Author Topic: City Council Election (Updated 8/3/05)  (Read 139866 times)

Offline hamburglar

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #45 on: May 08, 2005, 11:14:06 AM »
Now that the Record has weighed in, I can make up my mind who to vote for. The Record has been such a great friend to our community and is known for their complete objectivity. I foolishly was going to vote for the New Visions team because they all have been an active part of our community for decades.  I have never seen any of the "Citizens for Grumpy Old Men" team at any civic event or community program ever. Maybe because they spend most of their time working on their court cases, who knows. I didn't realize just how qualified they are to run our city until I read the Record's glowing endorsement. According to The Record, Jenny Marin actually collected the 10 signatures necessary to run for Bd of Ed. (Oops, she lost.) Calvin Coles actually lives in the house his grandfather built. Wow. Sounds like they should already start thinking about running for higher office with those qualifications. New Visions sure had me fooled. All those years that they spent volunteering for local programs and events, I thought they really liked helping our kids and our community. I never knew that they were stooges bought and paid for by special interests. Shows you how much I know.

Anthony

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #46 on: May 08, 2005, 05:24:55 PM »
There are lots of volunteers and community oriented people in town.  Does that make them good candidates?  Just because DeFalco goes to a Comet football game doesn't mean he'll have a clue as to handle the upcoming reassessment that he won't talk about.  It's great seeing Melfi at Baseball of Hackensack meetings, but will he still be involved once his kids move on?  Is he really involved for "our kids and our community" as hamburglar says or is it because of his own kids and his political ambitions? 

Seems like New Visions candidates are just puppets for others with a vision.  How does HUMC play into the election with their never ending expansion?  How does the county play into the election with construction of a new county police hq and demolition of the old hq?  How does the county play into construction of a homeless shelter?  Why hasn't New Visions had a vision of Teterboro Airport?  I'm sure they can hear the planes roaring overhead.  I guess maybe they're vision only sees what it wants to.

Offline Jwalsh

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #47 on: May 08, 2005, 06:42:03 PM »
Volunteerism shows the dedication and committment of the candidates.  New Visions has this record.  Citizens does not.  Sure, one of them was briefly on the zoning/planning committee, but that's it.  Everyone on New Visions has put in their time.

The Record has never written objectively about Zisa and friends.  The fact that the Record decided to come out now with an endorsement in a local election for the first time is completely vindictive.  Let's not forget that Zisa and the Hackensack community stopped the Record's owner from developing Borg's Woods 16 years ago costing him millions.  In my opinion, Borg would endorse anybody who was not friendly to the Zisa administration. 

As the prior post read, vote for who you want, but not because the Record says so.  Personally, I'm voting for New Visions.

Offline FairmountFawn

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #48 on: May 08, 2005, 08:30:08 PM »
It's my opinion that community involvement does improve the quality of a candidate and I would much rather have someone that spent time serving our community over someone that have never done anything but run for city council or other elected office. 

The question I would ask is what would really motivate someone that's not   involved in the community to run for city council?  It seems to me that if you want to be involved, there is more than enough opportunities to do so.  Don't just show up at election time and say you want to serve the community.  There's four years between elections to get involved in something.

Offline Louie

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #49 on: May 08, 2005, 08:40:58 PM »
Clearly it is a benefit to have candidates who are involved in community activities but you also need to look at their reasons.  When someone is involved in an activity which does not directly benefit his own children then you are looking at someone who cares about the community.  Prior to starting his run for the city council, has Melfi ever been at any event which did not directly involve his own kids?  If he has, I must have missed it.  When his children are done playing, Hackensack Baseball will never see him again.

Offline Jwalsh

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #50 on: May 08, 2005, 10:07:58 PM »
Louie - Let me get this straight.  You think Melfi has an improper motivation because he's looking out for his kids and only indirectly looking out for the community?  Thats nonsense.  A person's level of community involvement can change with  life circumstances.  The important thing is that he's serving in the capacity that he can.  He's also on the Recreation Board, not to mention the fact that he's a veteran.  Clearly, he's a committed public servant and a good father to boot. 

Offline Louie

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #51 on: May 09, 2005, 08:19:22 AM »
I did not say that his motivation was improper.  I simply said that his motivation was his family, not the community.  As you said, Hackensack only benefits indirectly.  I stand by my point in the previous post.  It is more significant when someone volunteers their time and effort when there is no direct benefit to their own family.  Many people volunteer when their own children are involved.  It is a much smaller number who contribute simply because they feel it is the right thing to do.

Offline Netnick

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #52 on: May 09, 2005, 10:05:34 AM »
Just a reminder, for tomorrow's election, you DO NOT have to vote for an entire slate! In fact, that is probably the worst thing to do! We need some "checks and balances" in this city; how will we have that if an entire "team" is elected to council??? We need to choose those who will make a difference in our city, not just who "had the bigger campaign fund" or who "has lived in Hackensack the longest" or who "started the negative campaign" or who "fired back" yadda yadda yadda... Don't just vote a whole slate in because "it was easier" or "the numbers were so close together" or "well that's what the sign said on that lawn". Wake up Hackensack and SPLIT THE VOTE TOMORROW!

