Author Topic: 2013 Election  (Read 102650 times)

Offline Victor E Sasson

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #15 on: February 23, 2013, 08:46:39 AM »
Just Watching makes some excellent points.

As for Regina, the last thing we need is someone like you who defends the status quo when it comes to Hackensack University Medical Center.

You have been rightly bitching and moaning about astronomical legal bills, but has Councilman John Labrosse -- whom you support and who is running for another term -- ever tried to cut the hourly rate paid to Richard Malagiere, Joe Zisa, Dennis Calo and other attorneys, or moved to end the city's relationship with Zisa now that his cousin has made his disgraceful exit from the Police Department and city affairs?

As for my Eye on The Record blog, 99 percent of it concerns the piss-poor journalism it is practicing, its lazy local-news editors, the abysmal lack of Hackensack news and the impact North Jersey Media Group had on Main Street when it fled for the sticks.

My age-discrimination suit against the newspaper is history, and it is no longer even mentioned in the bio on the blog.

And at least I don't hide behind a single name or an "Anonymous" tag. You should identify yourself by your full name and tell us who you support -- so we can put your comments in perspective.

Offline just watching

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #16 on: February 23, 2013, 09:03:49 AM »
Yes, Regina is a LaBrosse supporter and part of the Citizens for Change team for a long time.  And she typically posts on this website around election time, and then disappears for years. 

What needs to be done in America is COMMUNITY BUILDING, not POLITICKING.  Be involved in the community, and work for the good of the community just for the sake of the community. That is what people respect.  Instead we have tons of people in Hackensack (on both sides of the politics, by the way), who have the "politics first" perspective.  This means that the priority is to "throw the bums out, and put in our people", and then change can advance.

I have always believed that advancing particular initiatives should never be delayed because someone else is in power and could potentially take credit. Instead I always believed that the community initiatives were the priority, and "candidates" for office would define themselves by whether or not they supported the initiative. Never, never let the "candidates" control the show, meaning to decide which community initiatives would advance and WHEN they would advance (meaning, to advance only AFTER they take office).

Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #17 on: February 23, 2013, 09:19:45 AM »
If you went to more than a couple of council meetings over the past few years you would know the answers to your questions. I have no desire to fill you in on what you've missed except that you would know that legal fee hourly rate was increased from $85 to $125 in 2005, before Mr Labrosse was elected. One council member cannot unilaterally change anything. That's why we need people who want change.

Nice of you to say I was right to complain about legal fees. If more people had complained over the past few years, we might not be saddled with these enormous bills. Nobody but a few die-hards has cared to come to council meetings on a regular basis to let administration know it is unacceptable. So they do what they want, not what the residents want. They know they can. As mayor Melfi said to me when I asked for televised meetings, "Your are only one of 44,000". He then corrected it to 3 of us, because that's how many people regularly attend council meetings. Pathetic on many levels.

As far as your request that I reveal my identity, more ridiculousness. You know who I am, as do most people, and you know who I support. Why single me out in that request? Oh, because I do not agree with you. Ask more of your foes than your friends?

Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #18 on: February 23, 2013, 09:28:10 AM »
Just watching, I have not disappeared. Been right here, just watching the posts, attending council meetings, keeping up to date with what is going on in the city. Mr Sasson is running for council, promoting himself and his blog on this site and suddenly attending council meetings. That's OK with you, but what I post is not? Who is being politica? If you lived in Hackensack you could vote for him, but you do not.

Offline just watching

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #19 on: February 23, 2013, 09:38:41 AM »
I agree that the whole legal fee issue is an outrage.  And I am not a supporter of Ken Zisa either.  I was one of the first people against him, way back in the mid-1990's. I always thought his political career (Assemblyman, candidate for Sheriff, and Democrat Party strongman) was a conflict of interest with being the Police Chief. So even if he had done nothing wrong, I didn't like the combination of hats he was wearing.  Just too much concentration of power in the hands of one person.  Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

I suspect that the Melfi administration would have lost if they ran again because of the Chief Zisa conviction, and all the other lawsuits in the police department.  It was time to step aside, and they did the right thing for Hackensack. The President only serves two terms, so it's not a stretch to say two terms is enough for a city council. If they had run again, the five elected seats would have shifted to Citizens for Change, and that is still a possibility. That would be an even bigger disaster.  Complainers are good at complaining, not at running the city.

How the Melfi-Townes, etc. administration handled the city's police troubles is 100% a non-issue in this election.  They are not running.

Actually neither ticket is tainted. Although I don't support him, it is clear that LaBrosse is not tainted because everyone knows he's been the opposition councilman, especially with regard to the Chief.  The other folks, Citizens for Open Government, are five new people.  They are five people who care about Hackensack and want to help lead the city in the right direction. It's not fair to say they are tainted by the scandal.

Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #20 on: February 23, 2013, 09:46:34 AM »
Just watching, better go check your facts on Open Government. They may not be "tainted", but it is very easy to connect the dots, especially since Mr Salkin escorted them to the council meeting this week. Please, let us know what you find. Hint, Planning Board, BOE and HPD are good places to start.

Offline Victor E Sasson

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #21 on: February 23, 2013, 11:00:43 AM »
The Citizens for Open Government slate is supported wholeheartedly by Lynne Hurwitz, the Democratic Party chairwoman who was the power behind Ken Zisa and the Zisa slate that now holds four of the five council seats. Does anyone need another reason to boycott their candidacy and vote for someone else? Let's see how "open" the slate members are -- if they get on the ballot -- on who supports and finances their campaign.

