Bounced from Hackensack slate, official accepts backing of discredited Zisa family

WHAT IS HE HIDING? In this April 2018 photo taken at a Hackensack City Council meeting, then Board of Education President Jason Nunnermacker, in a black hoodie, hides from a cellphone camera. Now, Nunnermacker is serving as spokesman for Deputy Mayor David Sims, who was dropped from Mayor John Labrosse's slate in the upcoming council election.

 Deputy Mayor David Sims

heads own ticket on May 11

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Deputy Mayor David Sims is a walking contradiction.

Sims has served on the Hackensack City Council since 2013, when he and four others first won election on a reform platform after decades of rule by the Zisa family and its allies.

But after he was dumped from Mayor John Labrosse's council slate for violating the Covid-19 lockdown at City Hall, Sims has enlisted Zisa allies to run with him and serve as his spokesman in the May 11 council election.

And they've chosen to call themselves the "Coalition for Clean Government."

So, here's the contradiction: 

Is Sims saying that since 2013, he's been part of a governing council that wasn't "clean"?

A third slate

A third slate of candidates in the non-partisan May 11 election is led by Leila Amirhamzeh, development director of New Jersey Citizen Action and a former member of the Hackensack Board of Education.

Sims "is turning to the Zisa political dynasty for financial and political backing," Jason DeAlessi, a spokesman for the Amirhamzeh slate, told NorthJersey.com.

"The people of Hackensack are tired of the same political fights of the past and deserve better," DeAlessi said.

MAIL-IN VOTING: We've already received our 4 mail-in ballots for the non-partisan Hackensack City Council election on May 11, as well as campaign material from the Labrosse Team.

MAYOR AND COUNCIL: From left, Councilwoman Stephanie Von Rudenborg, Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino, Mayor John Labrosse (seated), Deputy Mayor David Sims and Councilman Leonardo Battaglia (2017 photo from City of Hackensack).

Sims' spokesman

In a March 19 story in the Hackensack Chronicle, NorthJersey.com quoted Jason Nunnermacker as a spokesman for Sims.

Nunnermacker, a lawyer who is a key ally of the Zisa family, served as Board of Education president and ran unsuccessfully for the City Council.

Nunnermacker noted Sims' past electoral successes, saying they were the result of "his devotion to our community," according to NorthJersey.com.

'Zisaville'

The Zisa family's decades-long grip on Hackensack turned the city into a laughing stock called "Zisaville."

Jack Zisa, the former 4-term mayor (1989-2005), tried to return to power in the 2017 City Council election by backing a 5-member slate, just as he is doing now.

His father, the late Frank Zisa, served 16 years on the City Council and as mayor for one term (1977-81); his brother, Ken Zisa, was the city's police chief for many years and served in the state Assembly (1994-2002); another brother, Frank Zisa Jr., served as deputy police chief; and a cousin, Joseph C. Zisa Jr., was the city attorney for many years.

When the Zisas ruled Hackensack, greed, nepotism and partisan politics were king, as I reported in 2017.

READ: When the Zisas ruled Hackensack...

READ: The Record was clueless 

on Zisas' bid to regain control of city

Hackensack officials hoping April vote will give them control of school board, budget

Jason Nunnermacker, a lawyer who ran unsuccessfully for City Council, was president of the Hackensack Board of Education until he was defeated in the April 2018 school board and budget election.

The seat held by Lara L. Rodriguez, who is now Board of Education president, is one of three that will be open in the April 16 school and budget election (photo from Hackensack Public Schools website).

Editor's note: Now that the special school election in Hackensack is behind us, residents have another election coming up in April, when they can vote for three members of the Board of Education and say "yes" or "no" to a proposed budget for the 2019-20 school year.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Mayor John Labrosse and other members of the City Council hope to build on their victory in Tuesday's special balloting and take control of the Board of Education after the April school election.

If three council-backed candidates are successful in defeating incumbents on April 16, they would join three elected in 2018 to form a 6-3 majority on the school board.

City officials also are hoping the many older homeowners who voted against the $170 million school construction and renovation proposal on Tuesday will also reject the proposed tax levy to support the 2019-20 school budget that will appear on the April ballot.

About 45% of the property taxes paid by every home, condo and small business owner goes to support the city's schools.

Last April, voters approved a tax levy of about $82.9 million to support a 2018-19 school budget of about $117.2 million.

School officials haven't made public the proposed tax levy or budget for the 2019-20 school year.

On Tuesday, 2,917 ballots were cast, with 2,265 against the proposed $170 million bond issue and 30-year tax hike, and 652 in favor.

The results from the Bergen County clerk's Election Division included 499 mail-in ballots (305 against, 194 in favor) and 51 provisional ballots (38 against, 13 in favor).

School budget

On April 16, rejection of the proposed tax levy would allow the City Council to trim the budget and recommend reductions in expenditures or leave it as it is.

