The Hudson Shark

The Shark Byte

HudsonShark — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:52:00 GMT

The Shark Byte. So it is written and so it shall come to pass...

Hudson County South Bergen?

The name Gerry McCann means many things to many people, but one thing that’s for sure is it will be a good time whenever he is involved in a campaign. One place that is learning this very quickly these days is Rutherford, NJ where McCann is supporting Republican candidate Todd Hennessy in his race against up and coming Democrat John Parnofiello, which culminates in a special election on Tuesday.

Rutherford residents have been on the receiving end of campaign literature that urges them to stop McCann from “taking over Rutherford”. Whether or not this campaign theme will work (again) remains to be seen, but it was used to effectively destroy the Mayoral and Senate hopes of habitual Jersey City candidate Lou Manzo.

One person who is none too happy with McCann’s presence is Bergen County Clerk and candidate Kathe Donovan. While Donovan is seen as a candidate who can reach across the aisle and attract the support of Democratic voters, McCann is probably the last Democrat she wants to end up tied too.

As a result, Hennessy may lose valuable support from the most popular Republican in the county as she looks to avoid Gerry McCann and his ties to the administration of Jersey City Mayor and HCDO Chairman Jerry Healy.

Speaking of Jersey City, look for reform operatives from Downtown Jersey City to mobilize on Tuesday to assist Parnofiello in his battle with McCann and the Rutherford GOP. Many see this as an exhibition for April when these same operatives will face off with McCann and his nephew Sean Connors in the Jersey City Board of Education Election, but it is really a rematch from the 2008 Freeholder race where they helped incumbent Eliu Rivera crush Connors.

Carol Marsh’s new clothes

Hoboken residents who watched the City Council meeting on Wednesday night figured out pretty quickly that Councilwoman Carol Marsh was disgusted by Councilwoman Beth Mason’s resolution to rescind Attorney Paul Condon’s no-bid contract due to a conflict of interest and pay to play violation.

It is really ironic that Marsh was the one who stonewalled for Condon and his conflicted office mate Councilman Ravi Bhalla given the reasons she endorsed Condon for Board of Education back in 2005. Marsh stated that Condon believed “in hiring and promoting the most qualified, not the most connected” and that he would “hire professionals based on the contribution they can make to the schools, not the contributions they've made to political campaigns.”

Last week Ravi Bhalla stated “That’s a theoretical, not an actual conflict of interest,” he said. “There’s simply no conflict of interest that would preclude me from voting on that resolution. We pay separate rents. We’re not a firm so we don’t intermingle any funds whatsoever.”

However in this week's edition of the Hudson Reporter he admits that he and Condon share a lease, that he would be on the hook for Condon's share of the lease if Condo were to default, and that they share a receptionist which means they pay an employee together. Ravi may want to consult with Black's Law Dictionary and learn what intermingle means because he and Condon are without a doubt intermingling funds to pay these expenses.

Interesting to note is the other person Marsh endorsed in the 2005 BOE race was Elizabeth Markevitch, who has severed ties with Marsh and Kids First over what she says is their abandonment of campaign promises and lack of real results on the City Council and the School Board. If you want to see how far Marsh has fallen from her reform mantle, check out the complete letter from 2005 which appeared in the Hudson Reporter right here.

This entire situation is right out of the all time great story “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Marsh can claim she is wearing good government threads, but we can all clearly see that her wardrobe no longer includes anything with “reformer” etched in the sleeve.

Hoboken 411 Shout Out

We’d like to return the shout out to Hoboken411 that we received over the weekend. Our site traffic noticeably increased after being mentioned on the premier news site in Hoboken, unlike when we are mentioned on the rank amateur Hoboken Horse Organ authored by Roman “Smarty Jones” Brice.

We get quite the chuckle out of all this since Zimmer’s popularity and acclaim originally came from the support she received from Hoboken411. A little proverb for the Zimmer Administration, your mouth piece over at the Horse Organ can try to imitate it and try to duplicate it, but he will never ever recreate it when it comes to Hoboken411.

Other than Brice calling our statements lame he has remained quiet, but his two buddies Mark Heyer and John Gregorio are busy little bees trying to throw all the mud they possibly can at the most electrifying predator in politics.

Heyer uses the names “bblutarsky”, “InfotainMe”, and “AndThenOneDay”, while Gregorio uses “Stpatsfun”, “paidcash”, and “CadburysBars” to spew their venom. Evidently Tony Soares started giving everyone else up when I exposed his new patronage position last week. Thanks Tony! Now that they have been exposed look for the usual denials, followed by the disappearance of the above screen names only to be followed by all new names with the exact same views.

The Hess Truck’s Back and it’s better than ever!

In case you didn’t notice Hoboken411 reported on a story that Peter Cunningham received a ticket for illegally parking his SUV at the corner or 11^th and Garden. This incident brings to light two things: 1) Cunningham has again demonstrated that he thinks the rules are in place for everyone but himself and 2) his claim to be an environmentalist is put to rest with one look at the big ole’ gas guzzler that he drives.

Perhaps the green t-shirt he sports during campaign season is an advertisement for the Hess Station on 14^th and Willow, not Dawn Zimmer

Bayonne Fisticuffs

Things are starting to heat up in the where incumbent Mark Smith will face a challenge from Assemblyman Tony Chiappone. While both sides are lining up the usual suspects to support them, the one person who remains in question is Chiappone’s counter part in the State Assembly, Charlie Mainor.

Mainor is a wild card because he has a long standing relationship with Senator Sandra Cunningham, who is backing Chiappone, but was friendly enough with HCDO brass that they strongly supported him to replace then Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith last spring.

