Update: MYSTERY SOLVED re: DeFusco fundraiser (invitation)

Guess what?

One of GA's sources who provided the invitation (yes, more than one) contacted me to say the invitation was STILL on Facebook!

In fact, it is only visible to Facebook "friends"...  which explains the reported "disappearance."

Wow, if only all mysteries were this easy to solve!  

For example, the mystery of fundraising to elect a candidate when the campaign account is capped at $5,100 in donations?

Or the mystery of why persons solicited for donations allege being assured the candidate was "on Zimmer's team"?  
_________________________

June 2016: Hoboken City Hall pays respects to victims of the Orlando gay nightclub massacre with flags at half mast 

I've got a mystery for you.

The invitation below was 'live' on Facebook around 7PM yesterday.

Then... ZZZZAP!   It was gone.

Demetrius Terry, served as Legislate Aide to Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia from March 2016-January 2016. 

Yep, it went missing last night.

Meanwhile, did you notice what was missing on the missing invitation?

The "make checks payable to..." part, otherwise known as the: "who am I paying?" part.

Maybe the invite was taken down to add that stuff.  Though, it may be more complicated...

GA noted on Monday that DeFusco for City Council's 2019 campaign total aggregate donation limit is  $5,100.  So, if DeFusco gets contributions for a new campaign (the 2017 Hoboken mayoral, for example) he has 10 days to file a D-1.

Rules, rules, rules!

Anyway, who is "Special Guest" Ed Potosnak?

He's an impressive guy; his bio reads:
"Ed is Executive Director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, the leading political voice for the environment. Ed is also Chair of the New Jersey Keep it Green Coalition, New Jersey State Lead for the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, Part-Time Lecturer at Rutgers University, a member of the Rutgers Glee Club Alumni Advisory Committee, and serves as President of the Franklin Township Board of Education."
Wow.  It gets better...

When Potosnak came under fire by a fellow Franklin Township School Board Trustee for remarks he  made to  the 2015 graduating class of Franklin High School; Ed Potosnak refused to resign.  

What did Potosnak tell the graduating high school class, that so pissed off his colleague?

Potosnak, who is gay, called for a more inclusive, stronger society "in which gay and lesbian couples have a fundamental right to marry, no longer may this liberty be denied for them... there will be no discrimination on the basis of your sexual orientation.... our country is counting on you... you are going to change the world."

Bravo! 

GA endorses every word:


You know, there may be a lot of political infighting in Hoboken, but one thing holds true: no matter which faction one belongs to, we ALL support LGBTQ rights.

All of us.

Hoboken residents (except for a few stupid ones) stand loud and proud with our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. That's right, we stand WITH you.

These are a few of my pics from 2016's NYC Pride Parade.


We love our LGBTQ vets
Take that, TRUMP. 
Never too old to celebrate PRIDE.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
NEVER FORGET.

Comments

  1. Hmm. Mike certainly hasn't been acting like he's "on Zimmer's team". Far from it.

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  2. An elected official that happens to be gay is having a pride fundraiser. What's the big deal?

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    1. Really? You mean he's fundraising for the GMHC? The NYC Anti Violence Project? The True Colors Fund? The Human Rights Campaign?

      No, he's raising money for himself, for his next political campaign. Which is no big deal. Thats what politicians do. And he should be treated like everyone else in the game. Why is it a problem to ask WHAT is he soliciting donations FOR? it's a fair question.

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    2. Is the fact that Michael DeFusco is gay the only reason that this LGBTQ group is raising funds for him ? Is this just a ploy to avoid the election funding rules and regulations ?

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  3. Most hoboken people aren't facebook friends with this kiD from Jersey city. who is even going to see the invitation? I guess they're targeting donors from outside hoboken.

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  4. Go figure -- more fake news! If you look at the electronic donation page it says "your contribution will benefit NJ LGBT Democrats". Wow, figure that, a progressive gay councilman helping a progressive gay cause.

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    1. What "electronic donation" page? Any Democrat in particular, like one in Hoboken? Is that the progressive gay cause? You know, for helping progressive gay Dems there is a real political organization called "NJ LGBT Democratic Caucus" that fundraises for NJ LGBT Dems. Maybe that "electronic donation page" should link to the caucus or a verifiable progressive cause- there are many.

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    2. It's called transparency. Ok, you're saying he's raising money for other Dems. Where do these gifts get reported?

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    3. Interesting. Are you saying that this donation page doesn't identify the name of the organization people are being asked to donate to - it provides just a vague description of a supposed cause?

      My guess is it's a brand new "superPac" being formed to provide "independent" support for Mr. DeFusco's campaign.

      Donors like developers and unions trying to circumvent campaign finance and pay to play limits and disclosure rules would of course know the purpose of this new noble sounding organization, but others might be deceived by the noble sounding goal.

