Mason: Signs of Deception?

You've probably seen the signs.

They urge Hoboken to vote for Beth Mason alongside governor Jon Corzine. The easy assumption is that Mason is aligned with Corzine, endorsed and approved by the governor.

But as seems to be the case in Hoboken politics, appearances can be deceiving... and so can campaigns.

I asked a senior campaign representative at Mason's office to confirm whether Corzine's camp had endorsed Mason. "Yes. Though he probably doesn't know about it," he replied, adding, "You know how that works."

A local Democratic Party official in Corzine's campaign had another story to tell. "To the best of my knowledge the Corzine campaign has not endorsed a candidate for mayor in Hoboken," he said.

So I tried again -- calling Kimberly Cardinal, Mason's press officer, for confirmation. I have yet to hear back.

This is what we do know. When Governor Corzine and Newark Mayor Cory Booker visited Hoboken last week, the governor endorsed no one.

According to Democratic party strategist Raj Mukherji, a mayoral endorsement wouldn't make sense. "Hoboken is a solid Democratic base for Corzine," Mukherji said. "Why would he want to split that base by endorsing one candidate over another?"

That's a question only Mason's campaign can answer. And I'm still waiting for that call.