The Candidates Take On... Peter Cammarano

They've been raising money, campaigning and assembling their campaign staff—Michael Lenz and Tim Occhipinti. The two candidates are both fighting for the Fourth Ward Council seat in Nov. 2's election. 

After former Mayor Peter Cammarano was arrested last year, then-Fourth Ward Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer became acting mayor. Lenz was appointed to be Fourth Ward Councilman. 

Every week, Patch will cover the candidates' take on issues in Hoboken. The candidates have turned former Mayor Peter Cammarano into their next campaign issue. 

Both campaigns sent out statements on Monday, the day  where he will serve his two-year sentence.

"There is no pleasure to take from this episode," said Occhipinti in his statement, which was sent out by the campaign's communications director David Cruz. He said that with Cammarano in federal prison, "another chapter in the sordid tradition of corruption in Hudson County politics" has ended. 

The Lenz campaign has been comparing Occhipinti to Cammarano, saying that he has the same supporters as the former mayor. 

"Only Tim has brought back together that same Cammarano inner circle ... to run his so-called 'Independent' campaign," stated Lenz's release, sent out by campaign manager Sam Briggs. 

"The night before Peter Cammarano was arrested by the FBI for selling zoning variances," Lenz's statement read, "Tim Occhipinti was one of a handful of people in front of the city council fighting to give Peter absolute power over zoning variances."

The Occhipinti campaign countered: "You will hear my opponent, Michael Lenz, invoke Mr. Cammarano's name many times during this campaign. He'll do this in the hope that the public will ignore Mr. Lenz's own 25-year record of insider deals and influence peddling."