Did Hoboken's Mayor Zimmer Hold Back Christie Allegations Due to Upcoming Election?

Due to the impeccable timing of Hoboken's mayor, Dawn Zimmer, coming forward with allegations of political extortion against an already embattled gov. Christie, her integrity is now under scrutiny by state and local republicans alike. But, her motives are also being questioned by fellow democrats. Like Hoboken councilwoman Beth Mason, who, while losing to Zimmer in two previous elections, does seem to have a point.

I'll be the first to admit I'm no fan of Mayor Zimmer. While she may have built a few more parks, the streets of Hoboken are arguably some of the worst in the country (imagine driving your car on the moon), the tow trucks and traffic cops patrol the streets 24/7 like the bureaucratic Walking Dead, and there's so much construction going on all around you, day-in-day-out, it's like living in post-war Iraq.

Having said that, I, personally, have no issue with the mayor's credibility as to whether she's telling the truth or not. I, for one, think she is. However, it can't be ignored that the reason she kept her mouth shut for the better part of last year was most likely due to the upcoming election.

Is there any other plausible explanation as to why someone apparently so dedicated to "truth and justice" waited almost a year to go public with a story about political bullying? Especially during a time when the entire nation was grieving for her town? If she had come forward last May, the entire world would have probably embraced her. But, that didn't happen. Instead, she kept the alleged threats to herself and said nothing, apparently letting everyone in town think we were getting all the aid we needed with little, if any, resistance.

To me, the only unbelievable part of her story is that she feared no one would believe her. Hogwash.

Mayor Zimmer is no political rookie. She knows exactly what she's doing. To the point, it's been contended by many residents up on local politics that the only reason Tim Occhipinti entered the 2013 mayoral race late - completely aware of the fact he had virtually no chance of winning - was at the behest of a Zimmer loyalist who allegedly promised favors in exchange for Occhipinti's "watering-down" of the votes for her biggest opponent, Ruben Ramos.

Whether or not that's true at this point is history. But it does give one pause to think if the mayor, who, on the outside claims she's committed to doing what's best for her city, in fact, did hold back from exposing the governor for her own political gain, she would be guilty of a diabolically negligent move, equivalent to a Katrina-sized cover-up. And, if you think about it, if the traffic scandal didn't come out, when, exactly, was she planning on coming forward?