THIRD WARD: Ron Bautista / Michael Russo | Hoboken City Council Candidate Questionnaire — VOTE NOV. 5, 2019

Hoboken’s Municipal Election is Tuesday, November 5, 2019.

We asked Hoboken City Council candidates the following questions:

• You’re a candidate for the Hoboken City Council. This particular election has put a lot of focus on the role of a Council and a Councilperson, working in conjunction with the City’s Administration. How do you interpret that role?
• What are the key issues within your ward and how will you plan to address them?
• What are the key issues facing Hoboken on the whole, and how will you plan to address them?
• You are running against someone. In what way(s) do you differ from your opponent(s)?
• Why should residents in your ward give their vote to you?
• What’s your favorite Frank Sinatra song, and why?

Here are their answers, in their own words:

CANDIDATE: Ron Bautista

hMAG: You’re a candidate for the Hoboken City Council. This particular election has put a lot of focus on the role of a Council and a Councilperson, working in conjunction with the City’s Administration. How do you interpret that role?
Ron Bautista: I interpret the role of being a Councilperson to be similar to when you work as part of a team, in this case by having the specific legislative role. In my career with the private and public sectors I’ve worked with diverse groups of people, from different teams, with the objective of better taking care of the communities we’re focused on. This has come with the need for me to push for internal transformations in priorities, the way we optimize how we work, and for all those years I’ve been able to do so while keeping a positive vibe. There will be pushback, and that can be managed; progress can be made and I’m happy to say I’ve been a witness of that.

h: What are the key issues within your ward and how will you plan to address them?
RB: We have to evaluate our city by how we treat our most vulnerable neighbors, and I would like us to see things from their perspective. That when we’re discussing the need for more mixed-income apartments, we think of the 70-year-old woman living on a fixed income in Hoboken whose energy comes from all the benefits of living in this city. That’s why I’m proposing a Community Land Trust, so that we can provide affordable units that don’t expire.

That when we think all we need is “eye contact” as a pedestrian safety measure, we need to keep in mind that the visually impaired and the 8-year-old kids walking the street deserve more from us. When they’re safe enough, everyone else is safer as well. It wasn’t too long ago that a 54-year-old nanny who was pushing a double stroller with two young children was hit by a car at 5th and Monroe. When elected I will fight to make our streets safer for all ages and abilities by:

• Rearranging our streets so that the car travel lanes are no wider than 11 feet, as the wider they are the more they stimulate higher speed on drivers.
• Expanding the corners with bumpouts. This shortens crossing distance to reduce the time people are exposed to cars, forces drivers to do a full turn at a slow speed, and keeps the crossings clear so drivers can see pedestrians and vice versa.
• Place street bumps right before a driver reaches intersections. This helps enforce NJ State Law that mandates all vehicles to stop for pedestrians regardless of whether there’s a stop sign or not.
• Have a real network of protected bike lanes throughout the city. It’s been proven that protected bike lanes get riders (e-scooters included) off sidewalks, and encourages traffic-free means of transportation that have a lower risk on pedestrians.

h: What are the key issues facing Hoboken on the whole, and how will you plan to address them?
RB: I am running for the 3rd Ward City Council seat to fight for a Hoboken that works for all ages and abilities. As the happy father to my 1-year-old baby girl, Sofia, my hope is that she can grow up healthy and safe in our neighborhood. She truly is my inspiration to challenge the status quo and help make our community better.

We currently have a councilman who has been in that seat for 15 years. Our streets have had more than 375 injuries from crashes over the past 5 years, yet my opponent has been passive on pedestrian safety. Right now, we live in the second county with highest childhood asthma cases caused by traffic fumes, and my opponent has done nothing to fight it. I believe we have two choices in life; we either become frustrated with politics and do nothing, or we take a stand. We cannot afford to wait any longer. On November 5, we can vote to support our engineers in making our streets safer. Together, we can have 100% renewable energy transportation by 2030. I hope to count with the support from our neighbors so I can be their advocate at the Council for a more people-friendly city, with better transit, cleaner air, and safer streets.

h: You are running against someone. In what ways do you differ from your opponent?
RB: I’m happy that in the past few years I’ve been able to bring people together for better mobility and pedestrian safety. That for years, while my opponent stayed quiet, I advocated for street bumpouts and their benefits for both pedestrians and drivers. That over the years more and more people understand, and are vocal, about the benefits of having a network of protected bike lanes. So much that just now, because of the issues with scooter riders, my opponent finally decided to speak about protected bike lanes. He knows that the science shows that walkers, riders and drivers can coexist when they have their own space (street, protected bike lane, sidewalk).

