation Commission when she recently carved out exemptions for certain Stevens buildings in the Historic District expansion before the Council, which could potentially result in the demolition of historic homes on 9th Street and the creation of large new dorm complexes.
I will listen to our city professionals and take their opinions on board. I think that the Jen I previously voted for and supported would have listened in the past.
I recently learned something else that bolstered my belief that the 6th Ward needs new leadership. According to the official minutes of a recent meeting of the Hudson County Building Trades (that's a large consortium of local construction unions), which also made financial contributions to her campaign, Jen Giattino “expressed her disgust with Mayor Bhalla on his lack of development in Hoboken.” (see minutes below).
This doesn't square at all with what she says in public. On the Council, I’ll push back on what developers really want in our undeveloped areas – unlimited development and large-scale, luxury residential buildings. I want the majority of new development to be either commercial or affordable housing, and always in scale with our city.
With me, what you see is what you get. I'm not going to say anything behind closed doors that I wouldn't say in public. I will never rush into redevelopment agreements without a full analysis and robust community input. And I'll never blindly push forward with ordinances and exemptions that teams of experts and professionals have raised numerous red flags about. When it comes to both development and legislation, I'll always favor the same thoughtful, collaborative approach that I've become known for in my 20-year career as a TV producer.
I hope to have your support on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5. Polls are open between 6 am and 8 pm.
Thank you for listening. As always, don’t hesitate to reply to me at this email if you have any additional follow-up questions.
Best,
Cristin Cricco-Powell
Candidate, 6th Ward City Council
Cristin Cricco Powell's ethics are beyond reproach. Giattino's lack of ethics are beyond belief.
ReplyDeleteWatching with sadness the caracatures that Giattino and Cunningham have become, the benefits of term limits become more and more compelling to me.
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