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| Incumbent Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse celebrating a clean sweep in May's municipal election, when his City Council slate defeated the Zisa-backed Hackensack United for Progress and a third slate. |
Only 341 registered voters needed
to OK $81.2M school tax levy
-- HACKENSACK, N.J.
By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR
You'll find the real story about Hackensack elections -- voter apathy -- buried in the last two paragraphs of The Record's Page 1 story on how much the winning slate spent.
But you won't find any mention of the Zisa family political machine, which ran the city for decades before reformers won the City Council election in May 2013.
The Zisas, including disgraced Police Chief Ken Zisa, attempted a comeback in May, backing the so-called Hackensack United for Progress slate.
It's just plain weird for Staff Writer Rodrigo Torrejon not to mention the Zisas in today's story.
On May 5, three days before the election, Torrejon finally broke his silence on the involvement of the Zisas and "their network of political donors," associates and friends:
Mayor John Labrosse's City Council slate spent $272,672 to win the five contested seats, and Hackensack United (Zisa family) spent $196,672, according to The Record.
A third slate, incumbent Councilwoman Deborah Keeling-Geddis' Hackensack Strong, spent about $14,000, and finished third (1A and 7A).
Low turnout
"In spite of the amount of money spent and the Labrosse Team's platform of city redevelopment, voter turnout in the city was low," Torrejon says.
"The city has an estimated population of 45,000 and only 18 percent of more than 21,000 [registered] voters cast ballots," he reports (7A).
But turnout in Hackensack has always been low due to apathy sown by decades of rule by one family; elections held in April and May, not November; and weak or non-existent coverage by The Record, once the hometown paper.
More voters in '17
Today, Torrejon quotes Keeling-Geddis, the former councilwoman, as saying all the money spent "didn't really garner that much more votes."
Well, not exactly.
Both the May 2017 and May 2013 elections were hotly contested between reformers led by Labrosse and a slate allied with the Zisas, but turnout was higher this year:
In May, there were 4,143 total voters compared to 3,513 in 2013 -- a difference of 630, according to the Hackensack City Clerk's Office.
Real apathy
For real voter apathy in Hackensack, you only have to look at the school board and school budget election every April.
After their defeat in the 2013 municipal election, the Zisas consolidated their power on the Board of Education and in the city schools.
The school budget has been rising despite falling enrollment, but few city residents go to the polls and vote "yes" or "no" on the proposed spending plan.
That is the case even though school taxes account for about 44 percent of their total property tax bill.
Maybe, most residents don't know they can vote to accept or reject the school board's proposed budget.
A "no" vote would allow the City Council to examine the budget and recommend cuts, and any disputes between school and city officials would be mediated by state officials.
You'd think senior citizens who live in all of those Prospect Avenue high-rises would vote overwhelmingly against the school budget to reduce their taxes.
341 decide budget
In the April 25 school election, only 642 ballots were cast -- for a turnout of 3 percent in a city with 21,397 registered voters.
And it took the votes of only 341 residents, including those who sent in mail-in ballots, to approve the $81.2 million tax levy (to support a $109 million budget).
Turnout in prior school elections: 1,133 in 2015, 864 in 2014 and 1,929 in 2013.
Low turnout
"In spite of the amount of money spent and the Labrosse Team's platform of city redevelopment, voter turnout in the city was low," Torrejon says.
"The city has an estimated population of 45,000 and only 18 percent of more than 21,000 [registered] voters cast ballots," he reports (7A).
But turnout in Hackensack has always been low due to apathy sown by decades of rule by one family; elections held in April and May, not November; and weak or non-existent coverage by The Record, once the hometown paper.
More voters in '17
Today, Torrejon quotes Keeling-Geddis, the former councilwoman, as saying all the money spent "didn't really garner that much more votes."
Well, not exactly.
Both the May 2017 and May 2013 elections were hotly contested between reformers led by Labrosse and a slate allied with the Zisas, but turnout was higher this year:
In May, there were 4,143 total voters compared to 3,513 in 2013 -- a difference of 630, according to the Hackensack City Clerk's Office.
Real apathy
For real voter apathy in Hackensack, you only have to look at the school board and school budget election every April.
After their defeat in the 2013 municipal election, the Zisas consolidated their power on the Board of Education and in the city schools.
The school budget has been rising despite falling enrollment, but few city residents go to the polls and vote "yes" or "no" on the proposed spending plan.
That is the case even though school taxes account for about 44 percent of their total property tax bill.
Maybe, most residents don't know they can vote to accept or reject the school board's proposed budget.
A "no" vote would allow the City Council to examine the budget and recommend cuts, and any disputes between school and city officials would be mediated by state officials.
You'd think senior citizens who live in all of those Prospect Avenue high-rises would vote overwhelmingly against the school budget to reduce their taxes.
341 decide budget
In the April 25 school election, only 642 ballots were cast -- for a turnout of 3 percent in a city with 21,397 registered voters.
And it took the votes of only 341 residents, including those who sent in mail-in ballots, to approve the $81.2 million tax levy (to support a $109 million budget).
Turnout in prior school elections: 1,133 in 2015, 864 in 2014 and 1,929 in 2013.
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| The official campaign photo of the Labrosse Team in 2017. |
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