Author Topic: 2013 Election  (Read 102214 times)

Offline Editor

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2013 Election
« on: January 22, 2013, 11:32:02 PM »
Four members of Hackensack Council won't seek reelection
Tuesday January 22, 2013, 10:56 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — Four members of the City Council announced Tuesday night that they will not seek reelection when their terms end this spring.

Mayor Michael Melfi, Deputy Mayor Marlin Townes, Councilwoman Karen Sasso and Councilman Jorge Meneses said they will not seek new terms. Reading from a statement, Melfi said he was proud of the work the four had done on budgeting, Main Street redevelopment and recreation programs, but it was “time to pass the torch.”

“Each of us has brought different experiences and opinions to the table,” Melfi said. “Now it is time for new eyes and new ideas to build on the successes we have had.”

The four were friends when they were elected to the council as a slate in 2005.
« Last Edit: March 03, 2013, 09:04:16 PM by Editor »



Offline Editor

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2013, 11:17:50 PM »
Candidates set sights on Hackensack council seats
Thursday, January 24, 2013    Last updated: Thursday January 24, 2013, 9:18 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK – Days after four of the City Council’s five members announced they would not run for another term, a slate of candidates announced on Thursday it would seek to take over the council in the May election.

John Labrosse, the sole councilman seeking another term, is running as part of the Citizens for Change slate. A  media adviser for the group, which has been active for years, described it as a “loose confederation” of residents who want open government and “an end to insider deals.”

The ticket includes: Kathleen Canestrino, a retired aerospace engineer and a frequent critic of the city administration; a retired businessman, Leo Battaglia; David Earl Sims, a former auto industry worker who is now a paraprofessional in Hackensack school district; and a consumer protection attorney, Rose Greenman.

Labrosse said the slate is “committed to cleaning up Hackensack from the political and governmental corruption and insider deal-making that has become an embarrassment to our community.”

Labrosse, who was elected in 2009, works in the plant operations department at Hackensack University Medical Center. Both Battaglia and Canestrino have run for council in the past and lost.

On Tuesday, four council members — Mayor Michael Melfi, Karen Sasso, Marlin Townes and Jorge Meneses – announced that they will not seek reelection. They were part of a joint slate elected in 2005. The candidates said they wanted to step aside to allow new leadership and “fresh eyes.”

Their decision not to seek reelection follows a tumultuous two years in the city. Police Chief Ken Zisa was convicted of official misconduct and officers filed numerous lawsuits filed against Zisa and the city. Questions also engulfed the building department and zoning board after a fire exposed violations at a home owned by the zoning board’s attorney. Critics called for more council leadership on those issues.

Mefli, in a statement read at a council meeting Tuesday, noted the group’s achievements including progress on downtown redevelopment, new technology and recreation improvements.

Council members serve four-year terms. The non-partisan municipal election is May 14.

Email: adely@northjersey.com

Offline Editor

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2013, 04:06:02 PM »
Labrosse heads anti-establishment ticket in Hackensack
By Politicker Staff
January 28th, 2013 - 3:24pm

Hackensack Councilman John Labrosse is heading a council ticket for the May election that has pledged to clean up corruption and insider dealing that has marred Hackensack.
 
Running an anti-establishment slate in the aftermath of former Police Chief Ken Zisa's sentencing on corruption charges, the Citizens for Change Ticket vows to create more open and transparent government.”
 
“The same people have been running this town the last 20 years and they have run it as if the town belonged to them,” said Labrosse. “It’s time for a change of leadership with new people who have a new way of getting things done.” 
 
Labrosse said budgetary issues are a top priority for his team.
 
“Public money is being misspent and wasted and that must end,” said the councilman. “We will end it.”
 
Another major issue for the “Change” ticket is to get more openness and public participation in local government.
 
Kathleen Canestrino, a member of the Change ticket who previously ran for council, said: “We want to bring more openness to local government, so people know about the decisions that are being made that impact their lives. We want people to have access to public documents and we want council meetings televised. These are not difficult things to do, all it takes is the commitment from the governing body to run an open government.”
 
Leo Battaglia, a third Change ticket member, said his team will encourage more public input in local government. “We need to the public involved in government decision-making, but to do that we have to create an atmosphere where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.”
 
“There has been a culture of intimidation and hostility coming from city hall that has lasted for decades in this town. We want people to come to the city council and express their ideas and their complaints without fear,” said Battaglia.
 
