In a letter to the editor, former Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer says Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour is the right mayoral candidate to the city back “to a responsible and ethical path.”
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for Councilwoman Emily Jabbour in Hoboken’s Mayoral runoff on Tuesday December 2nd.
I was elected Mayor of Hoboken in 2009 during a tumultuous time.
Hoboken’s finances had been taken over by the State of New Jersey due to years of irresponsible budgeting. Two of the three Mayors immediately preceding me, Peter Cammarano and Anthony Russo (Mike Russo’s father) were jailed for taking bribes.
Hoboken’s voters wanted change. They wanted honest, fiscally responsible, transparent and accountable governance. They wanted to put the ethos of “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” deposited in the trash bin of history.
I know both candidates in the runoff well, and of the two I am confident that Councilwoman Jabbour is the candidate who will restore Hoboken to an ethical and responsible path.
She will never compromise the interests of Hoboken residents for personal financial gain or political advancement.
While I endorsed Mayor Bhalla to succeed me in 2017, his Administration was not a continuation of my own.
Similarly, Councilwoman Jabbour, who I urged to run for Council in 2017, will chart her own path and I believe will be very different than Mayor Bhalla in important ways.
Mayor Bhalla continued some of my policies like creating new resiliency parks, working to complete Rebuild by Design to protect Hoboken from the next Sandy like storm, and vision zero to make sure Hoboken’s streets are safe for everyone.
I know Councilwoman Jabbour will continue those worthy efforts.
But Mayor Bhalla abandoned my Administration’s commitment to ethical, fiscally responsible, accountable governance.
He engaged in transactional politics, patronage hiring, and irresponsible budget practices that created a large, growing structural deficit. He made major development decisions influenced by his desire to advance his political career beyond Hoboken.
If elected, I am confident that Councilwoman Jabbour will end those irresponsible and improper practices.
I know her to be a woman of integrity, and I have no doubt that her Administration will be defined by her commitment to her community and to public service, not by a desire to enrich herself or advance her career.
While I will not always agree with her, if elected, I am confident Mayor Jabbour’s decisions will always be solely motivated by her honest desire to serve in the best interests of the people of Hoboken.
Hoboken deserves no less.
Thanks for listening
Dawn Zimmer
Hoboken Mayor
2009-2017