PowerList
MASON RANKS 12TH ON HUDSON REPORTER’S POWER LIST#12: Beth Mason, Hoboken Councilwoman and Democratic Party donor (+, 14) – What influence Mason lost locally in 2013 she more than made up for in county and state circles. A staunch and perpetual critic of Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Mason took a chance in the mayoral election and helped to bankroll the campaign of one of the mayor’s challengers – losing big. Still, she toured Hoboken with future Sen. Booker (she was almost his opponent in the primaries after being courted by some party bigwigs to run for Lautenberg’s vacated seat) and hosted two of the year’s most well-attended political mixers. The second of the two, a dinner co-hosted with State Sen. President Steve Sweeney in Atlantic City during the League of Municipalities conference in November, was ranked highest n the Star-Ledger’s list of must-attend events.Connect
Thank you for visiting the official Beth Mason website. I’ve designed this website to make it easy for you to learn about me and my personal, political and civic activities on one website.
I was successful enough in my business career to have the ability to help my community as a member of city council and through civic activities. In fact, it was this success that made it possible to launch the Mason Civic League. I invite you to explore my website to learn more about me and the political, social and civic causes I support and how you can help.Welcome
In addition to being the Second Ward Councilperson, Beth Mason is a mom, a civic activist and an executive.
Beth and her husband Ricky moved to Hoboken nearly 30 years ago and decided to make this city their home and raise their two daughters here, Shipley and Virginia. The Mason’s are also proud of the
furriest member of their family, Hobo their beloved cocker spaniel. In her business career, Beth has been a public relations and advertising executive and an organizational strategist. Her clients have included many Fortune 500 companies. Beth’s work has been recognized by Who’s Who of Young American Professionals and International Who’s Who of Professional Business Women. Beth was the Vice President of a New York City Advertising Agency at age 28 and the President by age 31.
After Shipley and Virginia were born, Beth became more involved in local civic activities working with her neighbors to stop over development of their neighborhood. Beth wanted to protect the small town feel of Hoboken’s neighborhoods and worked to ensure that City Hall listened to residents, not just big time developers.
Beth and her neighbors took on the political machine and successfully championed good government initiatives that were felt not just in Hoboken but across the state. Beth won the right to have City Council and Board of Education meetings videotaped and televised at no cost to the taxpayers, so that ordinary people could see how their government was being run. In addition, Beth fought to make waitlists for public housing readily available at little or no cost so that potential tenants would be able to see where they stood on the list and to prevent the political machine from using public housing for political patronage. One of Beth’s greatest good government initiatives was working with the State Legislature to pass the Cost of Copy Bill. All too often political machines would charge exorbitant amounts of money for copies of documents in order to dissuade everyday people from seeing how their tax dollars were being spent. By helping to pass the Cost of Copy Bill Beth helped ensure that everyday people will not be priced out of participating in government.
Beth was elected to the City Council in 2007 and reelected in 2011, both times running as an independent Democrat that defeated her City Hall Machine backed opponent. Beth has served as the City Council President and oversaw the passage of landmark Campaign Finance Reforms.
On the Hoboken City Council, Beth has fought against over development and for the creation of more parks and open space in Hoboken. She worked with Hoboken’s Freeholder to champion the largest road resurfacing project in 2nd Ward history. In addition, Beth has fought to stop wasteful spending of taxpayers’ money by City Hall politicians and bureaucrats by serving as the taxpayers’ watchdog on the Council.
In 2011, Beth was the recipient of the Hoboken NAACP’s President Barack Obama Political Achievement Award. Having grown up during the Civil Rights Movement, Beth was inspired by the way ordinary people worked together to do extraordinary things and usher in an era of unparalleled change in our nation. Beth understands the importance of standing up for good government and the rights of everyday people no matter how big the challenge may be.
In addition, Beth has been involved in numerous non-profit and good government organizations. She served as the president of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government and is also a founding member of People for Open Government, a Hoboken-based nonpartisan civic association dedicated to more open government and campaign finance reform.
Beth is a recipient of the Community Service Award from the Hoboken Rotary Club, Hoboken Activist Award from the Hoboken Quality of Life Coalition, Christopher Columbus Award for Outstanding Community Service, and Common Cause New Jersey’s highest honor, the Suzanne Fremon Award. She and Ricky are long-time supporters of the Jubilee Center, the Hoboken Historical Museum and other local charities. The entire family is active in the United Synagogue of Hoboken.
Beth is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and has taken advanced courses at New York University’s Stern School of Business, The New School’s Milano School for Management and Urban Policy, and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.