Beth Mason

From an old-timer in a coffee shop on Washington Avenue to campaign workers on street corners to retired council people, Hoboken voters in the hours leading up to the polls closing Tuesday complained about spending. The most common man-in-the-street gripe was that the municipal budget has ballooned in the new millennium from $50 million to $74 million.

Voters are worried that developers are ram-rodding luxury residential housing projects without giving anything back to the community. People want more parks for their children, and fewer massive, high-rise development projects. They want the council to fully implement the master plan.

The breakdown for all ward contests in Hoboken are as follows:

In Ward One, Councilwoman Theresa Castellano is facing a challenge from Ron Rosenberg.

In Ward Two, community activist Beth Mason and retired fire chief Richard Tremittiedi are vying for a seat now occupied by Richard Del Boccio, who is not running for re-election after 17 years on the governing body.

In Ward Three, Councilman Michael Russo is facing Frank "Pupie" Raia.

In Ward Four, Councilman Christopher Campos is running against Freddie Frazier, Anthony Mussara and Dawn Zimmer.

In Ward Five, Perry Belfiore, Peter Cunningham and Scott Delea are fighting to succeed Councilman Michael T. Cricco.

In Ward Six, Councilman Angelo "Nino" Giachhi faces a challenge from Thomas Foley and William Noonan.

When voters go to the polls on Tuesday, May 8, they will select representatives for six Hoboken City Council seats.

The terms in Hoboken are four years apiece.

All wards are contested. Two seats are open. Four council incumbents are supporting one another for re-election. Twelve challengers are also running. Although they’ve formed a political action committee, the incumbents insist it’s a "loose" alliance at best.

It’s a Hoboken showdown in the Second Ward between poetry and prose, Terry Malloy and Thomas Jefferson, the Lipton Ice Building: factory version or upscale residential complex.

"I’m not a quitter," says Richard Tremitiedi, a retired fire chief who says he once earned a citation fighting a blaze at Port Newark, although he hastens to add that’s probably not the most important action in his 35-year career.

The reference to quitting is a jab at his opponent, Beth Mason, who spearheaded the city’s work on the master plan as chair of the Hoboken Planning Board before retiring in disgust in 2003, prior to completing her term.

Hoboken Mayor David Roberts’ decision not to seek re-election to a third term in 2009 has created a war among candidates in six council races to be decided Tuesday, with all of the contestants either beating up the mayor -- or the mayor before him -- in a bid to ultimately be the next mayor or power player.

The vacuum at the top of the city is complicated by the impending retirement of District State Sen. Bernard Kenny, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman, who has been a long-time ally and go-to guy for Roberts.

Feeling the pressure from gadfly citizens who say the city has not completed important projects, a City Council presenting itself as equally outraged is pinning the blame on the mayor, who in turn is kicking himself for making the announcement last year that he wouldn’t be pursuing re-election.