Welcome back, folks, to another episode of “Hudson’s Got Commissioners,” the twice-monthly game within a show where elected officials snarl at the public while voting for, among other things, their own pay raises.
When we left off last time, the Hudson County Board of Commissioners had just voted to cap the amount of time they’d have to listen to – or, in some cases, not even pretend to listen to -- members of the public yammer about issues like conditions at the county jail.
Thanks to COVID-19, today’s episode was taped before a live audience on March 11 from the commissioners’ and administrators’ homes and offices. Viewers, keep that public-speaking cap in mind as it looks to figure prominently later on.
Here’s our host, board Clerk (and Kearny Mayor) Al Santos, so let’s Zoom!
Ed Florio, counsel to the Hudson County Board of Commissioners, and an adorable baby warm up the audience before the start of the March 11 meetin.
0:0:10: Pre-meeting, board counsel Ed Florio is seen bouncing a very adorable baby on his knee. “No, you can’t have the phone,’' he tells her. (Foreshadowing the public comments section?)
0:1:46: “Say ‘clerk,’’' Florio tells the squealing tot. “Say ‘stenographer.’”
Commissioner Jerry Walker of Jersey City looks away. "St. John's and Seton Hall is on," he explains.
0:2:20: Commissioner Jerry Walker comes on, eyes averted to the top left of the screen. “St. John’s and Seton Hall is on,” he explains.
For viewers who may not be familiar, Walker, who was elected to represent part of Jersey City, is a former Seton Hall basketball standout who went on to play for the then-New Jersey Nets and several European teams. At the same time as the commissioners are meeting, Seton Hall is playing St. John’s in the Big East Tournament.
0:2:54: Board Chairman Anthony Vainieri joins and applies lip balm, getting ready to start the meeting.
0:2:58: “All right, I got 4 o’clock, and I see five freeholders,” Vainieri announces. “Do a roll call, please.”
For viewers who may not be familiar, Vainieri, who represents part of North Hudson, is mistakenly using the outmoded “freeholder’' term instead of the correct “commissioner’' term for his office. The state Legislature voted last year to change the title of county representatives to “commissioner” because the word “freeholder’' carries with it a long history of racism and misogyny.
0:6:25: With the floor open for people to comment on agenda items before the commissioners vote on them, member of the public Ada Wideman starts to speak. “Hello. Yes, good evening,” she says. “I am disgusted, disheartened and just devastated right now. There must be a serious meeting addressing the systemic racism that people of color, Black men and women …”
0:6:53: Vainieri breaks in, addressing Santos. “Is this about an agenda item, Mr. Clerk?”
0:7:02: Santos asks Wideman if her comment will be about an agenda item and while she is responding that it’s not, Vainieri cuts her off. “All right, next, next time,’' he says. Wideman says she’ll speak later during the open comments portion.
0:7:20: Santos advises that Commissioner Yraida Aponte-Lipski, who represents part of Jersey City, is trying without success to log into the Zoom meeting.
Dead air.
0:8:30: Santos advises he’s still trying to get Aponte-Lipski in.
More dead air.
A former Hoboken cop, Commissioner and Vice Chairman Anthony Romano speaks during the meeting with a giant police patch behind him.
0:10:02: Commissioner and Vice Chairman Anthony Romano, framed by a giant Hoboken police patch hanging from steps in his background, suggests the meeting continue while Aponte-Lipski tries to get in.
0:10:06: “We’re doing the roll call. We’re ready for the roll call,” Vainieri jumps in.
For viewers who may not be familiar, Vainieri is saying he wants to move to the portion of the meeting where the commissioners vote on the consent agenda, a group of resolutions bundled together and generally not discussed. Spoiler alert: There’s a controversial resolution in the batch, but you won’t know it until after the vote is taken.
0:10:11: Vainieri, Romano and Commissioner William O’Dea, who represents part of Jersey City, go back and forth with suggestions for how to get Aponte-Lipski into the meeting.
0:10:59: Santos advises Vainieri that a hand is raised from the public but he doesn’t know whether the person wants to speak about an agenda item or something else.
0:11:02: Vainieri starts to ask Santos to ask the person if it’s about an agenda item but then interrupts himself. “We closed it. Is it closed? It’s closed. We’re ready for roll call.”