Although he is often lost in the shuffle Mainor stands to gain, or lose, a lot based on this decision. Breaking from Cunningham and Chiappone could cost him their support when he runs re-election, but could gain Smith’s support to oust Cunningham from her Senate seat next year.

The only thing that is for sure is all eyes are on Mainor to see where his loyalties truly lie.

That’s all for now folks, I am going to throw a tuna steak on the grill and enjoy the nice weather.

Sharkie

Hudson County Rumblings

HudsonShark — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:57:00 GMT

Well folks, the silly season is back upon us. There will be Board of Education races in April, and what is shaping up to be a hotly contested Primary Election

As the Board of Education races get closer there will be more information on candidates and we will handicap the races, but for now we will discuss the race for Hudson County Sheriff.

This week Hudson County Undersheriff Frank Schillari announced his plans to challenge incumbent Sheriff Juan Perez in what is sure to be an interesting race.

Perez appears to have the support of Jersey City Mayor Jeremiah Healy, State Senator Sandra Cunningham, Assemblyman Tony Chiappone, Assemblyman Charlie Mainor, and most of the Jersey City Freeholder delegation.

Schillari has the support of North Bergen Mayor/State Senator Nick Sacco, Union City Mayor/State Senator Brian Stack, and Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith.

Perez appears to have the upper hand because Healy can award him the Democratic line on the ballot, however there are numerous reports that Healy may step down before the end of his term as Chairman. In that case look for Sacco, Stack, and Smith to put together a coalition to take the Chairmanship for one of their allies and award the line to Schillari.

Rutherford’s Neighborhood Watch

I recently ran into my buddy the BergenBlueWhale on a hunting trip, and he is reporting that former Jersey City Mayor, and convicted felon Gerald McCann has surfaced in Rutherford to assist Republican candidate Todd Hennessy, in his race against Democrat John Parnofiello. Doesn’t McCann have enough work to do in Jersey City as Board of Ed member instead of harassing the hardworking people of Rutherford with his political bile?

Speaking of McCann, his nephew and fellow board of education member Sean Connors is in full damage control. It appears that Connors followed McCann’s lead with regard to voting against the Teachers Union’s Contract only to see fellow police officers take umbrage with his lack of support for fellow Union members. Now as Connors tries to right this wrong McCann is attacking him and claiming he is prohibited from voting for the contract since he received the endorsement of the JCEA. What is the boy wonder Sean Connors to do?

Dawn Roberts???

When Dawn Zimmer won the election for Mayor many residents expected her administration and City Council Majority to resemble that of former Hoboken Mayor Thomas Vezzetti. Instead, it appears to be more and more like the administration of former Mayor Dave Roberts with each passing day.

The latest antics involve the no-bid contract of Hoboken Attorney Paul Condon, which has created quite the ethical firestorm for Zimmer and company. Hoboken411 has done a brilliant job detailing this controversial matter, which for all intents and purposes has destroyed Ravi Bhalla’s credibility as a reformer in Hoboken.

You see, Bhalla shares office space with Condon, which they occupy under a common lease, but he does not think that is a conflict. This is also not the first office they have shared together, but he also seems to think that isn’t a conflict. Last but not least, sources report they share the same receptionist, but again Bhalla thinks this is not a conflict.

Peter Cunningham’s wife Jen and Condon’s wife Renee market and sell real estate together in Hoboken and Renee contributed $1,250 to Cunningham’s Council Campaign in 2007, but they again claim there is no conflict

The problem here is the Zimmer contingent act as if Pay to Play laws were passed for everyone to follow, except them. How dare the Mayor and her buddies on the City Council spit in the face of the reform movement the way that they have.

Their latest act is to trot out my buddy Tony Soares, who has attacked Beth Mason for taking issue with what the Councilwoman calls “a blatant conflict of interest”. Tony goes one further in his attempt to assassinate Mason’s character in his typical hypocritical manner. He also makes several disparaging remarks about Councilman Michael Russo. Okay Tony, lets examine your statements the way you pick apart everyone else’s.

You attack Mason because you allege Russo is an ally of hers. Funny, I remember you and your pal Carol Marsh teaming up with Russo and Castellano plenty when you sat on the City Council with them. You sought their endorsement in 2005 when you ran against the Roberts Team and accepted Russo’s support when you threw your name in the hat to replace Dawn Zimmer after she vacated her 4^th Ward Council seat. Seems you have the attitude of: “I can but no one else can” here Tony.

Also, you failed to tell everyone about how you got a job as a substitute teacher in the Hoboken School System conveniently after you and Michael Lenz ran the campaign for “Kids First”, who took control of the School Board last year. Didn’t this team promise to end the inside deals that allowed for patronage hires? Wait a minute…Haven’t you claimed to be against these types of patronage hires for years? You are nothing more than a walking, talking petulant hypocrite. One last thing, how did your back door meeting go where you and Councilman Lenz broke bread with your sworn enemy Carmelo Garcia? So much for transparency!

Hoboken Horse’s Ass

It has come to my attention that Mayor Zimmer’s personal blogger Roman Brice has called me out on his blog, that is nothing more than a second rate knock off of Hoboken411. A piece of advice Roman: your blog cannot hold a candle to that of Hoboken411, and it is quite easy to see it is nothing more than a House Organ for the Zimmer administration.

A free sea lion dinner to the first reader who can tell me which of the above pictures is the one on Roman Brice’s license.

Happy Birthday Wishes

A Very Happy Birthday to my dear friend Councilman Michael Lenz. Here's hoping you get all you wish for this year buddy, just make sure no one tries to pin the tail on Roman's face at the party! Oh and I suggest you don't give any cake to Tony as a punishment for his bad behavior on the blogs.

That's all for now folks, Happy Diving!!!

Sharkie