Election Day 2009
Andrew Scagnelli and Sheeraz Hyder
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Local News
On November 3rd, Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer became Hoboken's first elected female mayor with 42% of the vote. Zimmer's biggest competitor, Beth Mason, spent more than $400,000 of her own money, as compared to Zimmer's $100,000 in contributions as of October 23, and received only 23% of the vote, losing by just short of 2,500 votes. Frank Raia and Kimberly Glatt, the other front-runners, got only 18% and 10%, respectively. The other candidates rounded out the total.
Prior to this election, Zimmer held two positions in City Hall, Acting Mayor and City Council President, a move that Mason used as a major point of contention in the campaign. Zimmer, as City Council President, took the position of Acting Mayor after previous mayor Peter Cammarano stepped down on July 31 following his arrest as part of a widespread sting by the FBI on July 23. Cammarano had beaten Zimmer by 161 votes in a runoff election on June 9, and took office on July 1.
A runoff election will not occur, since this election is a special election where the candidate with the highest vote count, rather than June's 50% plus one vote majority, wins. An individual cannot hold multiple positions in the city government, so Zimmer will step down as City Council President when she is sworn in on January 1, 2010. There will be a second special election next year to replace Zimmer's vacated seat on the city council.
Turnout for this election was very low, with only 49% of Hudson County eligible voters going to the polls. In comparison, the nationwide turnout for the 2008 election was 61%.
Chris Christie (R), a former United States Attorney for New Jersey, defeated incumbent Governor Jon Corzine (D) by a much closer margin. Christie, the first Republican to win a statewide office since 1997, took the victory by attracting nearly two-thirds of independent voters. Corzine served a single term after defeating Doug Forrester in 2005, after serving five years in the Senate. This election also marks the first time that New Jersey will have a Lieutenant Governor.
Prior to this election, Zimmer held two positions in City Hall, Acting Mayor and City Council President, a move that Mason used as a major point of contention in the campaign. Zimmer, as City Council President, took the position of Acting Mayor after previous mayor Peter Cammarano stepped down on July 31 following his arrest as part of a widespread sting by the FBI on July 23. Cammarano had beaten Zimmer by 161 votes in a runoff election on June 9, and took office on July 1.
A runoff election will not occur, since this election is a special election where the candidate with the highest vote count, rather than June's 50% plus one vote majority, wins. An individual cannot hold multiple positions in the city government, so Zimmer will step down as City Council President when she is sworn in on January 1, 2010. There will be a second special election next year to replace Zimmer's vacated seat on the city council.
Turnout for this election was very low, with only 49% of Hudson County eligible voters going to the polls. In comparison, the nationwide turnout for the 2008 election was 61%.
Chris Christie (R), a former United States Attorney for New Jersey, defeated incumbent Governor Jon Corzine (D) by a much closer margin. Christie, the first Republican to win a statewide office since 1997, took the victory by attracting nearly two-thirds of independent voters. Corzine served a single term after defeating Doug Forrester in 2005, after serving five years in the Senate. This election also marks the first time that New Jersey will have a Lieutenant Governor.