Offline itsme

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 3/7/05)
« Reply #53 on: May 09, 2005, 12:21:12 PM »
The following is an opinion piece that appeared in the March 8, 2005 edition of The Record. 

The Record's description of the slates that Hackensack Mayor Jack Zisa and his City Council allies have run on as "bipartisan" is unfortunate ("Zisa won't run for reelection," Page L-1, March 2).

Like several other Bergen County municipalities, Hackensack has a non-partisan form of government, as well as non-partisan elections. This is not an unimportant distinction.

Bipartisan coalitions are, by their nature, temporary arrangements that eventually yield to purely partisan politics. The ideal behind non-partisan government is to keep party politics out of such things as hiring people to fill potholes. It doesn't guarantee integrity in government, but the ideal is worth preserving, especially in a time of extreme partisan heavy-handedness at the county level.

Although I do not live in Hackensack, I am troubled to read that a new slate for Hackensack has been "put together" by the chair of the Hackensack Democratic Municipal Committee ("Two from Zisa ticket opt out of race," Page L-1, Feb. 25). I hope this is not an indication of things to come.

Non-partisan government in Bergen County appears to be in the cross hairs. If Hackensack falls, can Teaneck be far behind?

Jeff Ostroth

Teaneck, March 4


ericmartindale

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #54 on: May 09, 2005, 05:00:47 PM »
Editor's note: Post deleted at Eric Martindale's request. 



« Last Edit: May 12, 2005, 12:55:01 PM by Editor »

Offline 6to10

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #55 on: May 09, 2005, 08:13:39 PM »
The Record is not always right and there not always fair. But they have made a lot of sense in there editorial on Sunday and it deserves our attention. For the next four years we are going to be served by whoever wins tomorrow. There has been a lot of mud slinging and little knowledge of the issues affecting this city. The promises that have been made are few and far between. The city has been influenced by one family for many years and there influence is seen and heard in this years race as well even though they have tried to hide there personal interests. Tomorow's election should be about who actually has a better idea of where Hackensack needs to go. All the involvement in the world on the school board and in the teaching profession isn't going to be worth anything when your trash doesn't get picked up or your taxes fly after the reevaluation, or someones brother gets a promotion. Remember these things when you go to the polls to cast your vote and whoever wins hopefully everyone will come together after to move the city forward for the good of us all.

Offline WestARick

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #56 on: May 09, 2005, 09:41:18 PM »
 I agree with NetNick, voting a split ticket seems to be the way to go in this election. Neither New Visions nor Citizens for Change are wow-ing me. I didn't like New Visions  negative campaign and Citizens spent their campaign fighting off the opposing slate's charges. After speaking to Fred Jones, I'll use one of my votes for him. Even though I'm not too sure about the vending machines in the parks, I like the idea of someone on the council being committed to increasing the feeling of community here in Hackensack.
   Overall, I plan on voting:
      #4- Townes
      #6- Dunn
      #7- Canestrino
      #10- Martino
      #11- Jones

 I'd like to hear from other people about their votes if they don't mind posting them.

Offline Editor

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #57 on: May 09, 2005, 10:07:57 PM »
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank to you everyone for "weighing in" on the election.  For the most part, residents have addressed substantive issues in a constructive and respectful way.  It is encouraging to see that so many people are truly concerned with the fate and direction of the City.  More than 2000 people looked at this message board topic!

Local elections are as important as state and federal elections.  The decisions this council makes will directly affect our day to day lives.  From a look at these messages, it's clear that local voters understand this.  When everything is said and done, I think we could all agree that democracy is alive and well in Hackensack. 

As an aside, I have to agree with the prior post.  There should have been a debate.  I think a debate goes a long way in helping voters get a feel for the type of person a candidate is.  Maybe next election.

I appreciate the efforts of the 13 candidates who ran.  This was a particularly grueling race. I credit anyone who subjects themselves to this type of pressure in the hope of having the opportunity to serve the community.  I wish all the candidates luck. 

Albert Dib

« Last Edit: May 09, 2005, 10:14:03 PM by Editor »

Offline hamburglar

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #58 on: May 09, 2005, 10:25:22 PM »
I think that WestARick is on to something. If we vote here, can we save a trip to the polls tomorrow and go to the beach? I've been wrestling with this decision throughout the campaign and going back and forth in my mind. Do I vote for the 5 people who have never done anything for our community or the 5 who have sacrificed their time and effort over many years for our city. Oh, the confusion! I think I'll take a shot with the ones who have been involved in our city instead of the ones who appeared one day to tell us how lousy and corrupt our city is and that we should put them on the city council to fix it.                                                                                                                     #1.DeFalco, #2.Sasso,#3.Meneses,#4.Townes,#5Melfi

Offline wetochwink

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Re: City Council Election (Updated 5/8/05)
« Reply #59 on: May 10, 2005, 08:34:09 AM »
I'd like to thank the "New Visions" team for littering my neighborhood with the door handle literature that was put out yesterday.

Was it really necessary to place this information on car windshields too?  We now how a litter problem, as most of the loose papers from car windshields are all over the neighborhood.

TO BOTH PARTIES for the future:  Please refrain from calling homes more than once.  Mail out less negative ads. Send out less amount of mailings too. 

Perhaps a positive spun, future planning ticket may get more residents to vote in the future.


 

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