In a letter to the editor, Hoboken resident Leah Healey gives her two cents on why Councilwoman at-Large Emily Jabbour is the mayor the city deserves.
Dear Editor,
I am voting for Emily Jabbour for Mayor of Hoboken because she has the character and integrity that this City demands. I have lived here for almost 40 years.
What newer residents may not know is that the history of Hoboken’s political corruption is real and painful.
I know it because I have lived through it and I have fought against it. I was a member of the so-called reform movement that rose up to combat that corruption. The label was not important, but the fight was.
After moving to town in the late 80’s, I watched political corruption that continued to unfold on a breathtaking scale for more than 20 years.
The following are but a few, and I mean a small sampling, of the arrests and convictions and imprisonments that thankfully were uncovered with the help of the reform movement.
Two Hoboken mayors were convicted and jailed (Mayor Anthony Russo convicted in 2004 of federal crimes of accepting bribes from companies to ensure City contracts; Mayor Peter Camarano, in 2009, who pled guilty in federal court to taking illegal campaign contributions in return for helping developers).
Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski pled guilty in 2002 for accepting bribes in exchange for government contracts and was jailed. Local Hoboken developer Joseph Barry pled guilty and was jailed in 2004 for paying bribes to Janiszewski in exchange for public funding to finance the Hoboken Shipyard project.
Another Hoboken developer, Frank Raia, was convicted and jailed for bribing voters in a 2013 vote-by-mail scheme as he ran for city council. Add to that the pilfering of parking meter revenues, the paychecks handed out to no- show jobs, and you get the picture.
Thankfully, these days with the internet you can do your own research of credible sources and make your own decision about whether to let City Hall fall back into the wrong hands.
I don’t want to see the history of Hoboken’s corruption repeat itself. That is why I am voting for Emily Jabbour. She has demonstrated her integrity, honesty and, best of all, her compassion for her fellow residents.
My litmus test is simple. I judge a candidate by whether he or she is in it for the betterment of the City of Hoboken or in it for themselves. Emily is in it for the betterment of Hoboken.
Leah Healey
Hoboken resident
Editor’s note: Leah Healey is also the wife of Council President Jim Doyle.
