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| Bhalla mailer targeted to Hoboken Dems |
Oh boy... look what hit mailboxes today!
In a mailer targeted to Democrats, for the first time in the 2017 mayoral contest, Reform's Ravi Bhalla has called out Jen Giattino by name, repudiating her for not standing up for Hoboken residents hurt by the policies of The Orange Caligula. The mailer calls out Giattino's silence when the Orange Caligula coddled white supremacists, called for defunding* Planned Parenthood and denied climate change.
*Giattino refers to herself as a "Kasich Republican." Kasich's 2016 Platform including federal defunding of Planned Parenthood; Giattino was a candidate to be a Kasich delegate at the 2016 Republican National convention.
GA does not know if the Bhalla campaign has polled on this particular issue, but Giattino appears to have. A horse wrote about a new "fair "poll that (if I recall) asked whether voters would consider national party affiliation in our mayoral election.
Interestingly, Giattino opened Sunday's debate with a defense of being Republican running for mayor in a largely Democratic city. And when asked, she would not admit who she supported for NJ Governor, saying "I haven't decided."
So, if the campaign has polled on this issue, Giattino's statements at the debate may have been responsive to the fact that many voters in this election do care. That is the national trend for the 2018 Congressional race.
So, if the campaign has polled on this issue, Giattino's statements at the debate may have been responsive to the fact that many voters in this election do care. That is the national trend for the 2018 Congressional race.
Also at Sunday's debate, GA recalls that Giattino and DeFusco declined to criticize Donald Trump because of concerns about the federal government withholding Rebuild by Design funds for punitive reasons.
Well, that was taken off the table this Monday. The federal government has released the Rebuild By Design monies to the state of New Jersey!
That's right- the Orange Caligula cannot do a damned thing to stop the federal government from releasing our $230M.
Statement of Councilman Ravi Bhalla
Upon US Department of Housing and Urban Development Releasing Funding for Rebuild By Design
“I am thrilled to see the Rebuild By Design project, which will protect Hoboken from rising sea levels and major storms, move forward. The reality is climate change is real. This $230 million for comprehensive flood protection provides Hoboken with a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'm incredibly proud to have actively supported this project every step of the way, including serving as a co-chair of the RBD Community Advisory Group and helping to move this project forward with the members of the CAG and the public. As Mayor, I'll be 100% committed to completing Rebuild by Design, making our City more resilient and less flood prone for the long term.”
How great is that?
Now, it's up to our next Governor to release the loot to Hoboken! Who is more likely to expedite that: Democrat Phil Murphy or Republican Kim Guadagno?
Oh yes, here is the rest of the mailer:
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| Ouch! But true. |
There you go, peeps.
Get ready; the HUMC Emergency Room will be crowded with injured snowflakes in the days to come!
Silence = consent. That was the sim and substance of Senator Jeff Flake’s comments yesterday on Trump:
ReplyDelete“It is often said that children are watching. Well, they are. And what are we going to do about that? When the next generation asks us, ‘Why didn’t you do something? Why didn’t you speak up?’ What are we going to say?”
Good question for every Republican, including Jen, the very active Republican based on her past record of connecting with the state and national party.
the most effective aspect of this mailer is that it's all true. "jen" IS a republican, and one who has either supported or stood by in silence while the GOP in general and trump in particular have gone about their destructive business. sometimes "jen" embraces GOP positions and rhetoric, other times (when convenient) she claims not to know or remains silent. which is the real "jen"?
ReplyDeleteremember "dual-job dawn"? maybe it's time for "both-ways jen".
It's known in inside circles that Giattino does not believe in the relationship between human activities and climate change- same as Donald Trump.
ReplyDeleteAt the last Council meeting (Oct. 18), she pulled Resolution A4 off the agenda- Res A4 was "Resolution endorsing the mobilization of Hoboken to restore a safe climate and create a Green Team sub-committee dedicated to adequately addressing Climate Change" And guess what? When Councilwoman Fisher asked why it was pulled, Giattino lied and said "The Administration pulled it." BA Marks interjected, "The Administration didn't pull it."