For Vainieri and other viewers who may not be familiar, there was no formal closing of comments.
0:11:09: Back to the issue of Aponte-Lipski, Vainieri directs Santos: “If she’s not on in 30 seconds, take a roll call, please.”
0:11:20: Romano advises that he has called Aponte-Lipski’s husband. “I just called Steve. I told Steve.”
0:11:42: With Aponte-Lipski’s 30 seconds up, Vainieri calls for the roll call.
0:12:57: The roll call commences. All vote “yes’' on all resolutions except for O’Dea, who, without explanation, abstains on No. 12a and votes “No” on No. 15.
0:14:53: After reading a proposed ordinance having to do with a disabled parking spot on Kennedy Boulevard in Bayonne, Santos asks if a member of the public whose hand was raised wants to speak about it before the vote.
0:14:55: “I actually had my hand raised during the consent agenda,” Marc Devens says, noting that he’d raised his hand while Wideman was speaking.
0:15:19: Without apology, Santos says he didn’t see the raised hand and would leave it to Florio, as counsel, and Vainieri, as chairman, to decide if Devens would be allowed to say his peace. Florio leaves it to Vainieri, who says, “I’ll give him one minute.’'
0:16:26: O’Dea notes that he sees a telephone number that turns out to be Aponte-Lipski’s phone number on screen. She’s apparently gotten into the meeting but is self-muted. Vainieri asks if anyone has called her. “I did, I did,” Romano chimes in, noting that he’d spoken with Aponte-Lipski’s husband and “he’s tellin’ her.”
0:17:34: Devens’ minute to speak begins. He questions why – surprise, viewers! – one of the resolutions in the consent agenda, a measure to increase board members’ salaries, had been added to the agenda too late to be publicly available. He notes that Hudson commissioners have the highest pay of commissioners in all 21 New Jersey counties. County Administrator Abe Antun begins to answer.
After a member of the public questions raises the Hudson County Board of Commissioners had just given themselves, board Chairman Anthony Vainieri of North Bergen stops the discussion, saying to "shut him down, please."
0:21:09: “Mr. Administrator,’' Vainieri interrupts, “this discussion is over. … You can shut him down, please. Next.”
0:21:17: Closeup on Vainieri in dead silence until Santos advises that Devens’ ability to speak has been “disabled.” Back to trying to get Aponte-Lipski.
0:21:42: Romano: “I just spoke to Steve again. He’s trying to figure it out.”
0:21:43: Clearly frazzled, Vainieri jumps in: “Why don’t you call her? Why do you keep calling Steve?”
0:21:46: “Hold on. Hold on,’' O’Dea says. “It’s no longer self-muted.” That doesn’t help, though.
0:22:10: Santos notes that the business for the day has been concluded and asks if the commissioners have any comments.
Commissioner William O'Dea of Jersey City gives his reasons for declining the pay raise the board had just approved for him and his colleagues.
0:22:13: O’Dea says that while he voted for the commissioners’ and other staffers’ salary increases, he will decline his increase because of the dire times so many people are in. He suggests that anyone who isn’t eligible for a federal stimulus check join him in declining the raise.
For viewers who may not be familiar, the commissioners are considered part-time and most have full-time jobs in addition to the post. The increases voted on March 11 are for commissioners and non-union county employees and follow a 2 percent increase for union employees. Come July, the regular commissioners’ salary will rise to $47,305 with Chairman Vainieri and Vice Chairman Romano receiving $49,513.
0:24:04: Vainieri: “Thank you. Any other commissioners?” No takers. Aponte-Lipski still silent.
0:24:26: Santos opens up comments to anyone in the public who had signed up in advance to speak.
0:24:37: Santos: “We have received a request from a Miss …”
0:24:38: With no explanation, Vainieri instructs, “Freeholder Romano, take over the meeting, please. Thank you.”
No longer on the call, Vainieri doesn’t hear speaker Karin Vanoppen ask if the county can do anything to open its drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site to people who don’t have access to cars. On the raises, she asks why they were done in “such a hush-hush manner.’' As she speaks, the phone number apparently belonging to Commissioner Aponte-Lipski intermittently flashes on screen.
O’Dea suggests Vanoppen check with vaccination centers in Jersey City.