Rose Greenman and  David Earl Sims,who round out the Citizens for Change ticket. said their goal as council people will be to get people involved in their own government.
 
Greenman, who lived under the repression of the former Soviet Union, said, “the  government here doesn’t belong to me, or a group of insiders; it belongs to the people and they have a right to shape their government and be part of its decisions and it’s a right that a lot of people in the world do not have.” 
 
Sims echoed the theme, saying: “The deep rooted changes that that need to be made in how Hackensack is governed need to come from the people. My runningmates and I will create an atmosphere that encourages people to bring their ideas to the council where they will be given honest consideration.”   
 
THE CITIZENS FOR CHANGE TICKET
 
John Labrosse, 58, councilman seeking re-election, resident 33 years married, with two sons; employed at Hackensack University Medical Center, in the plant operations department.
 
Kathleen Canestrino, 63. Married to Emil, bachelor’s degree in mathematics, master’s degree in computer science; a 20 year career in aerospace engineering at Honeywell Engineering, where she oversaw multimillion dollar budgets
 
Leo Battaglia, 65, Resident of Hackensack since 1978; Electrical and Electronic Degrees ; Retired Local Business Owner.  Served on Hackensack Recreation Board in 1995; Created the Hackensack Junior Soccer Program in 1986,  and has coached recreation teams and travel teams until now.  He is married, with two children and five grandchildren.
 
David Earl Sims, 50, a lifelong resident of Hackensack; a graduate of the Hackensack Public School System, where he lettered in two sports, baseball and basketball. He has a degree in Automotive Technology from Lincoln Technical Institute. David worked in the automotive industry for over 20 years.  Currently, David serves as a Para-Professional for the Hackensack Board of Education
 
Rose Greenman, 59, attorney in her own practice in Hackensack, concentrates on consumer protection, sitting on   consumer law committee of the NJ Bar Association. Lived in Hackensack since 2000, two grown boys, one is an attorney the other a teacher. Emigrated from the former Soviet Union.  Graduated Montclair State University and Seton Hall Law School.
___________

Read more at http://www.politickernj.com/62694/labrosse-heads-anti-establishment-ticket-hackensack#ixzz2JJ3tkGwk
« Last Edit: January 28, 2013, 05:48:49 PM by Editor »

Offline Editor

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2013, 05:12:52 PM »
New slate of candidates announces run for Hackensack council
Friday February 1, 2013, 9:09 PM
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK – Five city residents have formed a slate called Hackensack Citizens for Open Government and plan to run for City Council in the May election.

All five council seats are up for grabs, and just one sitting councilman, John Labrosse, is seeking reelection. The slate members say they will run on a platform for open, transparent city government.

The slate includes Kenneth Martin, a retired city police detective who served 26 years in the department – 24 of them as a school resource officer; attorney and Board of Education member Jason Nunnermacker; Joanne Mania Colon, a city Planning Board member for 23 years and cemetery accounts manager; Joseph Barreto, a New York City school teacher and counselor; and Scott Young, an information technology specialist and special police officer.

The group also touted its record of service, which includes volunteerism with community groups, the ambulance corps, recreation leagues and business associations.

Roger Mattei, campaign manger for Citizens for Open Government, said each of the candidates is known throughout the community “as someone who can be trusted.”

It is the second slate to announce a bid to run for city council.

Last week, Citizens for Change declared its intention to run five candidates. It includes incumbent Labrosse, Kathleen Canestrino, Leo Battaglia, David Earl Sims, and Rose Greeman. As part of a local group by the same name, the candidates have railed against corruption and “insider deals” over the past few years.

Council members Michael Melfi, Karen Sasso, Marlin Townes and Jorge Meneses, all elected in 2005, said they will not seek reelection. They’ll step aside following a period of turmoil in the city that included the criminal conviction of the police chief and corruption-related lawsuits against the city.

Candidates must file nomination petitions for May’s nonpartisan election by March 11.

Email: adely@northjersey.com

Offline Victor E Sasson

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2013, 04:23:16 PM »
I will be running as an Independent in the Hackensack City Council election on May 14, 2013, if I can get at least 250 signatures on petitions to put me on the ballot. Here is the letter announcing my candidacy that was published in Friday's Hackensack Chronicle. Please call me to sign a petition -- 201-488-3012.

261 Euclid Ave.,
Hackensack, N.J. 07601
Feb. 1, 2013

To the Editor:

I joke that I am running for the Hackensack City Council to get my street paved.

But the sad truth is that as property taxes have risen, the quality of life in Hackensack has declined dramatically.

