To all of you who think we should move on….you are dead wrong. We learn from the past. Harwin was heavily funded by her own grand fortune and the money of many out-of-towners. And even if Hauck, Pucciarelli, and Aronsohn’s names are not on the donor list, they were outspoken advocates for her. She was nasty, beyond nasty, racist, divisive. She sanctioned that horrific mailing from Hans Lehmann. She was a disaster. We must never forget that she tried so hard and spent so much. Thrilled that she lost, but still, she did get a bunch of votes.
SUGGESTION TO MS. HARWYN: You are probably a very nice person. You are clearly a very educated person. So let me offer you some practical advice – GET OUT NOW. Having the backing of Halaby, Hauck, Pucciarelli, Sonenfeld, Voigt and Aronsohn is going to be lethal to your career. Your candidacy is already tainted beyond repair with their poison ink. But your career as an attorney could be destroyed if you are keeping company with those who have ethics violations, harrassment complaints, etc on their dossiers.
Ridgewood NJ, Some of us are having trouble understanding what appear to be a contradiction in the actions and statements of Mayor Aronsohn, Deputy Mayor Pucciarelli, and Councilwoman Hauck. For the record, I pointed this out twice at public meetings (which did not result in an explanation of the discrepancy), and recently wrote to each of them for clarification (none replied).
In January of 2014, all three of them seemed pretty adamant that they did not want to violate the Village Code by hiring anyone into a position that did not exist (in that case, it was police officer positions in excess of the stated limit). Quotes from the Minutes of the 01/29/2014 meeting include the following:
Mayor Aronsohn pointed out that the most important question to be answered is whether the Village is now in violation of what is permitted by the ordinance as far as police hires are concerned. Mayor Aronsohn commented that the concerns are twofold: one is that the Village would not be in compliance with its own law, leading to the question of how to remedy that situation;
Councilwoman Hauck sees the current problem as an administrative problem and how it would appear if the ordinance were changed to facilitate an administrative error. She suggested that it might be better to wait until the next round of Police Academy candidates graduate, and hire new police officers in July. That would avoid being in violation of Village Code. Councilwoman Hauck said she feels uneasy about amending the current ordinance in order to bring people in prematurely.
Councilman Pucciarelli said that….for him, the issue is law enforcement, and the Village must obey its own laws.
How, then, do these statements fit in with their more recent actions regarding the hiring of a Human Resources Director (or Confidential Secretary, Senior Personnel Assistant, Senior Human Resources Professional or whatever the job title turned out to be) prior to the creation of this position and its official inclusion in the Village Code? It seemed that in January of 2014 they were determined to follow the letter of the law, whereas in the this situation they decided it was acceptable to completely disregard the Village Code, and then re-write it after doing so.
Certainly the creation of an HR position was not an emergency, and due process could have been followed to first create the position and have it officially entered into the Village Code, and then to advertise the job and hire the appropriate person. Our elected officials are put into office with a clear expectation that they will uphold the laws of our Village, in addition to their other duties. It strikes me that in the case of this Human Resources position, they openly disregarded their own law, even when such was being pointed out to them by Councilman Sedon, Councilwoman Knudsen, and various members of the public. No matter how badly they wanted a Human Resources person, the end does not justify the means. We have a set of laws and procedures, and we expect our elected officials to follow them.
Until the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Councilwoman Hauck clearly state why they acted one way in one instance, and quite the opposite in this instance, we taxpayers will be left feeling very uneasy.
Reader says Mayor’s letter to the Editor is complete and total bull
This editorial is so well written that you could almost believe it……except that those of us who know him and his sneaky techniques are well aware that it is complete and total bullshit.
He and his two buddies have been nasty, then contrite, then well-behaved, then nasty again, then contrite again….it is just a ridiculous cycle. If there had been one incident of incivility from Aronsohn and Pucciarelli and Hauck, then maybe this stupid editorial would be believable. But this has been a repetitive cycle that never ends, just that right now the mayor is in the contrite phase. The pendulum will swing again, just wait.
This can be compared to spousal abuse in some ways, where the violent person is so very sorry and swears never to do it again…..until the next time. Their repeated behavior from the dais has brought the outspoken outrage of many, many citizens, not just the few hard-core residents who regularly go to the meetings. There have been long lines of people at some Village Council meetings, waiting to go to the microphone and express their disgust with the INCIVILITY of these three elected officials. And, we have also seen and heard such nasty language off the record from them, in the hallways, after the videocameras go off, even during encounters outside of Village Hall. We know you three read the blog incessantly, and you know what incidents of verbal violence you have been involved in. And, in one instance that I know off, a bystander videotaped a certain someone screaming at a village resident.
