Election Day in Hoboken – Love Your Property Value – Go Vote!
Categories: Hoboken Condos, Neighborhoods
Election Day in Hoboken is today -Tuesday, May 10th, 2011.
Polls will be open from 6am until 8pm.
This matters people – especially if you own real estate in Hoboken! You pay property taxes. Who runs the city has an enormous impact on how much you pay and what your money is used for. Even if you don’t care – it directly affects the resale value of your property. If for nothing else but the sake of your own personal greed – please go vote.
Whether you support Mayor Dawn Zimmer and the progress she is trying to accomplish or want a City Council to oppose her at almost every turn, you should exercise your right and make your voice heard at the polls.
Here is a list of candidates by ward (* designates incumbent):
1st Ward
Eric Kurta (Endorsed by Mayor Zimmer)
Theresa Castellano* (Russo/Mason team)
2nd Ward
Tom Greaney (Endorsed by Mayor Zimmer)
Beth Mason* (Russo/Mason team)
Franz Paetzold
Patricia Waiters
3rd Ward
Greg Lincoln (Endorsed by Mayor Zimmer)
Michael Russo* (Russo/Mason team)
4th Ward
Rami Pinchevsky (Endorsed by Mayor Zimmer)
Tim Occhipinti* (Russo/Mason team)
5th Ward
Peter Cunningham* (Endorsed by Mayor Zimmer)
Scott Delea (Russo/Mason team)
Perry Belfiore
Leonard Luizzi
6th Ward
Jen Giattino (Endorsed by Mayor Zimmer)
Nini Giacchi* (Russo/Mason team)
Not sure which ward you live in? Here is a link to the ward map:
Polling Location Locator – City of Hoboken: http://www.hobokennj.org/departments/city-clerk/voter-information/
Polling Location Locator – NJ Department of State: https://voter.njsvrs.com/PublicAccess/jsp/PollPlace/PollPlaceSearch.jsp
Know your rights: http://www.njelections.org/voter-rights.html
Sample ballots for the 2011 Municipal Election: http://www.hudsoncountyclerk.org/2011MuniSampleBallot.htm
For voter records, inquiries, complaints or problems, call the office of the Superintendent of Elections: 201-369-7745/7746/7747/7748/7749.
For voting machine malfunctions or questions, call: 201-369-7794/7797/7799.
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Just How Bad are Hoboken’s Schools?
Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers, Neighborhoods
Hoboken Schools Have a Bad Rep
If there is any single factor that causes families to move out of Hoboken, above all it is the reputation of the Hoboken public school system. Sure, taxes are an issue but taxes are a problem across the State and most of the NorthEast. We’ve been an Abbott district for some time now, per pupil spending is well above the average for the State as are our operating expenses yet academic performance is near bottom.
| Ind. | Per Pupil | District Spending |
Rank (*) |
K-12 Average |
%± vs. Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Comparative Cost | $24,808 | 70 | $13,632 | 82.0% |
| 2 | Classroom Instruction | 13,020 | 69 | 8,035 | 62.0% |
| 6 | Support Services | 5,732 | 70 | 2,166 | 164.6% |
| 8 | Administrative Cost | 1,412 | 36 | 1,379 | 2.4% |
| 10 | Operations & Maintenance | 3,566 | 70 | 1,674 | 113.0% |
| 13 | Extracurricular Activities | 692 | 70 | 258 | 168.2% |
| 16 | Median Teacher Salary | 74,902 | 69 | 57,597 | |
| Data from NJDoE 2009 Comparative Spending Guide.[2] *Of K-12 districts with 1,801-3,500 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=70 |
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Tomorrow are Hoboken School Board Elections. Polls are open from 2:00pm to 9:00pm so there are no excuses – vote when you get home from work!
Of course, that begs the question of who should you vote for. My opinion is that the current Kids First slate had their chance and as far as I can tell, not much has changed. I will give someone else the opportunity to fix this mess so I’m voting for Real Results. As I understand it, they are the candidates chosen by the former supporters of Kids First who are also disallusioned by the lack of improvement and progress made by Kids First. If it matters to you, Mayor Zimmer is supporting Kids First. If you want to learn more about the platforms of the candidates read this or this. Now, you might be thinking “well I don’t have kids so I don’t care” or “my kids go to private school”. A huge chunk of your taxes pay for the school system and bad schools hurt property values!!! The one thing I do know for sure is that if you can’t be bothered to vote, you have no right to complain about our expensive yet failing school system!
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