What kind of Democrat- one who purports to be an LGBTQ civil rights activist- would choose a running mate whose donations helped elect a Republican hellbent on crushing LGBTQ rights?
Faux outrage is a Mike DeFusco press release scolding Jen Giattino for not filing a Quarterly ELEC when she is not required to by the letter of the law.
Real outrage is Mike DeFusco running with a Trump donor who, according to Hudson County View, was" ...instrumental in the strong fundraising quarter, writing a $20,000 loan to his council campaign on June 28th, while and he and his wife both wrote a $2,600 check to DeFusco’s mayoral campaign on the following day."
Now we know DeFusco's price. And another thing...
All of the folks who want to pretend the backdrop of the Trump administration in Hoboken's non-partisan elections is irrelevant, pass me what you're smoking.
As mayoral candidate Ravi Bhalla said last night, "what impacts us on a national level impacts us on a local level."
Bhalla should know.
His in-laws live in one of Trump's seven "banned" countries; they visit Hoboken every couple of years.
When Trump's travel ban was implemented, Bindya's parents who'd been planning a visit, were not able to obtain a travel VISA to come to Hoboken to see their daughter Bindya, Ravi and grandkids, Arza and Shebaugh.
But not for American patriots who stood up for the U.S. Constitution: the ACLU, Attorney Generals in 16 states, and the Ninth Circuit Court, his in-laws would not have been there last night to witness the opening of Ravi's campaign headquarters. GA met both- delightful people!
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| THE DADS: left- Ravi's pop, right- Bindya's pop (victimized by Trump travel ban) |
So understanding how Trump's policies do hurt Hoboken's residents has a personal dimension for Bhalla.
But he didn't talk about himself last night- he spoke about us, Hoboken residents. Here's what he said about the impact of national policies on us.
"What happens to us on the national level, impacts us on the local level. We all know that climate change is not a hoax because we felt the effects of Superstorm Sandy. We all know that issues like marriage equality impacts the residents of Hoboken, we know that the travel ban impacts the residents of Hoboken, so you can count on me as a mayor to make sure that whether its on the local level, state level of national level I will stand up for the residents of Hoboken, and protect our interests no matter what."Ravi's remarks can be heard in full below:
So you have it!
On another topic, GA's gotten email communications from Hoboken Democratic Committee folks anxious to dispel recent online rumor-mongering.
The rumor is that a coup is being planned to depose the Chair, Tiffanie Fisher, because she is the defacto campaign manager for a Republican candidate (Jen Giattino) and is not supporting a Reform Democrat (Ravi Bhalla). According to folks who should know, there is no truth to this paranoid gossip.
An excerpt from one letter:
"I'm not sure where he's [MSV] getting his information... there's no plan to remove Tiffanie Fisher as chair. If there were, I'm pretty sure I would know about it... because I've been actively coordinating with other Democratic Committee members, including other leaders, to decide how to respond to her actions. When we last spoke about this, we came to a conclusion not to do anything. So if there is a plan to remove Tiffanie as chair, it would be news to me. There might be only one person in town who could now try to push the Committee in that direction, but if she wanted to do that, I would assume it would have happened weeks ago. I also just confirmed from someone with the Mayor that the story is imaginary. So I'm not sure who this coup would be led by."Perhaps the reason why the rumormonger-er is getting "radio silence" is because no one cares to dignify baseless gossip.
One more thing... GA got a little more dish on the Brian Stack story. Apparently what sent Stack reeling was the presence of former Union City Deputy Police Chief Joseph Blaettler at Hoboken mayoral candidate Anthony 'Stick' Romano's kick-off.
A Google search will yield all you need to know about the bad blood between Stack and Blaettler.
What's more interesting to GA is who invited Blaettler? Did a Stick-rival dispatch him to the party to make trouble for Romano? Could it be a friend of Hoboken candidate Mike DeFusco?
And did you know that DeFusco got a $2,000 donation from a Jersey City cop who lives in North Bergen? Yeah, that happens.
Which begs another question: are Nicky and Joey still in the mix?
BTw the countries banned are Somalia , Sudan , Libya , Yemen , Iran , Iraq (now off the list ) and Syria . I doubt they live in any of those countries . I would assume they are from India ? Who's not been banned . Am I missing something ?
ReplyDeleteNot at all. His in-laws are residents in one of those countries you named. I lived in Japan for 2 years- I'm not Japanese!
DeleteHO, - The seven countries on the temporary ban list have no central operating governments of any reliability for issuing visas and others are known hostile states exporting terrorism (Iran).
DeleteThe Supreme Court has reinstated the temporary ban and allowed relatives to visit in the US. Ravi has relatives in Iran, the nation that regularly holds public demonstrations they will destroy the Great Satan. That would be us.