And regarding the crime (in my opinion it was a crime) against Mike Sedon, the three of them NEVER, not once EVER showed any outrage about that. It was horrifying how they just ignored it. If a couple of citizens had not pushed for an investigation, it never would have gotten underway. Mayor Aronsohn should have used his connections to push push PUSH for answers as to who sent that despicable email to Mike’s employer. He should have left no stone unturned until answers were clearly revealed. This makes it seem pretty obvious that the stones could not be turned, because lurking under one of them is the guilty party. And all indications are that it is someone who had a vested interest in keeping Mr Sedon off the ballot (and he and Ms. Knudsen won by a LANDSLIDE while a certain elected official fumed in the hallway, making a cell call during which outrage over Albano’s loss was clearly and loudly stated).
So, sorry Mayor Paul, your editorial might make you feel all pumped up and proud, but we see it for what it is, empty words from a nasty man.
Turf king endorses Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarell criticizes police and firemen, attacking salary and benefits
TAKEN FROM THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG (Archived ) You should read the whole article.
From 2009-2010 Brian Abdoo repeatedly endorsed the multi-million dollar controversial turf projects at Stadium and Stevens fields. As we all know the turf has been an unmitigated disaster resulting in Ridgewood Taxpayers incurring the burden of costly repairs
Turf king endorses Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarell criticizes police and firemen, attacking salary and benefits
Moments ago, after a long day at work I sat down to review my personal emails, check school info and sports emails, kids schedule, etc. In the mix was an email from Brian Abdoo who I know from a number of sports programs my kids are involved in. I began reading the Abdoo’s endorsement of candidates, Aronsohn, Hauck and Puciarelli. The more I read the sicker I became. Abdoo has thoroughly disgusted me with his hypocritical rhetoric.
From 2009-2010 Brian Abdoo repeatedly endorsed the multi-million dollar controversial turf projects at Stadium and Stevens fields. As we all know the turf has been an unmitigated disaster resulting in Ridgewood Taxpayers incurring the burden of costly repairs.
Now, this same Brian Abdoo wants to express concern over taxes? He attempts to peddle Paul Aronsohn’s gimmicky zero based budgeting. Even my 6th grader understands built-in inherent cost increases. Abdoo states he wants more transparency and Village Council should “open the books”. The fact that Brian Abdoo is ignorant should not persuade anyone to his argument. Brian, the books are open. They are a matter of public record and are available for anyone to review. Brian, feel free to visit APP DataUniverse if there is anything you need to know. However, Mr. Abdoo, while doing your research you likely will not find the value of your candidate Aronsohn’s health care costs, at village taxpayer expense, for the past four years. Mr. Abdoo, while Mr. Aronsohn is busy telling you he wants to help Ridgewood Taxpayers, he has been busy helping himself for four years . Brian Abdoo proceeds to attack our police and firemen, attacking their salary and benefits. If this is such a concern why on earth would he support Aronsohn who voted for each and every raise, and contract , pertaining to the police & fire department. Maybe he prefers regionalized police and fire departments like Hauck and Puciarelli. Hauck announced the savings for each village taxpayer during the debate: a whopping $ 285 each! For that money I will sleep better at night with Village police and firemen.
Abdoo professes the revitalization of Ridgewood downtown and how committed each of his threesome is to this goal. Mr. Abdoo, Paul Aronsohn is the Council liaison to the Chamber of Commerce. What has he been doing for the past four years? Shopping at the mall? And Hauck and Puciarelli prefer a more urbanized Ridgewood. If they want urbanization let them move to Hoboken.
Best for last, Abdoo states each of these candidates is committed to helping Valley and residents to negotiate a compromise to allow for expansion. For goodness sake, Brian, where has Al Puciarelli been? He has been a member of the planning board forever. Hauck didn’t speak of compromise when she endorsed the massive expansion, as is, over and over again. Valley Hospital is not interested in compromise. The only time that was suggested by Valley was at the last Village Council hearing. Audrey Meyers, seeing the writing on the wall, begged council to hold off their vote so Valley could develop a compromise. Seriously, where was the compromise for six years?
Mr. Abdoo, reconsider and bullet for Killion and Shinizuka before we are in another turf-like drowning mess attributable to the likes of you.