As Vanoppen describes the limitations of centers in Jersey City and compliments the county operation in Kearny, Romano interrupts.
0:27:27: “OK. OK, madam speaker,” Romano says. “Are there any other comments?”
0:27:28: “Hold on, hold on, hold on,” O’Dea breaks in, continuing to want to assist the woman.
0:27:25: “Then you talk,” Romano responds.
Commissioner Al Cifelli, who represents West Hudson, asks whether the county can come up with some out-of-the-box thinking to open access to the drive-thru county COVID-19 site to more residents.
O’Dea and Commissioner Al Cifelli, who represents West Hudson, continue to discuss the caller’s point and question how the county can improve the vaccination service at the center in Kearny. “That’s how it works,” Romano says, seeing no way to change it. “That’s how it functions.”
0:34:00: Aponte-Lipski speaks! She apologizes and then votes “yes” for all of the business she missed.
0:35:00: Romano: “No further business.’'
0:35:10: O’Dea: “Hold on, hold on.” He notes that Miss Wideman and another caller are waiting to speak. Romano questions Florio if they’re allowed to speak. Florio said it’s at Romano’s discretion since he’s now chairing the meeting. Romano allows it.
0:36:23: With great emotion, Wideman, a veteran county employee, talks about her personal experience with a problem with a recent promotion and what she sees as systemic racism against Black employees. “The conversation must be had,” she says, suggesting that the county set up a committee to discuss it.
0:39:17: Romano: “Thank you, Miss Wideman. All right. Next.”
0:39:18: O’Dea: “Hold on.” He asks that the county administration prepare a report for the commissioners on Wideman’s situation.
0:39:52: Santos asks Romano if he can enable a speaker with a raised hand. “Who is it?” Romano asks and then agrees to hear Mark Bloomberg of West New York, who voices the concern that Latino men in the 35-to-55 age group make up a significant proportion of COVID deaths in New Jersey but unless they have specific co-morbidities, they aren’t eligible for vaccination. He notes that West New York doesn’t have a vaccination center and asks if the county plays any role in determining how vaccines are distributed.
0:47:43: Romano: “Thank you, sir. Any other speakers?”
0:47:46: O’Dea interrupts and asks for Dave Drumeler, the deputy county administrator on the call, to talk about the vaccine process. Cifelli also wants to hear more. Romano tries to discourage Drumeler from speaking but Drumeler does answer. Drumeler, Cifelli and O’Dea discuss the problems the county is seeing in the number of vaccine doses it is receiving from the state and talk about ways to petition the state and Hudson County’s state legislators to get more. At the current rate, O’Dea notes, it could take years for everyone in Hudson to be vaccinated.
1:00:02 Romano interrupts to ask Drumeler to email Hudson’s state legislators to get the answers to O’Dea’s and Cifelli’s questions.
1:00:51: O’Dea suggests that if the information isn’t gotten soon, Hudson’s state legislators should hold a public hearing on the issues.
Aponte-Lipski’s telephone number continues to flash.
1:03:00: Romano reiterates the request to Drumeler and says, “OK, motion?”
For viewers who may not be familiar, this is an indication that the meeting is over and someone must make a motion to adjourn, someone else must second it and they all vote to close the meeting. Freeholder Kenneth Kopacz, who represents Bayonne, makes the motion; Walker seconds.
1:04:37: Walker, looking up and to his right, flashes on screen.
1:04:38: O’Dea: “Jerry’s not smiling a lot so I don’t know how that game’s going, Jerry.”
1:04:42: Walker laughs. Romano chimes in: “UConn. UConn.”
1:04:45: Santos: “The meeting is adjourned. Stop the recording.”
For viewers who may not be familiar, Seton Hall won, 77-69, but they’re still not going to the Big Dance.
Next time on “Hudson’s Got Commissioners”: Having figured out how to disable public callers mid-sentence, will the county IT staff get Commissioner Aponte-Lipski to Zoom in? Will Chairman Vainieri stay to hear public comments? If not, will he have the courtesy to excuse himself? Did Commissioners O’Dea and Cifelli remember to set their clocks ahead? If they miss the meeting, will anyone else care what members of the public have to say? Is there a pool on who tries to shut down the most callers, Vainieri or Romano? Do any of the other commissioners have anything – at all – to say? “Next!”
Send letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com.
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