By the way, Japan has a real permanent ban from many Muslim nations and controls its borders. They like certain countries in Europe who are diligent do not suffer terrorist attacks and the murder and massive rapes of their citizens. The US has the same rights as Japan or any sovereign nation see protected its citizens.
Some Constitutionalists might even say, the first authority of the federal government is to protect its citizens.
Little important facts left out to push for partisanship in a non-partisan election. Not a surprise though the Supreme Court ruling was left out.
Which candidate is seeking to leverage hyper partisanship in a non-partisan municipal election?
Um, Japan doesn't have "borders" it is an island nation- thousands of islands.
DeleteI'm not interested in Japan's immigration policy, completely off-topic. Your innuendo about Ravi's family abroad is pretty disgusting. Enough said. Don't you have your own web site to play on?
Well , first .. what's the law behind it ? The fact that it's a non partisan election ? Plus didn't help that the current administration changed the format to include anyone who one day woke up thinking .."I'm running for mayor today " (and I can name at least 5 candidates ) so it became less partisan sort of speaking .
DeleteMy candidate does not support Trump , he is a member of the LGBTQI community , has no direct links to Trump unlike other candidates who have been directly involved with Republicans (Such as Christie ) so .. I think another candidate's face should be next to Trump on that picture .
Hobokened Out, that may be true about your candidate- that he does not support Trump. But he does have a "direct link" to Trump by virtue of selecting a Tea Party Republican, who then jumped on the Trump Train when Rand Paul lost the Republican Primary. Obviously, Flett voted for Trump. Which means he endorses Trump's policies and his 'worldview.' So, the question is, why would an LGBTQ activist hook up with a Tea Party Republican/Trump donor? It MATTERS. Ever seen the hostility Tea Party Republicans have shown the LGBTQ community at their rallies?
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DeleteAttacks on your hostess will not be tolerated. Since I can't seem to "protect my cyber-borders" from terrorism, I expect you to be courteous to your hostess.
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DeleteHappy 5th SLAPP-iversary. Feel free to attack me on your site. Say whatever you want about me/this site on your own. Call me the Queen of Censorship. I wont complain. I don't care. I haven't commented on MSV in over a week- and I won't. This is not your site. You don't call the shots. You have your forum to say whatever you want- you've attacked this site there and guess what? I don't care.
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DeleteLOL! i was busy yesterday and missed all this drama. while i admit to a mild level of curiosity as to what went down, in reality my life is so much better for not witnessing it.
Deletethere's an old saying among cat owners: "the most effective way to deal with a cat with a stinky butt is to increase the distance between your nose and the cat's butt."
And tell me again the relationship between Zimmer and Christie ? She decided to throw him under the bus after elections .. "an ethical obligation to come forward " .
ReplyDelete"it is very clear partisan politics are at play as Democratic mayors with a political ax to grind come out of the woodwork and try to get their faces on television " Colin Reed , a spokesman for the governor , said in a statement , noting Zimmer's past praise for the governor - who is pro Trump .
You know who else is pro trump ? Your dearest friend , roman Bryce
ReplyDeleteHobokened Out, this post seems to have you in a tizzy. How come?
DeleteLittle tell when the committeeman can't even sign his name to no knowledge of the coup plot against Tiffanie Fisher.
ReplyDeleteMSV did not label any aspect of its story "a rumor." It has a rumor column called "Grist for the Mill." This story stood alone based on independent sources. Any claim by anyone that it was a rumor is 100% false.
Someone "with the mayor" says it's not true? Who would that someone be? Not a single person contacted with come out of hiding to even issue a non-denial denial. Nothing from the mayor's office, nothing from the mayor, nothing from the Bhalla campaign and nothing from others contacted.
MSV stands by its story. #Winning!
http://www.hobokenhorse.com/2017/07/hoboken-democratic-committee-weaponized.html
So Hoboken doesn't need that $230 million for Rebuild by Design flood protection work anymore? Good to know. Yes, by all means keep hyping the hyper partisanship to win in November.
Not a lot of self awareness over at the barn these days. maybe it's something in the hay.
DeleteNot a lot of self-awareness among some finger pointers who screwed the pooch.
DeleteMaybe it's something in the water at City Hall.
You're making an accusation, but you're not providing any evidence for it. You're not even hinting at who your source is. Or providing a quote. You're just asserting that you've heard this. At least GA provided a quote, and allowed readers to know how the person might have the information she/he claims. You've provided nothing. And then you attack saying that she hasn't provided enough background? Why don't you provide some of your own.
DeleteAlso, if someone were planning to remove Tiffanie, why would they tell you, of all people, about it?