The lying and dissembling about what she really believes does not and should not inspire public confidence in her ability to lead Hoboken.
It's also known that Jen did not believe there was evidence of an increase in hate crimes following the last presidential election.
ReplyDeleteYES. Word got out pretty fast that Jen questioned whether it was true that hate crimes increased after the election. She actually questioned Ravi on that point.
ReplyDeleteI doubt Jen's favorite online proxies believe any of that stuff either - despite ample evidence to the contrary.
DeleteWe’re not talking about an army of "proxies" thought.
DeleteYou’ve got MSV – who, true enough, would have no problem with those views.
Kurt, a democrat, but mostly full of rage these days and can barely get more than a few sentences out without returning to GA. He ignores the most craven things said on MSV (so long as they appear to be aimed at Bhalla) but doesn’t noisily applaud them.
Propeller, nominally a democrat but mostly animated by whatever is pissing him off at any given time. He’s a lot more “loyal” to despising Zimmer and her administration than he is to any candidate.
Indie. Not sure what’s going on there. She’s a walking hall of mirrors.
Who else are we talking about? SBI? Democratic Kurt might have said something to him about his creepy take on Bhalla’s wife. Pissed off Kurt is fine with it though. He's irrelevant though and not very bright.
There’s not really any “there” left there. 4, count ‘em, 4 articles trying to mine a “scandal” out of 9, count ‘em, 9 seconds of meaningless video where a guy turns his phone off.
And no one thinks to say anything about the staggering level of OCD on display.
Not coincidentally, no one notices they’re the last survivors on a desert island where nothing makes sense anymore. They believe in being mad at their circumstances and acting on that. But any other beliefs are negotiable.
Pretty surprised Councilman Bhalla used the language he used in the flyer considering one of his more prominent financial supporters was on Christie's 2009 campaign finance committee, on Christie's 2009 transition team, and was JEB!'s main NJ fundraiser along with Senator Kyrillos. Risky, could have gone all in on Trump alone.
ReplyDeleteHe isn't running for office, Jen is. And if Jen is too much of a coward to take a stance on what the leader of HER PARTY says and does, then she probably shouldn't be running for office. Plenty of other elected officials and candidates in the Republican party have taken a stance on Trump. Past time she did the same - and the fact that she hasn't so far is very telling.
Deletenice try, kevin, but this mailer is about "jen" being a republican. why is she always so squishy about it? if she believes in the GOP positions, she should own it. if she doesn't, why is she a republican?
DeleteThe language i am referring to is "funded and supported by Republicans" and "only candidate whose slate is all Democrats" and the referencing of Todd Christie (who is not on the ballot as far as I can tell). I guarantee you, if you go through Councilman Bhalla's ELEC going back to when he was fundraising for council this year, you will find numerous Republicans including Gail Gordon -- who I referenced above (one of the most influential Reps in the state) -- who supported him financially. Nothing wrong with that. The reason I said it was risky and surprised by it is that by going all in on the "purest Democratic ticket" he risks alienating the Republicans who currently are leaning towards voting for him. My guess (without access to any numbers) is that the polls are showing about 20-25% undecided. And my guess is that these undecided are mostly relatively new arrivals in Hoboken (1-4 years), younger, and overwhelming Democratic affiliated. So this mailing is aggressively courting those voters. But as anyone who has ever worked on a campaign knows, young and recently moved into an area are the most difficult to get to the polls in a local elections. So the question is will a mailing like this courting the voters in the above demographic bring enough of those voters to the polls to outweigh the republican Bhalla leaning voters being turned off by a perceived "attack" on them. Because believe it or not (and as someone who actually knows the wonderful human being that is Barbara Buono, it pains me to say it), this town actually voted 6500-5500 for Christie in the last election. So it is a risky move and it tells me that the campaigns perception of the race is too close to call.
Deletefair enough, we're all guessing here. my guess is there are more democrats in town who didn't know jen is a republican than there are republican voters for this mailer to alienate, so the bhalla campaign is probably calculating that they stand to gain more than lose by highlighting her party affiliation. my wife, for example, doesn't follow local politics much and was undecided until she learned jen is a republican, at which point she ruled her out. and also i think lots of dems in town (like me) voted for christie because bruno, as nice a person as she is, wasn't a very viable candidate.
