HOBOKEN -- Even without the 1,200 absentee ballots being counted in the mile-square city, the campaign of Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer declared victory tonight in their race for a four-year seat as mayor. Zimmer trounced the nearest candidates, Councilwoman Beth Mason and former Board of Education President Frank Raia, amassing at least 2,000 more votes than they did.

She will now become the city's first elected female mayor on Jan. 1, 2010.

After claiming victory, Zimmer pointed to the fact that she spent less money than Mason and Raia, and said that now, she is ready to cut Hoboken's budget, which ballooned under the past administration.

So why did Zimmer win? The attacks on her by her opponents, and their costly mailers, seem to have failed in a town where people are tired of being tarred with corruption investigations and fallen leaders.

Mason in particular spent $400,000, much of it her own money, in her failed bid. Zimmer had raised about a quarter of that amount as of Oct. 23.

Zimmer, who took over in late July after former Mayor Peter Cammarano was arrested for alleged bribery, has only had a few months to lead the city. The most her opponents were able to come up with when criticizing her was to accuse her of hiding the new budget - a budget that she would not have much time to work on.

They also said that perhaps Zimmer knew that taxes would rise again in Hoboken. However, last week, the state's financial monitor destroyed those claims by telling the press that taxes will actually be going down this year.

For more on the elections, watch this space (www.hudsonreporter.com) and read the Hoboken Reporter this weekend.

The numbers, with 35/36 districts in and 1,200 absentee ballots uncounted:

Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer 5,278

Councilwoman Beth Mason 2,780

Former school board prez Frank Raia 2,270

Former municipal Judge Kim Glatt 1,284

Republican Nathan Brinkman 554

Others

Patricia Waiters 74

Everton Wilson 36

Write-in 22 (Artie Lange?)

Total voters: 12,298