Presinzano formally kicks off Hoboken council candidacy in the 1st Ward

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Paul Presinzano formally kicked off his Hoboken council candidacy in the 1st Ward at the House of Que last night, a little less than five months after indicating he would vie for the seat in the non-partisan November 7th contest.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

During a roughly 15 minute or so speech to supporters, he called for more transparency and proactivity at City Hall, getting the rodent problem under control, and street safety, among other things.

“Now, we are in a commercial district and one of the things with a commercial district comes with it a lot of traffic. And a lot of the visitors come through the transit hubs. And the first thing they say on Washington Street, or the south part of town, is dirty sidewalks,” he said.

“Garbage sitting on the side of the road, with garbage cans that you don’t even want to touch that you’re supposed to use to put it in there. And not to mention the obstacle course, that many of us that live right in this area here up on Washington Street, is the obstacle course of our delivery bike riders. And that’s something that needs to be corrected.”

He continued that he while understands that delivery bike workers are earning a living, sidewalks are for pedestrians, which led to applause from the audience.

While Presinzano, who lost decisively in a bid for council-at-large in 2021, received mixed remarks from Mile Square City politicos when he announced he’d be trying again in the 1st Ward early this year, it turns out it may have been a worthwhile gamble – for now at least.

As it stands today, 1st Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco, a two-term councilman, has announced he won’t seek re-election, leaving Presinzano as the lone candidate in the race.

Certainly, Mayor Ravi Bhalla and his allies will back a potential DeFusco successor, but that hasn’t happened yet. Thus far, the Bhalla team has thrown their support behind 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen and 2nd Ward candidate Marla Decker.

While Presinzano came into his first campaign event with $8,170.70 cash on hand, both he and his team expressed enthusiasm that they could run an effective grassroots campaign, getting around $1,000 in contributions on the fly after reaching out for support.

Kevin Davis, who admitted that he supported the Bhalla-backed council-at-large slate in 2021, introduced Presinzano and said he was fully invested in this effort.

Additionally, the Presinzano campaign said this morning that about 80 people attended the event during its two-hour duration.

“I am incredibly humbled by the outpouring of support from so many of my friends and neighbors,” he said in a statement today.

“Our message of being responsive to residents’ needs with effective solutions is something that is really resonating.”


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4 COMMENTS

    • They will spend a lot of money. Their pro-development union construction pals will kick in again and spearhead coordinated black ops.

  1. Paul seems like a pretty responsible candidate. Confident he will vote in the best interests of his ward, would be refreshing to see newcomer to council.

  2. If by being “fully invested”, does Mr. Davis mean he’s being compensated for supporting Paul’s campaign? Now he’s showing up to council meetings the day after playing a significant role at Paul’s kickoff to complain about how the Mayor’s newsletters look like campaign flyers.

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