Local Politics · Hoboken, NJ
The Hoboken City Council raised the contract for Parsippany-based Weiner Law Group from $10,000 to $70,000 for special land-use counsel, bringing the firm's total 2026 city contracts to $150,000. The October 21 resolutions contained multiple contradictions between written dollar amounts and numerical figures, which the city later corrected in standalone documents but not in the main agenda packet. Records indicate the council awarded several legal contracts in February before certifying funds, violating New Jersey's Local Budget Law requirements for prior certification. This expansion of outside counsel spending follows a significant reduction in the city's in-house Corporation Counsel salary budget.
Local Politics · Hudson County
Between April and June 2026, the Hudson County Board of Commissioners authorized $455,796 in identical IT purchases for Kearny-based Johnston G.P., Inc. (dba JCT Solutions) twice—first under the Union County Cooperative Pricing System, then under Bergen County's—according to county agendas reviewed by Hudson TV. No rescission resolution for the earlier authorizations appears on any board agenda through Oct. 22, 2026. ELEC filings show Johnston G.P. contributed $79,000 to County Executive Craig Guy's campaign and the Hudson County Democratic Organization between 2024 and 2026, with a $32,000 in-kind contribution on April 17, six days before the first authorization. The HCDO stated it is 'a partisan entity not related to the county government' that operates 'by the letter of the law.' Hudson TV filed an Open Public Records Act request on Oct. 20 seeking purchase orders and payment records; the county had not responded by publication.
Local Politics · Hoboken, NJ
The Hoboken City Council voted 7–2 on Tuesday night, Oct. 27, 2026, to approve amended Resolution A1 moving the city's Medicare-eligible retirees into a Judi Rx (formerly Capital Rx) level-funded prescription drug plan for 2027. An audit reduced covered retirees from 523 to 329, lowering the 12-month contract cap to $801,444 and revised projected annual savings to $639,576. Councilman Phil Cohen added an amendment triggering immediate rescission if the final plan alters any retiree's deductibles, copays, or coverage limits. During questioning, a Capital Rx executive acknowledged that a copay chart in the council packet had been pulled from a different plan by mistake and confirmed roughly 20 retirees must switch to covered drug alternatives.
Local Politics · Hudson County
Hudson County Executive Craig Guy's namesake charity accepted a $3,000 contribution in Sept. 2024 from Waters, McPherson, McNeill, P.C., a Secaucus firm holding $938,187.50 in county legal contracts during 2024–2025, per ELEC filings reviewed by Hudson TV. The charity's care-of officer is Francesca Giarratana, a Deputy Director of Hudson County's Planning and Business Opportunity department who made $5,782 in political contributions to Guy's campaign and the county Democratic organization. The charity files only IRS Form 990-N e-Postcards disclosing no financial details; no statutory violation was identified, and neither Guy's office nor Giarratana responded by the Oct. 27 deadline.
