Dawn Zimmer

Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer

Hoboken Mayoral candidate Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer today unveiled her slate of at-large Council Candidates: former Councilwoman Carol Marsh, attorney Ravi S. Bhalla and middle school teacher Dave Mello.

Zimmer said she and her candidates pledge an active grassroots campaign as they battle Councilwoman Beth Mason (who has not yet formally announced her candidacy) and Councilman Peter Cammarano. 

The slate will appear at a 6 p.m. house party kick-off tonight.

Councilwoman Beth Mason

HOBOKEN - With just Councilman Peter Cammarano and Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer the only declared mayoral candidates to date and two months until Election Day, Hoboken has the makings of a political battleground.    

A poll taken last month by American Research Surveys for a group of prominent Democratic Party members determined that Councilwoman Beth Mason leads the field in the mayor’s race, followed by Councilman Peter Cammarano and Dawn Zimmer, who statistically tie for second.

Cammarano improves his standing in the poll when emphasizing his opposition to the state takeover of the mile square city's budget, but a majority of voters polled are undecided about who should succeed Mayor David Roberts. 

Of 250 voters polled, Mason received 17% in the “hard support” category, followed by Zimmer with 9% and Cammarano with 8%. 

Hoboken City Hall

HOBOKEN - City Hall sources this afternoon confirmed what Hoboken's political class has known for a very long time, which is that as much as Mayor David Roberts would love to run for a third term, the city's budget crisis and resulting state takeover make it politically infeasible for him to do anything other than tap out at this point.

He won't run again, said sources close to the mayor, who anticipate Roberts releasing an official statement sometime in the coming days.

When asked to consider his one-time political ally's legacy, At-Large Councilman Peter Cammarano said, "It's a mixed bag. For much of his term, he presided over the ramping up of the local economy and a Hoboken renaissance. There was unprecented growth in the local economy. ...Clearly the downside was the growth of the city budget from $52 million to $100 million in seven years."

At-Large Councilman Peter Cammarano

HOBOKEN - In a Denver hotel lobby on the eve of Obama’s big nominating speech, amid the clatter of high heels, elevator music and 11th hour political pell-mell, a young Hudson County elected official sat in an oversized armchair with his head down, intently reading a biography of his hero, Abe Lincoln.

This morning, on the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birthday, At-Large Councilman Peter Cammarano launched his campaign for mayor at the hipster Frozen Monkey cafe, becoming the second person to formally get in the race to succeed incumbent Mayor David Roberts. 

For Cammarano, 31, the critical moment in recent Hoboken history was the budget vote last year. 

The councilman argued that he has an enviable record on that score, particularly compared to Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer - who's already in the mayor's race - and Councilwoman Beth Mason - set to enter as early as next week - both of whom voted in favor of a state monitor assuming control of a battered Hoboken.

Zimmer and Mason and a majority of the council prevailed, the state came in, and Hoboken lost, said Cammarano.  

"Last year, Hoboken taxpayers were hit with a huge tax increase that was at least $8 million more than necessary due to the failure of the city council to adopt a budget, preventing the city from sending out tax bills," the candidate told reporters. "This happened because a majority of city council members, including my opponents, refused to vote for a 7% tax increase. Instead, they voted for a state takeover that resulted in a 47% increase and great hardship for our homeowners at the worst possible time."

Councilman Peter Cammarano

HOBOKEN - At-Large Councilman Peter Cammarano will formally launch his campaign for mayor tomorrow, Thursday, at the Frozen Monkey, 526 Washington Street.

An attorney with Genova, Burns and Vernoia, Cammarano enters the fray as Hoboken works with a state monitor to repair a budget crisis. An early opponent of allowing the state to fix a budget the councilman argued the mayor and city council should address locally, Cammarano is the second formally declared candidate for mayor behind 4th Ward Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer.

Second Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason is also expected to enter the race. 

Councilman Peter Cammarano

HOBOKEN – Sources close to At-Large Councilman Peter Cammarano say the attorney plans to formally enter the race for mayor sometime next week.  

Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer is already in the contest, and sources say Councilwoman Beth Mason will roll out her campaign shortly with the endorsement of Union City Mayor/Sen. Brian P. Stack. 

Stack wouldn’t comment this week when PolitickerNJ.com asked him who he’s supporting for mayor in Hoboken. He simply said he’ll have an answer probably in the next couple of weeks.

HOBOKEN - Perry Belfiore will sit out the municipal races next year in Hoboken, where a state monitor has taken over the city's embattled financial situation. He won’t run for mayor and he won’t run for any of the three at-large seats. 

“What are you kidding me? I borrowed $9,000 for my last campaign, and had to get out a second mortgage on our second home,” he told PolitickerNJ.com. “Every time I mention politics, my wife reminds me how much my hobby costs us. $9,000. So that’s where it’s at. I will be roasting, toasting and hosting but I will not be embroiled.” 

Befiore ran against Peter Cunningham in the fifth ward last year. Cunningham beat him by 104 votes in a runoff election.

Former Hoboke Councilwoman Carol Marsh with her 2007 running mate, West New York Mayor Sal Vega

HOBOKEN - As elected officials here in the face of public discontent try to make their various arguments for why the state has assumed control of the municipal budget, at least one former elected official is watching from the perimeter.

Talk to locals about the mayor's race next year and most of them factor former Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Carol Marsh's name into a mix that includes Councilman Peter Cammarano, Councilwoman Beth Mason, Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer, Councilman Michael Russo and Mayor David Roberts.

In a phone conversation today with PolitickerNJ.com, Marsh said she was unlikely to run for mayor in 2009, and in one scenario would absolutely rule out the possibility.

"I'm 100 percent in support of Dawn if she runs," said Marsh, who ran unsuccessfully for the Assembly last year in the 33rd District on a ticket with West New York Mayor Sal Vega and Nicole Garcia of Union City.

HOBOKEN - Councilwoman Beth Mason will introduce an ordinance on2nd Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason: Politicker file photo Wednesday night that would limit public salaries of city council representatives who already hold public jobs to $1 apiece.

The Mason ordinance would also prevent council members from receiving healthcare benefits.

A Hoboken elected official who receives health benefits from employment outside the city would be given financial compensation in lieu of the city’s health benefits to a maximum of $2,500 per year, according to a release issued by Mason.

HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY -- After last evening’s forum, Christopher Campos today repeated his call to the Hoboken City Council to submit the recently released Hoboken Southwest Parks Coalition plan, SW6: A Greener, Greater Hoboken, to city planners to take under advisement and for incorporation into the next version of the Southwest Redevelopment plan to be submitted to the Council.