Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken NJ -Serious, Focused and Christie's Polar Opposite

A New York Times profile of Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer reveals an honest politician who is serious and focused.

Right wing Fox News, of course, has been fixated on Zimmer's veracity, since challenging Governor Chris Christie's staff about creating a quid pro quo dilemma about Hoboken's share of Hurricane Sandy relief money. 

Yet, there's no evidence from those  interviewed by The Times to indicate she's guilty of misrepresenting the truth.

I was surprised to learn how Mayor Zimmer was born in Towson, Maryland, a community familiar to me and my Baltimore colleagues. Anyone from Baltimore will be familiar with the county seat of Baltimore County, outside of the city. Moreover, she grew up in Laconia, NH, a picturesque community near the state's beautiful White Mountains. She was a teacher in Japan. Also interesting is how Hoboken citizens sought her out to get involved in community activism, especially to improve the quality of life by providing more park space in the fourth most congested US city.  

Obviously, a person who came to leadership because she was passionately in support of parks over development wasn't overjoyed when Governor Christie's Lt. Governor Guadagno asked her to support a redevelopment proposal with tax support for a proposal from The Rockefeller Group (says Zimmer). Guadagno certainly comes across as strong arming the Mayor, given that her strident point of view on development was well known.

Fox News wants Mayor Zimmer's credibility to be called into question, but I only see uncompromising truth in her profile. 

Obviously, Christie met his political opposite when he crossed paths with Mayor Zimmer. They are polar opposites. Frankly, they should have remained at opposite ends of their respective political worlds. But, they were tossed together in the storm surge caused by Hurricane Sandy.

While Christie enjoys being an uncompromising bully on the right, Zimmer appears to be his equal and opposite on the left. 

Truth often gets overridden in toxic political climates, but Mayor Zimmer has clearly documented her version of the quid pro quo she was proposed with, as a condition for Hoboken to receive a share of Sandy relief money. She's a metaphorical David going up against the Goliath Governor. But, she's also telling the truth. So, what's the polar opposite of truth? It's Governor Christie's juggernaut.