My neighbor says our street hasn’t been paved in 20 years. Noise from low-flying business jets keeps me up or drowns out the TV. The city has been slow in installing solar panels, and still operates many inefficient Police Department vehicles.

I am a former reporter and copy editor at The Record. I am married and my stepson attends Hackensack High School.

If elected to a 4-year term, my goal in the first year is to halt the rise in property taxes. Then, I would work to deliver a property tax cut to residents in each of the remaining three years.

One issue the City Council hasn’t addressed in the past eight years is how much the non-profit Hackensack University Medical Center should pay to the city in lieu of taxes.

Unfortunately, council incumbent John Labrosse, who is seeking another term, works at HUMC, and likely would be ineffective in persuading the hospital to contribute more to a city that has so graciously accommodated its expansions over the years.

I am running as an Independent for Councilman-at-Large on a quality of life platform. The election will be held on May 14, 2013, and I need 250 signatures from registered voters to get on the ballot. I would be financing my campaign and would not accept money from special interests.

If elected, I will:

Work with Teterboro Airport to reduce aircraft noise, and work with federal officials to get a mandatory curfew on flights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Get Hackensack to purchase more efficient vehicles, including hybrids, for the Police Department and other agencies.
Explore government grants to add hybrids to the city’s fleet, and encourage the installation of more solar panels on city owned property.
Start collection of garbage and recyclables after 6:30 a.m.
Ban landscaping work on Saturday and Sundays
Encourage police to establish routine patrols of neighborhoods, if that isn’t being done now.
Get police to crack down on speeders, stop-sign violators and loud motorcycles.
Encourage the city to undertake a major program to repave streets, including Euclid Avenue, which hasn’t been resurfaced in about 20 years.
Have turn lanes installed on Passaic Street, at Summit Avenue, and at other traffic bottlenecks.
Encourage the City Council to deliver a property tax cut to residents by passing along some of the additional tax revenue from major building projects, and gasoline and electricity savings.
Call me with suggestions: 201-488-3012.


Save the date, May 14, 2013. Vote for peace and quiet. Vote for Victor E. Sasson for City Council.


Victor E. Sasson



Hackensack, N.J.
201-488-3012
 
« Last Edit: February 18, 2013, 11:00:55 PM by Editor »

Offline irons35

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2013, 06:35:17 PM »
Euclid Ave was last paved in 1979, I was 10, the editor was 7.

Offline Editor

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2013, 06:54:46 PM »
Yep. That's when I got my first skateboard.

Offline Victor E Sasson

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2013, 02:16:43 PM »
I see that the Citizens for Change slate doesn't intend to rein in property tax increases or to try to deliver a tax cut to long-suffering residents of Hackensack.

As an independent candidate for City Council in the May 14 election, my goal is to make the city work more efficiently, and to get one of the biggest non-taxpayers, Hackensack University Medical Center, to pay the city several million dollars in lieu of taxes.

The payments can be in kind -- such as helping the schools establish vegetable gardens, repaving Prospect Avenue, buying the city hybrid cars for parking enforcement and other uses. But it's clear the hospital uses too many city services and has had a tremendous impact on its neighborhood to just stand by its non-profit status in these troubled economic times.

Councilman John Labrosse, who is seeking another term, works at HUMC, and would be ineffective in this regard. What has he done in the last four years? I've attended two council meetings, and all I heard him say is, "Abstain."

Fairleigh Dickinson University also has a large presence in the city, and may also not be paying taxes. Is it doing anything to help the city's schools improve education?

Victor E. Sasson
Euclid Avenue

Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2013, 08:53:12 AM »
A tax cut without a cut in services is a pipe dream. What should be cut? If the legal fees were not so astronomical, the tax picture would be a different story. The BOE budget is separate from the City budget. So, school issues are moot for the most part.

HUMC did pay the City $1,000,000.00 when the Cancer Center was built. Not clear how administration spent that, but it certainly did not reduce taxes.

As far as an employee abstaining with regard to any vote regarding his employer, I believe that's called ethics.

Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #9 on: February 18, 2013, 09:05:04 AM »
One more thing, paving is a complicated issue. In order to pay for it, without increasing taxes, there is a formula for use of funding - grants I believe. I have attended almost every meeting, including work sessions, for the past few years and I learned this when paving Kaplan, Parker, Simons, etc. was discussed. It took a long time to get the funding together for this project. This project was done with "leftover" money. These roads were in really rough shape and were patched so many times they could have been repaved twice. Many roads in Hackensack, including yours, are in bad shape. If you check with the City you can find out where your project might be on the list, or if it is on the list at all.