DeletePeople need to stop making excuses for Jen. She either is on board with Trump or not. Her silence tells me she is all in on Trump. Sucks to be you guys, but you didn't have to back a Trump supporter as mayor and you didn't have to enlist a Trump supporting blogger to be your primary online means of getting your message across. Buying in to the Trump agenda is all on you folks.
DeleteRavi has pointed out that Jen has not and likely will not speak out against Trump. That's factually correct and the fact that she's a republican in a heavily democratic city is probably a big part of why.
DeleteJen has said that since our system of electing mayors is non partisan the mayor's views on issues that aren't purely local are unimportant and the mayor should not speak publicly about them.
Thats a difference of opinion about the job description voters care about.
Instead of playing the victim Jen should defend her point of view. She should say the mayor shouldn't speak out on these issues and here's why. I'd disagree but it's a fair conversation to have with the voters.
Instead we're told it's dirty politics to even talk about it.
Its not. Ravi should not be getting votes from people who think our leaders should be silent. Jen should not get votes from those who think our leaders should speak out.
And that's how it should be because that is who they each are and what they will do.
And the voters are entitled to know that.
Says blogs are terrible, don't read them. Gives alt-right blog $1000. Etc.
DeleteAdd this, Dang:
DeleteGiattino advertises on a blog that hosts a photoshopped effigy of me (blow up doll labeled "Nancy") to be raped in the mouth by the mayor's husband, calls it "political satire." Sure, getting raped in the mouth is a regular laugh riot. The "rape" photoshop by Giattino supporter Kurt Gardiner. Write a $1,000 check to THAT.
I'm sure she loves having this conversation during walk-arounds. "Did you see my new press release on MSV? It's between the 8th and 9th 'follow-ups' on TextGate. You can't miss it."
DeleteIt happens to be a heckofa lot of fun for visitors to the Team GiaFusco Reform Resistance Corporate Website.
DeletePeople are enticed by the offer of having their name guessed and fortune told by our beloved Mr Popular (sp?) Propensity? And we have the always enjoyable "Guess When This Sentence Will End" game to get our younger readers to attempt to plow through one of our editorials.
I don't see anyone having any fun here. Also, Jen has a sign at Church Towers. So.....
The man who once rightfully denounced and now breaks bread with those who depicted him as a munchkin appears to have a lot of stones in his arsenal for anyone and everyone who stands in the way of his hard-spun narrative, whatever that may be on any given day.
DeleteAnd he throws them freely, while living in a glass Skyline.
I hear he's been outing me again. That's the only tool in his toolbelt, so not that surprising. It's not like he ever contradicts a word I say; he just wishes I wouldn't say it or that people wouldn't read it. I've put in my time and earned the right to go out on my own terms - which is fairly soon.
DeleteYou come to a point in life where you realize it's just as important that certain people dislike you. Otherwise you better check yourself. I'm very pleased with my results where that douche is concerned.
If Roman had the courage of his convictions he would openly say that he hopes Jen will speak out in support of Trump.
ReplyDeleteInstead he whines that the mayor should say nothing at all. While he (and Jen herself) bleat that pointing out Jen's actual position that silence is golden is somehow nasty dirty politics.
Sad.
Now I’ll quote MLK:
ReplyDelete“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
I look at this mailer as a call to action and for leadership. We live in a coastal city impacted by climate change and our EPA Administrator is striking mention of it from the EPA’s website. We have a President who calls people marching in Charlottesville “fine people,” and a hate incident here in Hoboken, right on Washington Street, where a Latino man had epithets yelled at him like “Trump” and the N word, and Jen is silent through it all and gave Ravi a really hard time about the harmless anti-hate resolution after the election.
She thinks it’s legitimate through her actions for the Mayor to remain silent, Ravi begs to differ. Well the voters will have to decide on that one.
"jen" is a republican, own it.