      After all, Hoboken's current Mayor is well known as a lomg time supporter of LGBTA rights, so supporters of LGBTA rights would be more likely to direct their financial support elsewhere if they knew their contributions were intended for use in a campaign to unseat her stage managed by Joey Muniz and other Hudson County hacks. I wonder if the "special Guest" even knows what he's special guesting. My guess is that he doesn't.

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  5. A gay politician raising funds for gay politicians; A sikh politician raising funds for sikh politicians (is that what councilman bhalla does all the time with all of those fundraisers?) Everybody posting is acting like there's some criminal conspiracy. At most someone other than Zimmer is running for mayor or a councilman is raising funds for future council elections. I don't know and I don't care. If anyone has a problem with the whole "where are the funds going thin:, don't go and don't write a check. Could it be any simpler than that?

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  6. Whats he waiting for? Announce and raise $ as DeFusco for Mayor. Not everybody loves Dawn.

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  7. Hey now, Ravi's having a fundraiser in Newark this Friday where Joseph Hayden (aka Cammarano's defense attorney) is a special guest. Things that make you go, hmmmmmm........

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    1. Bhalla's fundraising is completely transparent. He filed his D-1 in 2015 for the Hoboken municipal election on Nov 7, 2017.

      What election day is DeFusco fundraising for- one in 2017 or 2019? Is he telling his donors the contributions are for him specifically or a "progressive cause"?

      I am told there is no "electronic contributions" page linked on the Facebook invitation. Feel free to post the link here.

      As for Hayden, he's had a long distinguished legal career in NJ. He was the NJ Deputy Attorney General in the Organized Crime and Special Prosecution Section of the Division of Criminal Justice before he became a defense attorney. Not sure why you are disparaging him. Dunno if you want to go "there".

      Please post the "electronic contributions" link. Thank you.

      Delete
  8. It's 2017. Running as the "gay candidate" to drum up progressive votes, when you have no track record serving the LGBT community or your own ward...is transparent, obvious and the lowest form of pandering.

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  9. I'm a facebook friend of Mr. Terry and I couldn't find the electronic donation link anywhere. Can someone provide the link? If the fund is for supporting candidates who support LGBTA rights like the above poster said (especially if they're running against a Trumpian), I'd like to make a $200 donation but I can't figure out how to do it.

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  10. He is a gay elected official. If he runs for office he'll be a gay candidate. Ravi Bhalla is a sikh. If he runs for office he'll be a sikh candidate. Dawn Zimmer is jewish. If she runs for office she'll be a jewish candidate. (and there has been press sighting that she's the first jewish mayor of hudson county stuff and she's interviewed for jewish publications sighting her jewish faith). I just don't get what everybody is crazed about.

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    1. If your not-favorite person Zimmer held a fundraiser for "Jewish Pride" claiming the money was going to NJ Jewish candidates but really the money was going into her coffers, you might ask "why?" Nobody's "crazed"- just asking why? Im guessing a new PAC is behind this.

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    2. As long as he's telling potential donors what office he's running for and their contributions go into an ELEC account for that office, I don't think anyone would have a problem. He's certainly entitled to try to use his sexual orientation as a fundraising tool if he chooses to, just as others are entitled to form judgments about that and pretty much anything he does as he panders for money and votes.

      But if GA is correct Mr. DeFusco isn't presenting himself as a Gay candidate for mayor but he is lying about the office he's running for, the "team" he is part of, and the purpose for which donations will be used. Telling people you're raising money for a council race as part of the mayor's "team" who happens to be Gay when you're really raising money to run against her despite her strong record supporting LGBTA rights is kinda like lying.

      It's the lying that people are taking issue with, not his right to run for mayor honestly raising legitimate issues. Maybe instead of presenting himself as a Gay councilman he should run as a liar and hold a fundraiser where he asks other liars to help elect more candidates who lie.

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  11. Why is the fundraiser being promoted on Mr. Terry's facebook page but not on Councilman DeFusco's own facebook pages (he has two of them). That seems a bit strange doesn't it? Usually you do everything you can to promote fundraisers so people will know about it and donate. This one seems to be meant to be below the radar. Odd.


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  12. A candidate who can't be honest about his fundraising won't govern honestly.

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  13. When running against incumbent Castellano, DeFusco made quite a stink about his sexual orientation even being mentioned.

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  14. Someone bring me some popcorn

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  15. Hope this is a real event. These are serious times. There was a bias crime at Hudson Pride HQ this week. Surely these Pride Night Out folks know about it. It's not an abstract notion of gay democrats. It's our Hudson County neighbors.

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  16. What is it with this guy? Mike can't seem to get out of his own way lately, one misfire and stumble after another. I seriously question what kind of mayor he'd be, if past performance is indicative of anything.

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  17. Someone should ask Mr. Terry if by current administration, he means the mayor. If he means anyone above the mayoral level, then I would suggest this is a disgusting attempt to pander and generate donations from out of town. Probably something he will have to do anyway as I doubt any of the local reformers will give a dime to this twit.

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  18. Anyone who is connected to Carmelo Garcia in my estimation is automatically suspect of being shady.

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