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: : ROAD SHOW 
: : First for Jersey City: Lipski campaigns for mayoralty in RV, going ward by ward 
: : Monday, October 04, 2004
: : By Bonnie Friedman
: : Journal staff writer 
: : Mayoral candidate Steve Lipski is taking his message to the street. 

: : Literally. 

: :  
: : The city councilman plans to spend every day until the Nov. 2 special election canvassing Jersey City's six wards, living, working and sleeping out of a 34-foot recreational vehicle dubbed the "Reform Vehicle Express." 

: : "I don't think there is a better approach than to invite people to come in and have a cup of coffee and discuss the issues," Lipski said. "This is as grass roots as it gets." 

: : While presidential candidates often use buses to travel long distances, Lipski said he got the idea to scale down the operation after reading about Corey Booker, a mayoral candidate from Newark who campaigned out of an RV in 2001. 

: : In 1988, former Jersey City Mayor Tommy Smith used a converted school bus with a mock-up of the Statue of Liberty as a campaign tool, said Robert Byrne, Jersey City clerk. But Lipski, who is holed up in the RV until election day, appears to be the first candidate in Jersey City to take this particular tack, Byrne said. 

: : A former Boy Scout and outdoor enthusiast, Lipski said he jumped at the chance to take the campaign on the road. 

: : "When I was a Boy Scout, we used to sleep on the floor," Lipski said. "My wife and I love camping, and this is like urban camping." 

: : 
: : And the voters seem to love it too. 

: : As the RV rolls by, most passersby can't help but crack a smile. 

: : "It makes me curious as to who he is," said Denise Lynn, 42, who was waiting for a bus near the Grove Street PATH station when the RV pulled past. "I think it's good because it's getting his name out." 

: : But not everyone is so fond of the spectacle, particularly the noise - the RV blares Lipski's campaign slogan, playing it over and over and over and over. 

: : "To tell you the truth, it's annoying as hell," said Charles Shoop, 45, an elevator mechanic from Teaneck. "That recorded message is like listening to canned laughter." 

: : But Lipski believes that the message will grab voters and, if elected, he wants to use either public or private funds to implement a mobile mayor's office. 

: : "For too long, party bosses of Jersey City and Hudson County have been mismanaging the government and the city to make it look like Bosnia or a war-zone," Lipski said. "By my coming into your area, I am saying, 'help is on the way.'" 

: : The venture is innovative, but not cheap. 

: : In addition to shelling out $10,613.24 to rent the RV for seven weeks, Lipski spent another $8,500 to get the vehicle "wrapped" with his picture and slogan. But the money will be well-spent, Lipski said, if it proves to voters that he is serious about the race. 

: : "You don't spend $20,000 on a publicity stunt," said Lipski, who noted that he has collected $125,000 in donations thus far. "This is a call to my colleagues and to myself that the people of Jersey City deserve better." 

: : He has endowed the RV with all the comforts of home, including "Grateful Dead" CDs, books, bed sheets, and fresh-cut flowers from his wife. 

: : When in need of inspiration, he fingers his rosary beads or glances at a button depicting the late Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham's marshal star. The button is pinned to the console above the dining area. 

: : "Glenn Cunningham, to me, was a true friend," Lipski said. "It reminds me of all the good he did and how great our city can be." 

: : But life on the road isn't always easy. 

: : Tuesday's torrential rainstorm wreaked havoc on the RV, and once a week, Lipski is charged with cleaning up a different kind of mess: emptying out the vehicle's waste system. 

: : For meals, the candidate feasts on protein shakes and frozen dinners, often stopping at a deli or a chain restaurant for additional provisions. 

: : At night, Lipski turns in, in his queen-sized bed in the back of the RV, while a handful of staffers nestle into their pull-out sofas up front. 

: : Lipski said he tries to spend each night in a different ward, though he is hesitant to say where for fear that an opponent will vandalize the outside of the RV. 

: : And he has run into a fair share of problems. Last week, while parked behind the county superintendent's office in Secaucus, a sheriff's officer hassled him about leaving the car on county property. 

: : "There is no law on the books that says I can't park here," Lipski said. "Under my watch, everyone's civil rights will be protected." 

: : Some days he is joined by his wife, Yraida, a dental hygienist pursuing a dental degree at New Jersey City University. 

: : Though she doesn't spend every night in the RV, Yraida Lipski said she does enjoy the experience. 

: : "When we go camping, I am used to sleeping on the floor," she said. "So this is nice. This is like a hotel room for me." 

: : For the Lipskis, the campaign is a family affair. 

: : On a recent afternoon, Steve passed out fliers at a supermarket while Yraida helped to register voters. 

: : Though she never planned on becoming a politician's wife, Yraida Lipski, a native of the Dominican Republic, said the new role would not change her. 

: : "I am a simple person and I'm not going to change for anyone," she said. "I'm going to just be myself." 

: : While Yraida Lipski offers quiet support from the sidelines, Steve Lipski relishes the spotlight, often speaking to voters in Spanish or Arabic, or catching up with an old friend. 

: : "I know he could really help people," said Yraida Lipski. "He has a charisma and everyone has fun with him." 


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