ReplyDeleteNo, Karen is a Republican. Jen is Zelig.
DeleteLast I checked all these Hudson county politicians who went to prison over the last 30 years are Democrats.....
ReplyDeleteThomas Whelan, former Jersey City mayor, John V. Kenny, former Jersey City mayor and county power broker; and Thomas Flaherty, former Jersey City City Council president: The three members of the "Hudson County Eight" were convicted in federal court of conspiracy and extortion in a multi-million dollar political kickback scheme connected to city and county contracts.
William V. Musto, former Union City mayor: Musto was sentenced to prison in 1982 for helping mobsters and contractors pocket public money designated for schools.
Robert Janiszewski, former Hudson County executive: "Bobby J" pleaded guilty in 2002 to taking more than $100,000 in bribes. He was the highest-ranking elected official in state history ever to work undercover for the FBI.
David Friedland, former assemblyman and state senator: Friedland was convicted on racketeering charges in 1980, faked his death while awaiting sentencing and then fled the country. He was captured in the Maldives in 1987.
Paul Byrne, admitted bagman for Janiszewski: Already blind from diabetes, Byrne suffered congestive heart failure and a stroke on March 31, 2005, less than a week before he was to be sentenced on charges that he took bribes for his best friend, Janiszewski.
Joe Barry, real estate mogul: Barry paid illegal kickbacks to Janiszewski.
Anthony Russo, former Hoboken mayor. Russo admitted to taking thousands of dollars in bribes from city contractors between 1994 and 2001.
Peter Cammarano, former mayor of Hoboken. He pleaded guilty in federal court to taking $25,000 in bribes as part of the 2009 Bid Rig III sting.
Dennis Elwell, former mayor of Secaucus. Elwell collected $10,000 in bribes as part of Bid Rig III sting.
Edward Cheatam, former Jersey City Housing Authority director: Cheatam pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy as part of Bid Rig III sting.
Leona Beldini, former Jersey City Deputy Mayor: She was convicted of collecting $20,000 in illegal campaign contributions as part of Bid Rig III sting.
Mariano Vega, former Jersey City Council President: Vega took $30,000 in illegal contributions as part of Bid Rig III sting.
Joseph Cardwell, Hudson County political operative and former Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority commissioner: Cardwell collected $30,000 bribe as part of Bid Rig III sting.
Philip Kenny, former Jersey City councilman. Kenny pleaded guilty of taking $5,000 bribe as part of Bid Rig III sting.
Nidia Davila-Colon, former Hudson County freeholder. Davila-Colon was convicted of passing bribes in 1999 to Janiszewski, now one of the most notorious government witnesses in North Jersey, who made his debut on the stand during her trial.
Bill Braker, former Hudson County freeholder. Pleaded guilty to attempted extortion.
Peter Perez, former North Bergen commission: Perez pleaded guilty in 2002 to accepting $26,000 in home improvements and cash payments from vendors who had contracts with the township.
Angelo J. Sarubbi, former North Bergen mayor: Sarubbi pleaded guilty in 1976 to extorting a kickback from an engineering firm while he was mayor. In September 1976, after his lawyer cited Sarubbi's serious heart condition, the ex-mayor was placed on five years probation.
Michael DiGiovanni, former North Bergen commissioner: DiGiovanni, who headed the Parks Department, was charged in 1995 with accepting free renovations on his home from contractors doing business with the township. Two years later, he pleaded guilty to bribery.
Thanks, EddyE that's a great list. A keeper.
DeleteYes, Hudson County (still) is a slimepit.
Now you know why Mayor Zimmer has earned the loyalty of some many in Hoboken. Zimmer's the unicorn of Hudson County-- clean as a whistle, brass balls, generally doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks, she just does her job. No, she isn't perfect, but she governs HONESTLY.
This election we have a few clean candidates to choose from: Progressive Dems and Republicans. Unfortunately, two candidates are feeding from the same pool of (historically Zimmer) votes.
@EddyE, no one accused "jen" of corruption, just of being a republican and questioning whether she supports republican values and policy positions.