The school board is obligated only to follow the dollar amount of the cuts, not any specific recommendations.

But if council allies win and flip control of the board, any recommended cuts likely would be adopted.

Then, the council would perform a forensic audit of the budget, which has soared above $100 million in recent years, exceeding the city's own budget.

And they'd also work quickly to determine how many students from out of the district are attending city schools at taxpayers' expense.

As many as 200 students from Paterson, Newark and New York City may be illegally attending school in Hackensack, one council member said.

School renovations

If school officials hope to salvage their plan to renovate existing schools at a cost of about $68.3 million, they would have to give two months' notice for it to appear on the April ballot.

The rest of the plan rejected by voters on Tuesday -- $101.5 million to build a new junior high school and parking garage on the high school campus -- appears dead for the foreseeable future.

Zisas or Democrats?

In the school election last April, the three open seats being contested were held by Mark A. Stein, Jason Nunnermacker and Daniel F. Carola, portrayed by critics as stooges of the Zisa family political machine.

They were defeated by three council-backed candidates, Frances Gogelja, Lancelot Powell and Carlos Velez.

Starting in 2013 and with the Zisas' backing, Nunnermacker, a lawyer, had tried but failed repeatedly to get elected to the City Council.

Still, other city residents believe Stein and others on the school board were loyal to local Democratic Party officials.

Team Hackensack

Bu that ignores Team Hackensack, described by former four-term Mayor Jack Zisa in March 2016 as a new "community organization" formed to back candidates in municipal and school board elections.

To kick off the effort, the former mayor, disgraced former Police Chief Ken Zisa and cousin Joseph Zisa greeted an overflow crowd of loyalists at the Crow's Nest Restaurant & Pub.

Read: When the Zisas ran Hackensack,
greed, nepotism and partisan politics were king

The seats of  board Vice President Timothy J. Hoffman, above, and board member Modesto Romero, below, also are open in the non-partisan election on April 16 (photos from website of Hackensack Public Schools).

Victorious school board challengers will be seated Monday; $82.8M tax levy approved

Frances Cogelja, holding up broom; Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse and Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino celebrating on Tuesday night after Cogelja and two other challengers defeated three incumbents for seats on the Board of Education.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Three challengers who ran with the support of the mayor and City Council will be seated on Monday at the Board of Education's reorganization meeting.

Frances Cogelja, Carlos A. Velez and Lance Powell defeated school board President Jason Nunnermacker and two other incumbents, Mark A. Stein and Daniel F. Carola, in Tuesday's school election.

They won three-year terms on the nine-member board.

The reorganization meeting at which they will be sworn in starts at 6:15 p.m. in the Hackensack High School Media Center.

Voters also approved an $82.8 million tax levy to support a budget of $117.1 million budget.

That means nearly half of every property owner's taxes will go to pay salaries and other expenses at the city's public schools.

Get Zisas Out

The challengers, who called themselves the Putting Our Kids First Team, campaigned against Nunnermacker, Stein and Carola as stooges of the Zisa family political machine.

Former four-term Mayor Jack Zisa and his brother, disgraced ex-Police Chief Ken Zisa, held onto power at the school board after their allies were defeated in City Council elections in 2013 and again in 2017.

At the height of their power, Hackensack was mocked far and wide as "Zisaville."

Cogelja, Velez and Powell pledged to provide better security for children by putting a retired cop in every school; stop insurance and legal fee abuses; and improve the working relationship between the board and city officials.

Election results

In unofficial results released by the Bergen County Clerk's Office, 1,629 or 7.65% of the 21,303 registered voters cast ballots.

That includes 100 mail-in ballots. The Board of Elections put the number of registered voters as of last Wednesday at 23,401 -- higher than the county clerk's figure.

The totals for the candidates in Tuesday's balloting:

Velez, 961; Cogelja, 935; and Powell, 923.

For the defeated incumbents, Carola, 632; Stein, 573; and Nunnermacker, 557.

Since 2013, Nunnermacker has tried but failed three times to be elected to the City Council, so voters may have felt his commitment to the schools was weak.

After Mayor John Labrosse and his slate of reformers were elected in 2013, Nunnermacker, others members of the board and board attorney Richard Salkin appeared at every council meeting to harshly criticize the winners, their appointees and their policies.

School budget

Although 1,629 ballots were cast, only 1,142 people voted "yes" or "no" on the tax-levy proposition, which was approved 695-447.

That means only 695 out of 44,000 city residents approved the use of $82.8 million in property taxes to support the school budget.

The Record

The election results that appeared on NorthJersey.com this morning were incomplete, both for the candidates and the vote on the tax levy.

The story also included an incorrect figure for the tax levy, $83.5 million, instead of the correct $82.8 million.

In late March, The Record also reported the proposed 2018-19 school budget incorrectly as $112 million before correcting that two days later to $117 million.

See: Hackensack's lazy, clueless residents

See: School election issues: Zisas and higher taxes