Mister Snitch!: October 31, 2010

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Lenz loses. Is anyone surprised?

We don't think ANY sitting 4th Ward Councilman who had the mayor's support has ever lost an election in Hoboken. But Michael 'Super-genius' Lenz and Tony 'You Owe Me!' Soares have at one point or another screwed over everyone* who ever lent them a hand, and in the end, there was just no one left to screw over.

*Except Carol Marsh, who at a gut level processed long ago that the way she could maintain her relationship with those two was by being a total sycophant. So, at the cost of everyone's respect, she has done just that.

Even Zimmer was screwed by this pair. During her mayoral race, Soares had cut a deal with the other side: He'd trade insider information for political prominence. He wasn't going to wait 'till after the election, either - Soares knew full well that political promises are made to be broken. Roberts thus appointed him - a member of the faction opposing his candidate - to the Zoning Board during the campaign, and Soares was named to Cammarrano's transition team. Soares had expected the machine to win, and it didn't disappoint. But then, of course...

Zimmer is, at present, a popular mayor. She even had the opportunity to cherry-pick her candidate, and thus have a sitting councilman of her choosing to back. To top it off, she had won and held the 4th Ward post herself not long ago. This SHOULD have been a cakewalk. So - how did she manage to pull defeat from the jaws of victory?

Well, it's hard to see the virtue of Zimmer appointing the worst politician in Hoboken's history - a man who, as a political veteran, lost an earlier run for the 4th Ward to a complete unknown (Chris Campos, remember?) by a stunning 75-25%. Zimmer supporters have tried to explain the 'wisdom' of this appointment to us, but it was a seat Lenz was destined to lose. Aside from Marsh's loyal lip service, and a few who - like Soares - figured a relationship with Lenz could pay off, Lenz does not have one loyal ally on this planet. And that's exactly what his life's history has earned him.

Make no mistake - Lenz and Soares are a cancer that have eaten away at attempts to change Hoboken for years. Their self-aggrandizing, caustic and slimy politicking have caused many decent, capable people to simply give up. Anyone wondering why 'reform' always fails to take hold in Hoboken need look no further than these two. They're contemptible and worthless.

Zimmer's affiliation with Lenz and Soares is a function of politics - strange bedfellows and all that. But the fact that she placed them in positions where they could seriously damage her shows an alarming failure of judgement. This is what will, no doubt, be her ultimate downfall.

Zimmer has now lost the 4th Ward. She means well, but appointing Lenz was a fatal mistake. Now her attempts to bring Hoboken under fiscal control are pretty much doomed to fall under the weight of a surge of political infighting. Blood's in the waters, and the churning for position will be all-engulfing. Lenz and Soares are rats on a sinking ship (though real rats, at least, never sink a ship themselves). They will scurry about seeking new driftwood to cling to. Marsh now has not even the illusion of any support she can call her own, and will have to place a Reporter ad for a new Svengali.

Know what they call a Hoboken mayor who does not control the 4th Ward? A lame duck.

RELATED: What should you do when you lose an election?

Labels: Hoboken+election

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Lenz loses. Is anyone surprised? Your history lesson on mayor's losing the 4th ward has the disadvantage of being based on a history that is no longer a reality.

The demographics of the 4th are not especially good for reform. Particularly when the entire old guard has the time and luxury to descend on a single contest, which they won't have in May.

The demographics of the 2nd, 5th, and 6th are likewise not good for the old guard.

That being the case, except for team Russo and Occhipinti, no one representing the old guard should get too comfortable with their 5 -4 council edge.

Do you know what they call a council that holds a 5-4 advantage leading right up to 6 ward elections, 3 of which they are apt to lose when they can't afford to lose any?

An even lamer duck. The demographics of the 4th are not especially good for reform.

Never said they were. Not just in this post, but EVER. In fact, that's the first thing you learn in Hoboken politics.

But now, as a Zimmer supporter, you've put yourself in a difficult position. If reformers don't win in the 4th, how did Zimmer win her seat?

Obviously, you have to claim she was the exception to the rule. But let's set that aside for now.

What you're implying is that Lenz = reform and Occhipinti = opponents of reform. Talk about 'a history that is no longer a reality'!

Lenz used to side with 'reformer' candidates. USED to, as in past tense. Now he is the very thing he once said he hated - a government employee holding elected office. He also now works for the very organization he once said was the cause of Hoboken's problems - the HCDO.

Lenz, of course, wants to be perceived as a 'reformer'. Anthony Russo also ran for office as a 'reformer'. So did Frank Hague. Everyone who wants to achieve office and thinks they can get away with it in Hudson County calls themselves a 'reformer'. And I suppose you can always find a few people to go along, whether it's true or not.

What happened in the 4th Ward election the other day was nearly identical to what happened when Zimmer first won that seat. That is to say: Intramural infighting. With the election just past, you had HCDO insiders (supporting their boy Lenz and the sad, tattered remains of his 'reformer' street cred) fighting for power against HCDO castoffs (Maurice et al, supporting Occhipinti). Occhipinti won, because that crew so desperately want to get back into the game.

In ZImmer's case, the HCDO thought they'd back their boy Campos to re-election. But Campos actually displayed some backbone, and tried to break from his HCDO bosses by throwing in with political renegade Brian Stack. Desperate, the HCDO got behind Zimmer, a candidate they ordinarily would never have supported. That was another desperate battle, because if the HCDO had lost the 4th Ward to Stack, they'd have soon lost control of Hoboken altogether.

It's important to realize that good candidates CAN emerge from 'bad' backing. Harry Truman first attained office via the support of a political machine. His background was so tainted, in fact, that when he first came to Washington he was treated as a pariah. Many veteran pols there determined that any affiliation with him would tarnish their own reputation. (Today, Menendez complains about this same thing. The difference is: Menendez really IS dirty.)

It is possible, if unlikely, that Zimmer can be an effective force for positive change despite her unsavory political bedfellows. (You can hardly walk down the street in Hoboken without brushing up against someone who is either 'connected' and dirty, or would be given the opportunity.) But that is quite a different thing than expecting integrity from Lenz. Lenz is a political whore, offering his tired wares to the highest bidder. To claim that Lenz lost the 4th Ward because the ward is 'not especially good for reform' is political ignorance of the first water. That election was nothing more than an intramural HCDO scrimmage. As is usual in such instances, the hungrier, more desperate faction won. Any predictions on this year's council elections? Sorry, no. Much more interested right now in macro-economic issues. These are historic times.