Offline Victor E Sasson

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2013, 11:00:27 AM »
There's ethics and there's another factor at work on whether John Labrosse will step up and ask HUMC, his employer, to give back to Hackensack, and again, it doesn't necessarily have to be money. Among other things, it could be the paving of Prospect Avenue and starting vegetable gardens at the schools, where the food is inedible, according to my stepson. Like most employers, including The Record, HUMC isn't a democracy, and Labrosse will be bounced out if he dares suggest that the sprawling hospital pay anything in lieu of taxes.

See Eye on The Record for my account of Tuesday night's City Council meeting, which wasn't covered by The Record:

http://eyeontherecord.blogspot.com/2013/02/what-hackensack-reportrer-missed-last.html

Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #11 on: February 21, 2013, 08:44:16 PM »
What is the other factor at work? I am missing your point. Besides, Prospect has been paved in the area of the hospital and school lunch is up to the BOE. So your examples do not make sense to me. And why are you going after the man's job? Do you expect free Carvel from Sasso, or Townes to ask the County to pony up for the City? You are way off base, but if that makes you feel better, go for it. The hospital provides much to the City. I do not know many people that are happy with all the real estate they have taken up, but you really should check your facts and see for yourself what the hospital gives back already.

Offline Victor E Sasson

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2013, 10:35:49 AM »
Regina, are you the same shrill woman who gets up at council meetings and screams and yells about astronomical legal bills? I'm talking about thinking outside the box. The hospital has had a huge impact on Hackensack and most of its patients come from out of town. It's time for it to give back, period. Money, vegetable gardens at the schools, you name it, it should be on the table. It doesn't have to be Prosepct Avenue near the hospital, it could be any street in Hackensack. Whose side are you on? Certainly not the taxpayers.

Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2013, 01:19:48 PM »
Mr Sasson, against my better judgment I am responding to you. Go ahead, make me regret it. You are good at that.

Do the taxpayers not pay the astronomical legal bills? If I am not asking about legal bills for the taxpayers' sake, then whose side do you think I am on? If you do not appreciate it, that's your problem.

Define shrill ... is it because I do not meekly ask a question and walk away like you do? I know what I am talking about when I speak at council meetings. You have only attended the past few meetings. I have been attending for years! Where have you been? Anybody that is not outraged by the legal bills has their priorities out of whack and their head in the vegetable patch.

One more thing, aren't you the same person who has a vile and nasty blog solely because you have an ax to grind with The Record, your former employer?

Offline just watching

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2013, 09:57:29 PM »
As for as HUMC is concerned, the current and past administrations have been lame in dealing with them on all these issues.  HUMC contributes at least half of the volume of traffic within a few block radius.  At the very least, they should be paying to install traffic lights at Prospect and Atlantic, and at Prospect and Beech.  Both are LONG overdue.  A few residents suggested this at the Cancer Center zoning application, but there was no official support.

What happened behind the scenes negotiating between HUMC and the Zisa Administration, with regard to where the hospital overlay zone would be and where future expansion would be heading. This happened in conjunction with the city's Master Plan as well as during talks over various expansion projects.  I don't think there is anything in writing, no Resolution, no formal agreement.  Just a meeting of minds. The city clearly wanted HUMC to keep it's hands off Summit Ave, which is where they and their affiliates had wanted to build, and to instead expand down towards the Railroad. Zoning changes and Master Plan changes were made towards that end. That appeared to be the main goal, and things like paving roads or traffic lights were not part of the unofficial agreement.  Nothing is to be built in the Summit Ave overlay zone (Essex to Beech) except small office buildings that look just like houses.

I think in retrospect, the city should have encouraged HUMC to develop in the downtown district, or even at the 30-acre Record Campus, but who knew they'd be leaving.

The Zisa administration was heavily concerned with the zoning and planning for Summit Ave since they took office, and actually even before that. Zoning on Summit Ave has been a defining issue, from the Borg and Brower properties, to the Bergen-Passaic LATCH, to the removal of the R1 zone in 2005 in favor of the R75 and R100. And lets not forget the Mosque proposal at Summit & Central.  People who favored big development on Summit Ave, such as Suzanne Sznajermann, a Planning Board member appointed by former Mayor Fred Cerbo, were immediately removed (not reappointed) from the Planning Board as soon as Jack Zisa became mayor.