Hoboken 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo’s city council at-large slate expressed optimism about Election Day on Tuesday in a sit down interview earlier today.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
The Team Russo trio is Liz Urtecho, Nicole Magaña, and Pete Keeling. Magaña and Keeling, along with Dean Murray, ran with Russo earlier this month, while Urtecho was part of 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher’s slate.
Urtecho joined Russo’s slate while Fisher, the third place finisher in the six-person November 4th mayoral contest, endorsed Russo after trading some heavy shots with him at times. Despite that, the team is content to leave the past behind.
” … We had a conversation and I moved easily and quickly onto a slate, we have been working really great with one another, it’s a three-week sprint to the finish line, so it’s been a lot of fun and they’ve been very welcoming,” noted Urtecho.
“I think it just comes down to do we want more of the same or do we want fresh new [voices]. I think the vast majority of the Hoboken population, as well as our Hoboken officials, want to see something new and something fresh and we can’t do it with another four years of the same,” Keeling declared.
Councilman at-Large Joe Quintero, Zoning Board Chair Steve Firestone, and Caitlin Layson all ran on Jabbour’s slate and they were all the top vote getters in the first round.
Jabbour, a two-term councilwoman, previously ran on Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s slate in 2017 and 2021, but he decided not to seek a third term and is now a state assemblyman-elect in the 32nd Legislative District.
Quintero, Firestone, and Layson sat down with HCV last week and made their final pitch to voters, which the incumbent said he wanted to do since an at-large debate never materialized and he accused his opponents of ducking the issue.
Magaña said that she and Keeling were never contacted about a debate and laughed at the notion that they would actively avoid one.
“I would love to debate, for it to be a part of this whole process. I just wish we got to debate, the debate we just saw between Mike and Emily is kind of what I’m used to and I wish we had more of that going back a couple months ago and the forums aren’t exactly debates,” Keeling stated.
On the topic of Jabbour’s campaign and super PACs supporting her candidacy going after Russo for being “corrupt” for a host of reasons including being on a 2009 FBI surveillance tape recorded by informant Solomon Dwek (Russo was never charged), his running mates said they’re proud to be a part of a positive campaign.
“Personally, I really don’t like all the negativity, I’m much more of a positive person and I really believe that people like campaigns to stick to the issues. I’m really excited for a change,” Magaña replied.
“And I’ll say I think Michael’s campaign is about unifying people, so when we have a divisive local election, we’re being divisive to our neighbors, like we’re attacking our neighbors and it’s really difficult, I think, for a lot of people to find inspiration around that when we have really tough issues to deal with,” stated Urtecho.
Keeling added that he was motivated to run due to the “dysfunction” and “high school pettiness” on the council and he’s happy to be “on the side that isn’t doing the name calling.”
If elected, Keeling said he wants to be laser focused on helping small businesses, to the point where he would like to tailor the Hoboken Business Alliance to their needs.
Magaña stated that she would like to see the Mile Square City build more affordable housing, citing Garage B as a project she would like to see through to completion, while Urtecho said e-bike safety needs to be taken into serious consideration
“E-bikes, we’ve heard a lot about the e-bikes when we’re knocking on the doors and I think we have to get that ordinance up and running that we have on the books and we need to fine tune it if we need to so that our constituency feels safe,” Urtecho explained.
Additionally, Keeling commended Murray for his efforts in the general election and while he is sad he didn’t make it to the runoff, Urtecho has been a great running mate who has been an asset to the team.
“ … Liz coming in, at the time that she did, it was just this injection of energy into the campaign and it’s really gonna help us get across the finish line,” he said.
“I feel positive going in, I think the energy out on the streets is really positive … the reception we’re getting is really great. It’s just time to really get to see everyone, knock on Magaña added.
Urtecho stopped short of saying her team would win on Tuesday, but said she is optimistic due to the energy and excitement behind their electoral efforts as they enter the final stretch of a long, grueling campaign.
