Hudson County municipalities could get a chance to move non-partisan elections from May to November. Jersey City and Hoboken councilmen plan to introduce ordinances that would move the May non-partisan elections in those cities to November.

The Assembly approved a measure that would allow such a move yesterday sending it to the governor's desk to be signed into law. The Senate unanimously approved it Dec. 10. The Assembly voted 49 to 25 with two abstentions.

For Immediate Release: December 11, 2009

Office of The Attorney General
- Anne Milgram, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
- Deborah L. Gramiccioni, Director

Former Director of Hoboken Parking Utility Charged with Conspiring with Contractor to Steal More than $600,000 in Parking Meter Funds from City of Hoboken Contractor from Toms River pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1.1 million

View indictment pdf

TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram announced that John P. Corea, former director of the Hoboken Parking Utility, was indicted today on charges that he conspired to steal more than $600,000 in parking meter revenue that he allegedly split with a Toms River contractor whose company was hired by the City of Hoboken to collect coins from city parking meters.

oboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer has hired Michael Kates as the city's new corporation counsel, she announced today.

Steve Kleinman, who has served as corporation counsel since April of 2007, has resigned as of Monday, to go into the private sector, but will serve in a transitional capacity as an assistant corporation counsel through Jan. 15, according to to a news release from Zimmer.

Kates, who is currently a partner at Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi, will start the position Monday, according to Zimmer spokesman Daniel Bryan.

Four Hudson County municipalities - Harrison, Hoboken, Union City and West New York - got smacked in the State Commission of Investigation report on fiscal waste in municipal government that was released Tuesday.

Harrison took the biggest hit, with more than a half-dozen examples of spending and employee perks the report considers excessive - including the $241,851 paid to former Administrative Clerk/Deputy Municipal Clerk Marion Borek when she retired after 61 years with the town, the bulk of it for 881 days of accumulated unused sick leave.

Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano released the following letter to the people of Hoboken;

I hereby resign my position as Mayor of the City of Hoboken, effective 12:00 noon on this date.  It has been my has been my hope and expectation that I could remain in office and perform my official duties until I had the opportunity to resolve the legal charges against me in court. Regrettably, it has turned out that the controversy surrounding the charges against me has become a distraction to me and an impediment to the functioning of Hoboken government. This controversy has also been a terrible burden on my family. Accordingly it is in the best interest of the City and all concerned for me to resign.

I apologize to the residents of Hoboken for the disruption and disappointment this has caused. However I would like to reiterate that I am innocent of any criminal charges and I intend to fight the allegations against me.

Yours very truly,

Peter J. Cammarano III
Mayor

When it comes to big corruption busts -- like Thursday's arrest of 44 politicians, public employees and religious leaders -- the laws of nature are reversed.

The little fish will eat the big fish.

Or, at least, they'll try.

If it helps them get off the hook.

"I am sure some of these defendants will be clamoring to testify against others,'' says Alan Zegas of Chatham, one of the state's most prominent criminal defense attorneys who -- so far -- is not involved in the massive sting operation announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"It's been true since time began -- or at least since John J. Kenny turned on John V. Kenny in the 1970s," says Larry Horn, a former assistant U.S. attorney who now is chief defense attorney for the financial section of the big Newark law firm, Sills Cummis.

Horn is referring to the good old days of political corruption trials when the feds would take down entire county and municipal governments, starting at the bottom with the little fish and flipping them -- or getting them to agree to testify against the bigger bottom feeders.

A day later, the shock still hadn't worn off in the Beth Mason camp.

The councilwoman, who expected to win the Hoboken mayoral race, or at least qualify for a runoff election, finished a distant third to fellow council members Peter Cammarano and Dawn Zimmer.

"We were completely blindsided," Mason's campaign manager, Jake Stuiver, said of the 1,000-vote loss to the two candidates who will vie for City Hall in the June 9 runoff. "We had polling as late as over the weekend that still had (Mason) as the frontrunner by a significant margin, so I can't tell you how much we were taken by surprise."

Stuiver attributed Mason's loss to two things: Not building up her base and not getting Mason's message across to voters.

"This election clearly demonstrates that those are two things we didn't do well enough," said Stuiver. "And as campaign manager that's something for which I have to take responsibility."

As many expected, Hoboken will have to wait until next month for its next mayor to be chosen. Council members Dawn Zimmer and Peter Cammarano will vie in a runoff June 9 to determine who will lead the city.

None of the six candidates running gained the 50 percent-plus-one votes needed to win the election, so the two top vote-getters, Cammarano, who came in first with 3,755 votes, and Zimmer with 3,671 will face off.

Zimmer said she was shocked she got into the runoff.

"I was feeling confident, but we hadn't done recent polling. People seemed supportive, but I wasn't sure," said the Fourth Ward councilwoman.

"We have accomplished our task - we are in the runoff election," Cammarano said to his supporters, which was met with cheers of "Peter, Peter!"

Last week, the state Local Finance Board put Hoboken under "supervision," a polite term that sounds better than a limited takeover. This comes two months after the city failed to approve a balanced municipal budget.

While the mayor and the City Council will be able to propose and vote on municipal business, Susan Jacobucci, director of the state Division of Local Government services, will have final approval on all fiscal matters (expenditures above $4,500), union contracts and the hiring and firing of employees.

Hoboken Democrats for Hudson County raised $28,000 for City Council candidates Michael Russo, Richard Tremetiedi, Chris Campos and Nino Giacchi

Hoboken Councilman-at-large Peter Cammarano is currently under review by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission for what some allege is improper activity in this past June's state Senate, Assembly and Hoboken municipal elections.

Eric Kurta, a Hoboken resident and president of the reform group People for Open Government, filed the complaint against Cammarano and received a letter from ELEC stating it is opening a review to determine if Cammarano violated election law as the chairman of Hoboken Democrats for Hudson County.