Deleteravi's mailer doesn't accuse her of being corrupt, just of being a republican and questioning whether she supports republican values and policy positions.
local corruption is an entirely separate and different issue, this one is about "jen being a republican, and whether she supports republican values and policy positions.
get it?
Corruption gravitates toward power, not principle. There was nothing especially "democratic" about Peter Cammarano. But he knew where the power was and went for it.
DeleteExactly, dang. Which is why it's absolutely, ridiculously stupid to pull the lever for someone because of their party affiliation.
DeleteIf people voted on policy vs party guys like the list above wouldn't all be democrats. But, because they can count on the vast majority of democrats to vote "never republican" they all line up and steal from us.
People need to think more before they vote.
it's a chicken or the egg situation, though. in cases where a politician supports a policy of their party that i disagree with (as is the case with many republicans right now), it's valid for me to vote against them. you can view it as me making that decision based on the candidate's support of the policy (and NOT their party), but it's also a de facto vote against the party in the end.
Deletesnoopy, let's just evaluate this Hoboken election. The next Gov. will release $230M to Hoboken for the Rebuild By Design project. Is it valid to consider that one candidate believes that climate change is real, and caused in part by human action (Ravi) and one does not (Jen), so that the sense of urgency or commitment to prioritize the project may be different between the two candidates?
DeleteSince Hudson County is a firm Democratic stronghold, it stands to reason that most or all corrupt politicians from Hudson are Democrats. Therefore, Eddy's ability to name 19 arrested Democrats out of the thousands elected here during the 41-year span his list covers is a pretty good sample. I'll do him one better and say those 19 arrested Dems are but a fraction of those who should have been taken away in cuffs but for the system stacked in favor of perpetuating their graft. Frank Hague himself declared "I am the law," meaning the 30 years of his reign at a minimum consisted of unmitigated crookery with no oversight or enforcement. Factor in the first 10-20 years after his retirement when his crew still ran things for all intents and purposes, along with particularly dark subsequent eras of Hudson history such as the Hoboken arsons of the 80s and you've got nearly a century of rank corruption making Eddy's list look less like a Rogue's Gallery than a Stooge Lineup -- those were just the ones dumb enough to get caught.
DeleteTake a tour outside of Hudson and into some Republican strongholds, however, including areas from which Jen's state-level support emanates, and you can easily compose similar lists of R's:
The Bridgegate crew, tied directly to the gubernatorial candidate who swore Jen in even though she's "not sure" she's voting for her;
Former gubernatorial candidate and Essex County Executive Jim Treffinger, who pleaded guilty in 2003 to charges that included extortion, fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy;
Former Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo, convicted of corruption in 2013;
Former Somerset County Prosecutor Nick Bissell, convicted in 1996 of embezzlement, tax fraud and abuse of power -- he fled to Nevada and committed suicide while awaiting sentencing;
Former Assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate Robert Schroeder, who pled guilty to misconduct last year;
Former Chesterfield Mayor Lawrence Durr, who pled guilty last year to filing fraudulent ethics forms in connection to a personal land deal for which he abused his power to inflate the purchase price by selling development rights to the buyer;
Former Keyport Mayor John Merla, taken down for bribery in the aforementioned Operation Bid Rig;
Former Marlboro Mayor Matthew Scannapieco, who pled guilty in 2005 to tax evasion and accepting $245,000 in bribes to help win planning board approvals for six development projects;
Honorable mention to former acting Governor Donald "Donnie D" DiFrancesco, who took over after Whitman went to run Bush's EPA and abruptly bowed out of running for a full term because of serious allegations about past legal and business dealings that allegedly could have ruined his life if exposed.
The point isn't to play tit-for-tat. It's to illustrate Dang and Snoopy's points above. Corruption doesn't follow party lines, it follows power strongholds. Ravi has IMO proven through an eight-year track record on the City Council that he is in no way beholden to the Democratic machinery that has historically fueled Hudson County corruption; that, in fact, he is very much part of the solution. The "Reform," if you will. Jen, on the other hand, not only associates herself with Kim Guadagno, the first lieutenant in an administration that has seen numerous people face legal trouble over the outrageous Bridgegate, but actually has the audacity to pretend it isn't so rather than have the courage of convictions to stand by her candidate and explain why.
