26-July-2015, NJ.com
By Kathryn Brenzel
Three decades ago, Weehawken's waterfront was an industrial wasteland and the fulcrum of government corruption. Much has changed in the wake of the township's darkest days—but not the person at the mayor's desk.
Richard F. Turner, 65, has been mayor for the past 25 years, facing little opposition to keep the job. His tenure is marked by dramatic changes in the township, most visibly the transformation of the waterfront.
Hallmarks of his administration include the introduction of NJ Transit's Light Rail, new parks and a new ferry station. He helped consolidate four municipal agencies to form the North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue, and also pushed for Weehawken to receive its own zip code, which the township shared with Union City until 2001.
The mayor credits members of his team and the length of his term, in part, for his effectiveness. His consecutive terms have given him the time to plan out "mammoth" projects like the $2 billion redevelopment of Port Imperial and see them through to near completion.
"I think in an older urban area, there's a lot to be said for continuity," he said. "I'm sure there's people that think there's downfalls in that, having the same person in charge for 25 years. I'm not a believer in term limits because I think the public sets the terms. If the public doesn't want you around, they'll vote for someone else."
What critics say
Some complain that Turner's two decades in office have allowed him to consolidate his authority in every realm of the township. Turner counters that he's a hands-on mayor, just like any leader of an urban municipality who must address myriad issues.
"When you're mayor, you're like the town ombudsman. Whenever someone is told 'no' they make a beeline for their mayor," he said. "And so you're dealing with a variety of personal problems, and employment problems and housing problems and infrastructure problems."
Luis Zayas, an attorney well known for lobbing lawsuits at Hudson County municipalities and their leaders, has gone to bat against Turner numerous times. Zayas is currently representing Lt. Richard DeCosmis in a lawsuit that alleges that Turner and his political allies employ "mob-like" tactics to quash corruption allegations against the administration. In May 2014, the township settled a lawsuit filed by Zayas for $120,000. The township's former tax collector, John Fredericks, accused Turner in the lawsuit of overreaching his mayoral authority by illegally ordering high assessments of waterfront properties.
"Whenever anyone opposes him, he retaliates," Zayas said. "The mayor essentially controls and makes decisions on everything involving Weehawken."
David Corrigan, an attorney for the mayor, called the allegations false and said the court has rejected personal attacks launched by Zayas. He added that Turner is an effective mayor.
"How do you think he's stayed mayor for 25 years?" Corrigan said. "He's an effective leader of the town."
Intro to Weehawken
Turner started his career with the state Department of Community Affairs as an intern at age 23, eventually rising the ranks to serve as acting deputy director of the division of local governmental services. It was his role in Trenton that first brought him to Weehawken as the state-assigned township manager, and at the time, the township was a mess, plagued by financial troubles and a corrupt mayor.
In 1983, Weehawken Mayor Wally Lindsley was convicted of trying to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from developers who planned to build factories—including a chicken processing plant—along the waterfront. A former close friend, state Sen. David Friedland, testified against Lindsley, saying the mayor had threatened to kill the chicken-plant developer, according to a New York Times article from the time. If politics in the county already seemed like mobster-movie fodder, Friedland went on to fake his own death in a scuba diving accident and remained on the lam until federal authorities tracked him to an island in the Indian Ocean.
It was in this climate that Turner moved to Weehawken, in the neighborhood known as the Heights, from Hazlet in Monmouth County. The state took control of Weehawken's finances in 1982, replacing its entire council.
"The waterfront was in chaos," Turner said. "There was an administration from '78 to '82 that put the town into fiscal jeopardy, nearly bankruptcy."
Weehawken was released from state control in 1983, and Turner stayed on as town manager through 1985. He served as business administrator in North Bergen, and then returned as township manager in 1989. When Mayor Stanley Iacono opted not to run for reelection in 1990, Turner stepped in.
"When you're involved you want to have some continuity, you want to have some stability," he said. "So the thinking back then was, if Stanley wasn't going to run again, then we would ask me to stay since I had been part of the whole process of restructuring the town and putting the town on the right path, along with a lot of good people. When you've got a good team going, you don't want to lose momentum."
Though he's been in Weehawken for more than two decades, he keeps a relatively low public profile. He's a fixture at local press conferences, but often plays a supportive role as others take the podium. He doesn't openly discuss his wife, Eileen, and their two children, Richard and Kaitlyn, wanting to keep their lives together private. But once he starts talking about the township, he becomes personable and will speak at length, his responses measured and informed by years of working in government.
His connections in Hudson County run deep. He's served as business administrator in North Bergen and West New York, and currently works as Congressman Albi Sires' district director. Turner said networking is essential to his job as mayor, and over the years he's built strong relationships with neighboring municipalities.
"If you want some advice for what's going on, you make a phone call to Richard Turner," said North Bergen Mayor and state Sen. Nick Sacco. "I know I can trust his judgment, and he knows he can trust mine."
Sires called Turner one of the "brightest" people in politics and a pro at municipal budget matters. He said Turner is a very "hands-on mayor" who has worked hard to make positive changes in the township.
"The continuity is very obvious. The town has moved forward," he said. "People that want a term-limit mayor, I always find them to be wannabes."
The congressman, however, did have one criticism for Turner: his penchant for tardiness.
"Which drives me crazy because I'm always punctual," he said. "I'm going to buy him a watch so he can be on time."
Pros and cons of long-term mayors
The only time Turner faced a full-slate opposition was in 2002. The election—like many Hudson County municipal elections —was ugly, with much of the tension surrounding plans for Port Imperial. The challengers, the Weehawken Initiative Now slate, criticized the scale of the development plan as excessive for the township's size. The team at the time also criticized Turner for exercising too much power over the township, according to a Jersey Journal article from the time.
Turner's team swept the elections, winning by more than a 3-to-1 margin.
Ben Goldman, who ran against Turner in 2002, didn't have much to say about Turner 13 years later. He said the mayor is well-liked in the township and particularly adept at providing services to residents.
"He's extraordinarily effective. It's obviously easier to be effective when you have no opposition," he said. "He's a very effective politician. He knows how to get in power and stay in power."
Weehawken isn't alone in having the same person in charge for an extended period of time. The state's longest-serving mayor, Gerald Calabrese, ran Cliffside Park for 51 years. Surf City Mayor Leonard Connors has served nearly 50 years, and Elmwood Park Mayor Richard Mola comes close with 44 years in office.
Benjamin Dworkin, political science professor at Rider University and director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics, said that Hudson County has a tradition of long-term mayors. Nick Sacco has clocked in 24 years as North Bergen's mayor, and Brian Stack has been mayor of Union City for nearly 15 years. Frank Hague, one of Jersey City's most powerful mayors, ran the city for 30 years. Frank Rodgers was mayor of Harrison for 48 years.
"It's part of the political culture," Dworkin said. "It's a very intense job to be mayor and not everybody wants to do it forever. In Hudson County, the mayors are strong mayors where they really run the show. So, once you're there, it may be hard to give up."
Mayors who can stay in office for an extended period of time are in touch with their constituents, Dworkin said. Someone who has a deep knowledge of a community can enact change but also maintain a sense of stability. Yet a long-term mayor may discourage newcomers from taking a shot at leading the municipality, he said.
Turner said he still enjoys the position and will let residents decide when it's time for him to leave office.
"As long as you're current, you're moving things forward, you stay involved, people will support you," Turner said. "When the day comes that they think that's not going to happen, they'll support someone else."
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