What did Harry do now?

Alpha councilman insults Pohatcong Township mayor on social-networking site

Yes, it's true - I called Mayor Babinsky of Pohatcong Township a tool.  Did I compare him to Hugo Chavez ?  Oh yeah, I did that too.  Here's the back story - A few years ago Alpha agreed to disband our Police Department and contract with Pohatcong for police coverage.  The agreement is working and, I believe, both municipalities are happy or, at the very least, content.  Since then, whenever we (Alpha) proposed an idea for sharing services, Pohatcong put the kibosh to it - it was always their way or no way.  Alpha has wanted to share our Public Works Department, Code Enforcement Officer and now brush disposal - all of which would save money for both municipalities.  I was fed up and I let my feelings be known to the 'Twitterverse'.  Anyway, as I said, it is what it is.  

I wish 'The Express-Times' would have used a better photo of me.  :-)

Alpha Councilman Harry Zikas' indiscreet 'tweet' lands him in hot water

By PRECIOUS PETTY
The Express-Times

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Elected officials who use Twitter will tell you that the increasingly popular social-networking tool is an excellent way to communicate with constituents and keep the public apprised of their every move.

What politicians won't tell you -- perhaps because many don't realize it until after the fact -- is that some "tweets," a term for Twitter updates, are better kept to oneself.

Capitol Hill's elite learned that lesson last week when some members of Congress used their BlackBerrys to Twitter about everything except the nation's financial crisis as President Barack Obama addressed them on that very topic.

Alpha Councilman Harry Zikas Jr., who became New Jersey's youngest mayor when he was sworn in at age 21 in 2000, learned that lesson this week.

Pohatcong Township "Mayor Babinsky is a tool," Zikas wrote in a tweet published to the Web about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday. "There, I said it."

Zikas continued, writing "He is the Hugo Chavez of Warren County," comparing Stephen Babinsky with the controversial Venezuelan president.

Babinsky, at a Tuesday evening township meeting, had objected to a shared-services agreement proposed by Alpha, saying it's too complicated.

Zikas, 30, didn't attend the meeting. He read about it on lehighvalleylive.com then shared his thoughts via Twitter.

A few minutes later Zikas removed the post and replaced it with a gripe about the borough's past dealings with Pohatcong Township.

By then all 65 of his Twitter followers had received the original update.

Babinsky doesn't use Twitter, but he did have something to say about Zikas' tweet Wednesday afternoon. He delivered his message the old-fashioned way -- over the phone.

"If he's got a problem, he should call me. He should try to work it out instead of hiding behind a computer screen," the mayor said, adding that he doesn't have beef with Zikas.

"I've got more important things to worry about than this stuff," Babinsky said. "It's childish."

Babinsky, Zikas said, is hard to get along with because he puts township residents first, often at the expense of borough residents.

The update wasn't intended to offend Babinsky or anyone else, he said.

"It is what it is," he said. "No regrets. At the time, it was exactly what I was thinking."

Zikas, who delivered tweet-by-tweet coverage of Alpha's last council meeting, said he thinks Twitter is an amazing tool that he doesn't intend to stop using anytime soon.

"I absolutely see the value in it as far as communicating and being as open as possible," he said.

Reporter Precious Petty can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at ppetty@express-times.com.

Just pondering:  I kind of miss Mayor Mary Van Lieu. - HZ