5/31/2008 Update:
Peter and Dawn assume a position
Following Hoboken411’s continuing coverage of the County Freeholder primary, city council members Peter Cunningham and Dawn Zimmer have ended their silence… well, sort of. Zimmer chose not to share her endorsement with Hoboken411 (but we have it anyway) while Cunningham sent out a non-endorsement.
First, this email from Peter:
“Dear Editors of the Jersey Journal, Hoboken Reporter and H411,
For those with an interest, I have not made a public endorsement for Freeholder, or any other candidate(s) for higher office, and do not expect to make one at this time. While the Freeholder seat – 5th District plays an important role in the allocation of county funds, maintenance of roads, parks and other public facilities, I feel it is important to me, my constituents and the City of Hoboken that I remain objective and vow to work with anyone of these fine candidates for this office. I wish them all the best of luck.
Peter Cunningham
5th Ward City Councilman”
You read that right. The councilman for the ward with the most “reform-minded” voters in the city is not endorsing a candidate for Freeholder. This decision has stunned people in “reform” circles who remember the then little-known Cunningham supported Ines Garcia-Keim five years ago for the fifth ward seat he now holds, and just three years ago supported her bid for Council-at-Large.
Now, Cunningham apparently sees little difference between Garcia-Keim, Anthony Romano, and Frank Raia, saying he “vows to work with anyone (sic) of these fine candidates.” Do the voters of the fifth ward really see these candidates as equals? We’ll see for sure on Tuesday.
What a difference six months makes
After her election last November, right here on Hoboken411 Dawn Zimmer wrote:
“I want to thank Hoboken411 for its coverage of the heated 4th Ward battle and for providing a place for everyone to air their opinions on the issues. It was tough to see my name sometimes bounced around like a ping-pong ball, but after three rounds in the ring my skin has this really tough texture to it.
Let’s face it, it’s hip to be on 411 and keep informed. A weekly paper just doesn’t have the same kind of energy as instant news and lively discussions. We appreciate all the work you do behind the scenes to keep the site updated with the latest news. And I know it has got to take a lot of effort to monitor some of those crazy bloggers. Through it all, your work has definitely increased voter participation in the 4th Ward!
I hope we can work together to get more of those young people to take a minute to unplug their iPods, so they can learn what’s happening in their neighborhood. If you live in Hoboken, you should vote in Hoboken, and your site is certainly helping to make that happen!
Thanks again.”
4th Ward Councilwoman Zimmer
Since then Dawn has been one of the council members who have frequently submitted information to 411 for publication to the widest audience in Hoboken. Just this past week I published two Zimmer releases on the city budget. As documented below, I have been asking for her freeholder endorsement since early last week, and gave her a second chance to send it Thursday. I didn’t want to report the (many) rumors that were floating around, and gave her chance after chance to be clear.
Dawn Zimmer Withholds Endorsement from Hoboken411
Each time I asked Dawn to give me a straight answer, she gave me an excuse. The most recent was that she was “really focused on the budget right now.” Well, apparently not so focused that she was unable to find time to write an endorsement letter for Frank “Pupie” Raia and send it to the newspaper in time for their Wednesday deadline. Zimmer chose not to share this information with 411, but many of her supporters have forwarded an email she sent to them Friday, which included over 600 words in support of Pupie.
Why didn’t Zimmer share her endorsement with Hoboken411? I’ll leave you to figure that out. All that was asked was for them to send in a 250-word endorsement. That is a lot less than Dawn sent to the hardly-read weekly paper she said “just doesn’t have the same kind of energy as instant news and lively discussions” as Hoboken411.
Why not just go on the record?
Councilwoman Zimmer is free to support anybody she wants, and just like the other council members, her position would have been published unedited and unobstructed. As for her reasons for supporting Raia, she apparently thought they weren’t important enough to share with you (the loyal readers) so I will respect her wishes and not publish them.
I don’t begrudge Dawn’s reasons for supporting Pupie, but I do take offense to her refusal to share them here. I was just trying to bring you the truth.
Read more about this little saga after the jump…
“Dear Hoboken411, 
Loading ...