When the Zisas came to power

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Here's another detailed recollection of Hackensack's past -- the election that consolidated the Zisas' power. This is from  just watching, a contributor to Hackensacknow.org. Of course, you won't find anything like this in The Record, which bid farewell to Hackensack when it moved to Woodland Park last year.

"Of course, there were more issues in the 1989 election such as the recent re-evaluation that occurred right before the real estate market tanked, causing so many houses to be over-valued (interesting pattern, since it just happened again).  And there were four complete slates running in 1989.  It cannot be understated how much the local Democratic organization was divided by the election, and how people like Daniel Kirsch wound up on D'Arminio's ticket.

"The Zisas were considered a breath of fresh air, a "clean sweep" over the stagnancy of the Fred Cerbo Administration. Cerbo was a former mail carrier who somehow rose thru the ranks of the US Postal Department, and then decided to get into politics. He had no people skills, and was once denounced by the ACLU for plotting against a school teacher circulating recall petitions. They referred to him as the Mayor of Moscow.  There were no glory days before the Zisas came to power.

"The Zisas and their political associates were good people when they came to power in 1989. They were young, energetic, and committed to preserving neighborhoods, zoning, and the environment.  They had strong family values, and four of the five elected in 1989 had children in the city's school system (the exception being Sandra Robinson). They were bursting at the seams with new ideas. They had tremendous vision for the city's future, and they wanted to stop urban decline and the spread of inner city problems. 

"In 1989, Ken Zisa was a low-ranking police officer in charge of interacting with the city's youth. By all accounts, he excelled at that task.  Jack Zisa was a young accountant in his 30s working out of a humble little office on Hudson Street, and son of a former Mayor.  First Cousin, Joe Zisa, was an attorney, son of a former city judge, with dreams of following in his footsteps.

"What happened to the Zisas? Why did  they change?.  Why did all this happen?"

Homer Jones, another contributor to Hackensacknow.org, offers this in answer to those questions:

"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

(Photo: Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack.)