HOBOKEN -- Timothy Occhipinti of Hoboken has officially scheduled his announcement celebration to run for the city's 4th Ward council seat in a special election this November.
The seat was vacated last year when then-Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer won a special election for mayor. Her ally, former school board President and former city financial officer Michael Lenz, was picked to fill the seat.
But Lenz will have to run to keep the seat in November.
Occhipinti, a relative newcomer to town, has gotten involved in various activities in town. His release noted:
"Tim Occhipinti will officially launch his campaign to run for Hoboken's open 4th Ward council seat on Thursday, June 17 at Northern Soul from 6-8 p.m. Occhipinti's campaign event will have a baseball theme to celebrate the 164th anniversary of the first organized game of modern baseball that took place on June 19, 1873 in Hoboken.
"Occhipinti hopes that by beginning his campaign far ahead of the November special election, he will have time to build a strong base of support through a grassroots, community campaign. The campaign's slogan 'An Independent Voice for the 4th Ward' conveys the candidate's unaffiliated approach to governance."
The 4th Ward, located in the southwestmost part of town, is home to the public housing projects as well as new luxury condos.
Issues in the ward have included flooding during storms, and improving the quality of life in the projects (long looked at in past years as simply a place to hunt for votes at election-time.)
What do you think? Should the voters stick with Lenz and give him a longer chance to make change, or is it time for a new voice? Comment below!
You are right that Mr. Lenz has supported the Mayor on most issues - that is precisely why I and many others support him. On which specific issues do you feel that supporting the Mayor was not in the interest of the residents of the 4th ward?
I am concerned, given his alliances, that Mr. Occhipinti will always oppose the mayor together with Russo, Mason and the others. Can you point to a single instance in which he has expressed support for the mayor and disagreed with the "opposition?"
If he is truly "independent" those instances should not be hard to find.
The story makes a point of mentioning that Mike Lenz is an ally of Dawn Zimmer. Aren't Occhipinti's alliances an important part of the story too? Especially if he's falsely depicting himself as "independent?