By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“You need a fresh perspective on that council and I do want to do that, I want to bring new energy and positivity, bring change: I’m motivated to do that so that’s why I’m officially announcing my candidacy for Hoboken City Council, the 5th Ward,” Maganuco said in a video posted on his Facebook page on Sunday.
” … We’re seeing trends in this country of people running for office at a young age, like Pete Buttigieg running for office as president and you also have Alexandria [Ocasio]-Cortez – who’s our congresswoman and is just as young. And I have a message … if you have vision and you can execute that vision: it doesn’t matter what your age is.”
A finance professional who works in New York City, Maganuco founded the @HobokenCommuter Twitter handle, which promotes local commuter issues and traffic alerts, in March 2018.
Maganuco told HCV that he feels this a great opportunity to advocate for better public transit options and to give the council a voice for the city’s population between the ages of 18 and 34.
“Advocating for improvement of public transit, especially as our population continues to grow exponentially, is my biggest platform. Over 50% of the resident use public transit and there isn’t a true voice on the council that advocates for improvements to alleviate the congestion on our crowded busses and trains especially during peak periods,” he said in an email.
“Residents are also frustrated with parking and there has yet to see significant parking improvements. Capping the amount of permits we issue, lowering fares on our municipal garages, and increasing the promotion of our municipal options (garages and lots) are some of the solutions.”
Maganuco also said that the city issues around 15,000 parking permits when there are only 10,00 parking spaces, noting that he would also like to see the city invest in smart technology to help improve Hoboken’s water infrastructure issues.
The non-partisan Hoboken ward council races will be held on November 5th.