The outgoing members of the Bayonne City Council, who either retired or lost re-election, bid their adieus – as did the city planner – at last week’s meeting.
Bayonne Interim Mayor Robert Kubert and City Planner Suzanne Mack. Screenshot via the City of Bayonne.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
At the June 17th council meeting, Interim Mayor Robert Kubert, who took over for former Mayor James Davis when he was sworn in as the Hudson County Sheriff earlier this year, presented a proclamation to each of the outgoing council members.
“Tonight was a perfect example of what you do. Sometimes you stick to your guns, sometimes you change your minds like what happened here tonight. But no matter what it is … you always have the interest of those you serve, your constituents, the citizens of Bayonne,” Kubert said.
“You always do what you think is right for them. You put your own personal feelings aside, and you really work hard. I see us here all day working on different things, and you put a lot of time in.”
Council President Gary La Pelusa thanked Kubert for his service as well, before Kubert presented the proclamations declaring that date Recognize the Council Day.
“I think he deserves to be honored as well, because he really held the city together for his time here, and he should be commended on all his service as well,” La Pelusa said.
Councilman at-Large Loyad Booker, who lost handily to Mayor-elect Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski last month, thanked his colleagues and constituents during his off the cuff the remarks.
“The fact of the matter is, working with this council has been pretty special to me. “Listen, my best interest has always been the City of Bayonne. Sometimes we got it wrong. A lot of times we got it right. And we’re not perfect,” he explained.
“But again, I’m going to stand by the fact that I think we did a fantastic job and I think we kept the best interests in the City of Bayonne on this dais. We did not always do it right. We did not make everybody happy. But I’m just saying it’s been one of the proudest moments of my life serving the City of Bayonne.”
2nd Ward Councilwoman Jackie Weimmer, who did not seek re-election, expressed her gratitude for working with her colleagues and constituents for the betterment of Bayonne.
“Throughout our four years here, we have made some everlasting friendships, have overcome some tremendous challenges, and had to pull together to work as a team- which was probably one of those tremendous challenges, sometimes easier said than done,” she stated.
“But I must say, I did meet some very influential people that had a tremendous influence on my life, who helped me realize what our city really needed and things that my eyes were not open to previously- not because I didn’t want to be, but because I wasn’t aware… My intent was to come in to help and perhaps make a difference. I hope that my efforts did do that.”
Councilman At-Large Juan Perez, who also did not seek re-election, stated it was an honor and privilege to serve Bayonne on the council for three terms after retiring as Hudson County sheriff.
“I worked for the people of Bayonne. I helped them as much as I could. Was I perfect? No. Did I make mistakes? Yes. But my intention was the people of Bayonne and to take care of the people of Bayonne. I’m so proud,” he declared.
” … When I came in … people were losing money on their houses because they had to sell it like less. As soon as we started getting here and we started investing for development, everything started moving up … So it’s going up. It’s good.”
Carroll, who ran and lost with Booker, said that the city means a lot to him and his family, having first ran eight years ago because public service has been a theme in his family since the 1960s.
“Whether it was my great-grandfather serving as chief of police, a grandfather serving with the Congress and with the board of freeholders, and the board of education, and then on the City Council, I just hope that I’ve done enough to keep my family proud when I look them in the eye and my wife when I look her in the eye,” Carroll said.
“It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve. It’s been nourishing to the soul, even when the meetings go on for hours about things you may or may not have control over and when the complaints come in about … all those things that tend to make people angry. I am proud this council didn’t kick the can to another administration, but did the work that needed doing.”
La Pelusa, who ran with Booker and made the runoff but conceded, rounded out the remarks, noting he has served as an elected official in Bayonne for 23 years and thanking supporters, friends, and family.
“I got into this because I live uptown and uptown was always the red-headed step-sister that didn’t get treated very well,” he began.
“Most of the politicians were from downtown, everything happened downtown. And so I was happy to get the tree lighting and we started one of the parades uptown … I’ve lived my whole life uptown and I’m very proud of that, and I’m very proud of the things that we’ve gotten done.”
According to La Pelusa, he has been able to help a “tremendous” amount of people during his time in office, stating that the council “moved Bayonne forward” including new development at the former Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY), which he called “incredible” and “unbelievable.”
La Pelusa also underscored renovations made to every municipal park including $5 million in renovation to Russell Golding Park- which was brand new when he was four years old but since fell into disarray before the current construction that broke ground in May.
In conclusion, La Pelusa thanked Kubert for his service, as well as the various department directors, others he worked with, and constituents, and wished the new council and Ashe-Nadrowski luck, calling the role a challenge but “the hardest job you’ll ever love.”
Before the outgoing City Council said goodbye from the dais for the last time, the city honored retiring City Planner Suzanne Mack with a mayoral proclamation read aloud by Kubert.
Mack is retiring on July 1st after 28 years of service at the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority, serving as chief planner and managing a variety of issues for Bayonne from redevelopment to affordable housing to transportation and federal and state grants.
“Thanks to her, Bayonne received millions of dollars in federal and state funds,” Kubert said.
Mack has previously served as the executive director of the Hudson Transportation Management and also chaired the North Jersey Advisory Board of NJ Transit since 1989, being a certified transportation planner and affordable housing professional in Hudson County.
She is also the former president and longest serving trustee at the Jersey City Board of Education, and for her service to Bayonne, Kubert declared June 17th, 2026 as Suzanne Mack Day.
“All the parks that she got done, she’s amazing. She’s known throughout the state as being very efficient. She knows what she’s doing. And she’s very persuasive,” he added.