Peter Cunningham

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.

HOBOKEN - Councilwoman Beth Mason tabled her proposed salary Assemblyman/Councilman Ruben Ramos: Politicker file photoand benefits ordinances at tonight’s council meeting, a move that likely did nothing to diminish the prolonged stare-down from now until next year’s mayoral election between Mason and her opponents.

Broken into two reform pieces, the freshman councilwoman’s proposed ordinances would scrap benefits and limit to $1 the council salaries of council people who hold more than one public job.

She sent them to committee tonight, but not before rousing her opposition.

Mason’s antagonists see the prospective mayoral candidate’s measures (backed up by Councilman Peter Cunningham) as an attempt to bait At-Large Councilman Peter Cammarano and humiliate Assemblyman/At-Large Councilman Ruben Ramos, the governing body’s lone dual elected office holder.

Cammarano was out of town. Ramos fought back.

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.

The three Hoboken runoff elections scheduled for today, June 12, are as follows:

Ward Four: Councilman Christopher Campos takes on challenger Dawn Zimmer.

Ward Five: Peter Cunningham faces Perry Belfiore.

Ward Six: Councilman Angelo "Nino" Giacchi takes on challenger Thomas Foley.

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.