Hoboken Housing Authority Chairwoman Dana Wefer has formally announced that she will be running for the 4th Ward seat of the Hoboken City Council that is up for grabs in the November 3 election.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Wefer, an attorney, has served as the HHA chair since May 2014, getting re-elected to another term on the board last month.
After a public feud with then-HHA Executive Director Carmelo Garcia, also the Assemblyman of the 33rd District, for months, Garcia was terminated from the position in August shortly after Wefer began to question the authority’s procurement policies.
Wefer is also the treasurer of the Hoboken Democratic Committee.
According to her campaign website, www.WeferForCouncil.com, her campaign will focus on the issues of taxes, development, and transportation and parking, but Wefer assures that she is eager to tackle all issues facing Hoboken and the 4th Ward.
“The 4th Ward deserves a representative who can effectively advocate for solutions to the big problems, such as taxes and parking, as well as quality of life issues, such as street cleanliness,†Wefer said in a statement.
“Constituent services is important, and I believe that we can do better in the 4th Ward.â€
The 4th Ward seat is currently occupied by Councilman Timothy Occhipinti, who announced his bid for reelection last month. Occhipinti also ran for mayor in 2013, but came in a distant third behind former Assemblyman Ruben Ramos and Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
“I’m incredibly proud of the accomplishments we’ve worked on in the 4th Ward in the last four and-a-half years,” Occhipinti told Hudson County View.
“We’ve delivered campaign promises on improving quality of life: we’ll be breaking ground on Southwest Park, improving traffic flow and pedestrian safety, the street’s have undergone the most extensive road repaving in our ward’s history this year,” he added, also noting park and field renovations have become the norm in recent memory.
“I stand on my record: let the voter’s decide if they want the ward to continue moving forward in the direction we’ve been moving.”
Ramos, a friend and political ally of Garcia, is also expected to announce his candidacy for 4th Ward council seat in upcoming weeks.
Wefer will officially launch her race with a kickoff at 2:30 pm on June 14th at the Brasserie de Paris, located at 700 1st Street, where the public is welcome to attend.