As for Regina's boast, attending council meetings doesn't mean jack.

Councilman John Labrosse may be the only opposition on the council, but why does he sit silently all the time and let his wife attack the council majority? And why exactly did she sue the council?

Offline just watching

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #22 on: February 23, 2013, 11:05:35 AM »
Politics in Hackensack is a coalition of interests.  There are very different interest groups in Hackensack that vie for attention and to share power. These are (1) geographic, meaning different neighborhoods (2) ethnic or racial (3) interest-based, for instance Baseball of Hackensack, PTA folks, or a group based on Zoning dispute like the 19-story hospital proposed for Summit Ave, (4) political parties and even FACTIONS within political parties, and (5) sometimes a large and entrenched political family like the D'Arminio's, the Zisa's, and others.  An example of factions that would be your blue-color white ethnic Democrats and your liberal Jewish anti-war, pro separation of church and state Democrats, who are both Democrats but very different politically.  We all know people in Hackensack that fits those descriptions.

The point I'm making is that a political organization is not a unified organization, but rather a collection of various interests (see 1 - 5 above) that have agreed to work together for the common interest in running the City of Hackensack. There is no single person in power behind the scenes, and the players are constantly changing and evolving.  There is an expectation of loyalty, but also an unwritten understanding that if individual people in power drift out of line, the "organization" might evolve in a different direction.

These concepts illustrate how you get Roger Mattei and Lynne Hurwitz on the same side, for example.  They are very different politically. So to "connect the dots" as Regina suggests means only to define the intricate political web-network or various and sometimes conflicting interests. 44,000 people is still a small place, politically. The dots are going to connect everywhere.

But they don't connect with Citizens for Change because the organization is not based on people working together to advance various issues, it's based on complaining and protesting. [Personal attack removed by Editor]. And it's people out of power wanting power, and wanting to control the strings of patronage.


« Last Edit: February 23, 2013, 01:56:58 PM by Editor »

Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #23 on: February 23, 2013, 11:45:28 AM »
Just watching, Citizens for Change meets all your criteria (1-5). Having Lynne Hurwitz involved in any way negates all that criteria, because, as history has shown, it is her show. Mattei as campaign manager seems to be in name only. He was a councilman under Jack Zisa (dot connected). Salkin is deeply involved and deeply connected to certain factions (Zisa/Hurwitz  especially-dot connected). Why did he escort the slate to the council meeting and not Mattei?

I just connected a couple of dots for you. Hackensack may be 6 degrees of separation, but does Citizens for Change have any of the prior administrations (who created much of the problems) connected so closely?

Salkin was involved in the cancer center/parking garage deal. Mr Labrosse wanted that taxed as it is a business. Instead we are getting paid for "air rights" for the pedestrian bridge for however many years. There is more on the cancer center if you are interested, but I do not want to be accused of "complaining" if I share.

Those who have not spoken out and tried to change the status quo have sat by and accepted it. Anyone who classifies those who speak out as "complainers" just verifies that they have accepted the status quo.

I do not believe I boasted that I attend council meetings. I stated the fact that I do and I do so because I want to find out firsthand what is going on, not someone's slant on it.

Offline just watching

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #24 on: February 23, 2013, 02:11:48 PM »
"LaBrosse wanted that (Cancer center/parking garage) taxed as a business."

Don't we all ?  It's great to ask for things that are not possible. There is State law that dictates what can and cannot be classified as a tax ratable.  Unfortunately hospitals fall in the same category as County administrative buildings.  They cannot be taxed. 

I would suggest that Citizens for Change lobby their State legislators and Governor Christie to change some of these laws.

I would love to see the County contribute tax revenue for their properties, churches, non-profits, and hospitals, and then the County could tax everyone County-wide to cover the cost.  That way the tax burden would be spread out over all the towns of Bergen County.  But of course the wealthy towns that don't have so many of these facilities control the politics, and they don't want that.  And I can't take credit for this idea, something like it was first suggested by Jack Zisa, so I have to be fair.

Offline Editor

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #25 on: February 23, 2013, 02:17:35 PM »
I removed a sentence by just watching in a post above that I considered to be a personal attack and possibly defamatory in violation of the registration agreement.

This is a place to discuss the issues.  It is not a place to label people, make accusations, question motivations, or attack people for their political affiliations. 

Keep it clean. There are school-aged kids reading these topics.  Let's set an example.


Offline regina

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #26 on: February 23, 2013, 02:26:44 PM »
Thank you, Editor.

The parking garage most certainly could have been put on the tax rolls, but the attorney representing the City (Salkin) gave it away. The cancer center is not technically a hospital, mostly doctors' offices. Could have partially taxed at the very least, but again it was given away.

Offline Homer Jones

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #27 on: February 23, 2013, 02:28:22 PM »
Hate to break the news but that idea has been floating around in every County Seat for as long as the governmental and non profit tax exemption laws have been in effect which has been quite a long time.
With all their political muscle, Newark and Jersey City got nowhere with that idea.

Offline just watching

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #28 on: February 23, 2013, 02:34:51 PM »
The sentence deleted was not a personal attack.  It was venturing into a subject matter that was controversial and involved the former Chief of Police.  Given all the litigation, I can understand the Editor's concern.  Noted.

Offline Editor

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Re: 2013 Election
« Reply #29 on: March 05, 2013, 02:55:17 PM »
Please use this topic for election news and discussion of campaingn issues.  Candidates and campaigners should post in the Community Soapbox board for campaign positions, announcements, etc.
« Last Edit: March 05, 2013, 02:58:03 PM by Editor »

 

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