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