h: Why should residents in your ward give their vote to you?
RB: I’ve lived in Hoboken for 20 years (Hoboken High School, class of 2004), and I’ve been consistent and stayed positive throughout my activism in Hoboken. My priority is to make sure our city works for all ages and abilities, and there is no political career, no developer money, and not any personal gain that will divert me from that mission. I’m an open book, anyone can Google me and will find every way to reach me. I will always respond, be honest, and do my best to help my neighbors.

h: What’s your favorite Frank Sinatra song, and why?
RB: “Fly Me to the Moon” is my favorite Frank Sinatra song. It’s the perfect mix of love, energy, elegance, and rhythm. I like to dance to it with my wife, Winnie, every chance I get.

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CANDIDATE: Michael Russo (incumbent)

hMAG: You’re a candidate for the Hoboken City Council. This particular election has put a lot of focus on the role of a Council and a Councilperson, working in conjunction with the City’s Administration. How do you interpret that role?
Michael Russo: While I consider myself an independent councilperson, I’m always willing to work with the administration and my council colleagues on good government initiatives. As a member of the sub-committee on the project at 7th and Jackson, I led the City Council to initiate major givebacks as a part of this development project. When the project began, the development included no community givebacks, and a project that was a steal for the developer. My Council colleagues and I quickly got to work and negotiated several million dollars in givebacks through the creation of the public park we see there today, along with the future plaza for local artists and markets. When Mayor Bhalla came into office, one of the things I worked on in his first months in City Hall was to come up with a plan to renovate Madison Street Park, which needed an upgrade. Because I had a working relationship with the Mayor, we were able to create plans for the park’s rehabilitation that incorporated community input from the 3rd Ward.

h:What are the key issues within your ward and how will you plan to address them?
MR: Affordable housing, pedestrian safety, implementation of protected bike lanes and e-scooters are some of the pressing issues facing the residents of the third ward. I support the creation of affordable housing for low and moderate-income families and the creation of a Community Land Trust ensuring lands acquired remain affordable in perpetuity. I’ll Continue to advocate for pedestrian safety by supporting the Vision Zero initiative as a member of the task force. Implementation of Protected bike Lanes are already planned for some streets in the third ward and I’ll continue to support them where they make sense to do so. As for e-scooters, I believe I’m the only councilperson who has declared I would not support a contract with the current pilot company or any other if they don’t have the technology to restrict the scooters from our waterfront, parks, and sidewalks among other things.

h: What are the key issues facing Hoboken on the whole, and how will you plan to
address them?
MR: The acquisition of the waterfront property, the increasing budget and the plans for the NJ Transit development project are among the key issues facing the city on the whole. I am excited to support the administration and council’s position on Union Dry Dock, to acquire it for a waterfront park. For those of us who grew up in Hoboken, we’ve come so far from the industrial days where our waterfront was inaccessible. While this future park isn’t in the 3rd Ward, it will be something we can all be proud of when it is complete. I look forward to lending support and a voice to the Mayor and council as we acquire the land from New York Waterway which wants to put a diesel depot at this location – the absolute wrong thing for our community. Regarding the budget, I’ve continually voted against a budget that has a tax increase no matter how slight. We can and should do better. I’ll continue to advocate for a budget monitoring system that tracks revenue and expenditure fluctuations. The NJ Transit development plan has been a subject of discussion for more than a decade. It will be the most significant development in Hoboken since the development of the waterfront. We must ensure that the final plan addresses the issues raised in opposition to the plan such as traffic, height, density etc.

h: You are running against someone. In what ways do you differ from your opponent?
MR: In Hoboken city government experience matters. As indicated in previous questions, there are a myriad of issues facing the city and the third ward. I believe I’ve demonstrated through my accomplishments the ability to work with all members of the council and administration for the benefit of the residents of the third ward.

h: Why should residents in your ward give their vote to you?
MR: I’ve been fighting hard to bring real results for the third ward on the City Council. There were promises made and promises kept from Parks and Recreation to Parking and Transportation. Based on my track record I believe the residents of the third ward will want me to continue representing them.

h: What’s your favorite Frank Sinatra song, and why?
MR: “My Way“. Because it speaks to my independence on the council. It may surprise some to learn that I’ve never had the support of a sitting Mayor. Despite that I’ve been successful in bring about major changes to the third ward including parks, pedestrian safety, paved streets, and increased police presence, all impacting the quality of life of the residents. Plus, it’s just a great song!

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH
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