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