And have you considered that if people aren't responding to you, it could be (just possibly) because they see you as a hostile/biased news source, and also don't like having to deny every rumor that comes along?
MSV stands by the story. I don't want to be falsely accused of spamming or attacking so more on this at: http://www.hobokenhorse.com/2017/07/hcv-ravi-bhalla-national-candidate.html
Deleteand will follow in comments. Good day and good luck to you and your candidate.
Falsely accused of spamming? In a thread where you posted 11 times? And tried desperately to promote your own site on GA's dime?
DeleteSeems like GA is staying out of your barn. If you stay out of her house you each can go back to expressing your opinions to whoever chooses to go read them.
I don't come to GA to read what the Horse thinks and I don't come to MSV to read what GA thinks.
And neither of you is a journalist. The difference is that GA doesn't make a fool of herself pretending to be.
Numbers, I did just post a one word response to Bikerbabe on MSV, so I did take a,quick step into the barn- but I'm out now... for good (I hope). Frankly, that spam-fest frightened me a little.
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DeleteGO AWAY. You posted quite emphatically today that you "do not like" this site.
DeleteWell, this site doesnt like you. Answer numberscruncher over at your place. Do not harass, respect boundaries.
Why would the Mayor say that when she was running in 2009 she chose Jim Doyle to be on her ticket? Jim Doyle might have even been supporting Beth Mason when the Mayor picked her 2009 running mates. Not sure when Jim switched over to supporting Dawn.
ReplyDeleteThat was an error on her part, which Doyle amusingly pointed out- there was some light banter, some yuks.
DeleteLast comment for me, have not posted or read these sites in 7 years or so, so going to go back to being an observer in quietude. My one comment is WHY would the gentleman from the other site MSV so fervently attempt to post here on GAs site, when she has asked many times to please not harass her site?
ReplyDeleteThe only example I can think of is FB. When someone who has a different political view than mine, writes a screed against my candidate, at most, I will comment ONCE, but I do NOT continue to go to THEIR FB page and attack them or their views. Poor Form. Rude. Stalker type stuff.
Write whatever you want on your own site, and respect the wishes of the owner of this site. Same goes for GA. I would say the same, do not harass the Horse, and go to his Horse Site and make comments. One or two fine. But no stalking, or haranguing, man its poor form. ( Note: I am aware that GA does not post on Horses site, this was just one of those CNN "fair and balanced" comments.)
To learn that the Horse is a Trump supporter, is the least shocking piece of info ever, as the behaivor of running thru stop lights, and having ZERO respect for boundaries or requests is exactly the same MO as that freaking lunatic that is sitting in the White House, hopefully not for much longer.
Thank you, Hoboken Resident. I really appreciate what you said. I do hope you come back.
DeleteThank YOU GA. I will be back, check in today didn't I! Hope to meet you one day and give you a personal thank you to your face for all you have done.
DeleteI think this post is nothing but a smoke curtain to hide the fallacies surrounding the so called "Reform" .. from day one when Dawn announced she wasn't running again, .. throwing Ravi without discussing it with the rest of her team who then magically presents himself having a full slate and resources from the get go to the shadiness surrounding the other "Reform" candidate not showing her true intentions or funds and captained by a two-headed Monster .
ReplyDeleteI think that if you truly care about your "Reform" people you should attack their dark side tactics , it seems like when others go low as per you , the Reform keeps sinking lower .
Hobokened Out, completely wrong about Ravi. Because he's savvy (and good in math), he knows the kind of money it costs to be competitive in politics, and has been fundraising over the 8 years he's been on the Council. Getting his slate together took a couple of weeks, it wasn't "magic" it was conducting interviews and lobbying.
DeleteWhat about your guy? Why is money raining from the sky on him? Why is he breaking ELEC law, like taking a $5,000 contribution from a plumbers union? How does he have in excess of $200k when he's polling at 4%? At the very bottom! But really, the guy you should be focusing on is Stick Romano. He is really cleaning Mike's clock. If you can knock off Stick (figuratively) then Mike has a chance. BTW, Beth Mason spent $1M in 2009 for a third place finish. See? $1M or $200K can't sell the people a bag of shit!
Paul and Phil Swibinski will have no problem figuring out how to spend DeFusco's curiously gotten war chest on counterproductive nasty poorly conceived mail. All that money will be gone well before election day leaving poor Mike to beg, borrow, steal (or take bribe's like his mentor Peter Cammarano) to get through his humiliating loss on election day.
DeleteAnd then of course, will come 2019, and the wrath of the Russo's in the 1st ward race. Mayor Bhalla or (god forbid) Mayor Romano will likely just stand back, watch and chuckle.
Wait for it Paul . Just wait for it ..
DeleteYou're friends with Paul? What are we supposed to wait for?
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