Monday, June 8, 2009

Grassroots v. Machine

The machine was in full swing today as many of the city's police and fire department personnel took time off from protecting and serving to pass out glossies of Peter Cammarano.

Some donned blue (the Cammarano campaign T-shirt that is) while others had their Hoboken Police and Fire Department baseball caps, decals and shirts on show.

It's a formidable force for the campaign, though some officers didn't do their candidate well by loitering around ferry terminals and NJTransit bus stops in packs of five or six.

Let me paint the scene: four to five guys standing around shooting the bull; one guy actually working to hand out campaign material.

Does that inspire you to vote Cammarano on Tuesday?

For me it offered up a glimpse into the bloated future of a Cammarano administration. As local resident Oanh Nguyen pointed out in her own flier to citizens:
"Cammarano says that he will work towards lowering taxes, but I do not understand how that will happen if in his history as councilman, he has not done much that has helped the City save money."
Nguyen, who like me is getting involved in local Hoboken politics for the first time, has done so by passing out fliers to her neighbors (She slid one under the door of my apartment this evening).

"I am concerned that Peter Cammarano and his machine may fool people into voting for him," she wrote. "And a vote for him is a vote to continue the same old politics as in the past."

I wish I had a link or pdf file to share you the whole of Nguyen's handout. She makes a sincere case for voting down the machine, one that's far more convincing than the blue Cammarano guys hanging out at the bus stop.

Others should follow Nguyen's example, pick up their phones, call five friends and urge them to vote. Nguyen inspired me to do more. Now it's your turn.

2 comments:

  1. Tim
    Do you know anything about Peter? You say he has "he has not done much to save money"..can you point out to your followers what Dawn has done? Dawn voted for state takeover, then did NOT vote for the states fully funded budget? She cost me and everyone else 47% tax increase by her actions. Shame on your for pushing false information to people. Peter Cammarano is the clear chose to get our taxes lowered! VOTE PETER CAMMARANO June 9th

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  2. I lived across the street from Peter for a few years. Seems like a nice enough guy. He cooks a mean Chili.

    I don't care about the politicians frankly just the policies. And the policies of patronage offered by Cammarano and the political machine are the reason our books are such a mess.

    It's a shame taxpayers have to pay for the mistakes of our local leaders. We should have voted out people like Cammarano and Roberts long ago. Tomorrow's our chance to do just that. See you at the polls.

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