Now that people are talking about new Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano’s proposed director choices, activist Donna Antonucci has some criticisms. She also would have preferred Robert Lisa as police chief over Anthony Falco. Below is her letter, which will also run in the print edition this weekend. What do you think?

Dear Editor:

Campaign critics were saying all along that Cammarano will be another four years of Roberts. I think we are seeing Roberts and Cammarano working together to put a few things in place before Cammarano has to face a 6:9 majority. Terry LaBruno as the new Director of Health and Human Services? She is an algebra teacher and from my friends who have been in her class, she is a great algebra teacher. With all due respect, what makes anyone think that she knows anything about how to run such a large group of people and set policy for the same? This office covers Cultural Affairs, Health Department, Vital Statistics, Rent Leveling, Housing Inspection, Senior Citizens, Recreation, and the Public Defender's Office. As an algebra teacher she has never managed any staff nor has she had any budgetary responsibility, certainly not one of this size.

We have a history of hiring exactly the wrong person and I think this is another example. We are squandering a 6 figure salary on someone who has absolutely no qualification to do the job. We have to stop hiring based on relationship and hire on experience and competency.

I suspect we witnessed some arm twisting when it came to giving the Police Chief's job to Anthony Falco. He was too close to the SWAT bus incident, Carmine LaBruno, Andriani etc. I am skeptical that Falco will hold his staff accountable. I hope I am wrong but I am not confident. Does anyone think it's odd that Susan Jacobucci, head of NJ's Local Finance Board, fought tooth and nail to pick the next Police Chief only to go with Roberts’ choice in the end? Robert Lisa is the one that took the pay cut from $216K to $185K...(Falco's salary was announced as $153K. With 18% longevity pay it comes to $180K). I think it was a good thing that Lisa does not live in Hoboken. Because of civil service law, we have to pick a Chief from within and one of the top three test takers. I have mentioned that I thought a retiring US Coast Guard Captain would have been a good choice. An outsider would be better positioned to take action against the unconscionable, enabled behavior left by LaBruno and his predecessors. Is it reasonable to expect an insider to take action against employees with whom he came up through the ranks?

I think Lisa was the closest we would have gotten to an outsider and yet the machine forced us to take the worst choice of the 3. Do you think someone called the DCA who told Jacobucci to sign the resolution picking Falco?

I believe these two choices are examples of wasting our tax dollars. Don't approve contracts with lucrative termination payouts. Include termination for cause clauses. Make Directors and Chiefs annual reviews subject to Council review and approval. Document their performance and take action accordingly.

Further, in regards to what has recently come out in the online versions of our local papers, i.e. that Cammarano intends to push through a variety of Directorship ‘before the inauguration’, I send this message to our Mayor-elect… Think carefully about whether or not it’s wise to push these director choices through the outgoing council via your mentor and ally Dave Roberts. You have a deeply divided population and you won by the slimmest of margins. Pushing these directorships through the outgoing Council flies in the face of what the public wants because in addition to electing you, the public also elected 3 new Council members. Wait until after the inauguration to allow the new council to participate in any confirmation process. This will spark outrage in an already divided population, will undermined any good work your choices deliver and will ruin any credibility you have that you can bring us together. It’s unethical. This is not the will of the people.



Donna Antonucci