DisinJenuous.
GA - voting for someone who thinks raising taxes is the only answer to budgetary issues, aka Phil Murphy, is mind-boggling. I'm voting Guadagno.
DeleteRavi longs to be a part of the HudCo Democratic machine, but they have consistently rejected him. How many more times is he going to file to run for Assembly? If Stack thought he would have been a good candidate he wouldve taken him over Campos or Carmelo or Annette. Says alot that he was routinely passed over for those 3........
ReplyDeleteYes, it says he's not willing to play ball with someone who is currently holding two political jobs, one of which is full time. I think Stack is a slimy POS, I believe it speaks volumes to Ravi's integrity that he doesn't fit in with the Stack crowd. To be perfectly clear: Ravi has more integrity than Stack.
Delete1) Campos was never an Assemblyman, I think you mean Ramos
Delete2) The only time Ravi was passed over was for Carmelo - something of a badge of honor given the criteria Stack was clearly looking for, and also ironic given that Carmelo almost immediately came to be known in the Statehouse as "The Wire" and had various post-it notes to that effect constantly stuck on his office door to remind him what a pariah he turned out to be. The entire episode is a reflection on Stack, not Ravi.
3) Chapparo was a consensus candidate with Ravi's support.
You probably knew all that, but spin away. My suspicion is your livelihood depends on it.
Yes, I meant Ramos, my bad.
DeleteRavi was the chair of the Hoboken Dems, which is a part of the HudCo dems. So clearly he is willing to play ball and already has. During that time he also said it was his mission to get Bob Menendez elected. I wonder where he stands now? Guess he isnt saying much....
Also, what's with the Stack hatred all of a sudden? Wasnt a certain blogger from this site singing Stack's praises not too long ago? Calling him the "incredibly compassionate, devilishly handsome 33rd LDS State Senator" https://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-stack-is-back-hes-gunning-for-stick.html
But now getting rejected by him (twice) is a badge of honor? Are you saying if he was offered the seat Ravi would have turned it down based on Stack's "criteria"?
I'm not GA and I've NEVER said anything nice about Stack. I wish they'd catch him doing anything illegal and lock him up.
DeleteEven without parsing the half-truths and outright fabrications in your first paragraph, the general concept of "being willing to play ball" is a far cry from being plausibly associated with the gallery of felons listed above.
DeleteAs for Stack, I didn't say there's anything wrong with him. I can't and don't speak for GA. I think he has his pluses and minuses. Clearly a solid majority of UC voters think he's doing right by them, though I'd prefer he not play the dual-office game. But if Ravi wanted to be on his ticket and he picked Carmelo over him, it's pretty safe to conclude that he was looking for a very specific type of character and that Carmelo fit the bill and Ravi didn't. And it's a pretty safe takeaway that if Stack wanted someone like Carmelo and not Ravi, the fact that he deemed Ravi insufficiently Carmelo-like is to Ravi's credit.
But you knew all that. And you also know that the argument you're trying to make is quite a stretch to apply to Ravi, but pretty easily applicable to all the other major candidates. Jen is running with support of the current Dem chair and longtime HCDO boss Bernie Kenny. DeFusco is running with the remnants of Maurice Fitzgibbons' Hoboken Democratic organization and fund-raising network. Romano is running with the Russos and a bunch of the unions. Since you refuse to answer repeated questions as to who you're supporting/working for, it's tough to gauge the full extent of how full of crap you are, but my guess is whichever candidate you're with is particularly vulnerable to the type of critique you're feebly attempting to project onto Ravi. So 'A' for effort, Eddy, but you may have to take what you're selling somewhere else. 99% of the people reading this blog are already fully decided, and too smart to be swayed by your low-information-voter tactics.
Unless you're just trying to bog us down arguing with you about nonsense to keep us from doing to necessary field work. In which case, same deal, wrong crowd. We'll see you Nov. 7. The only person in Hoboken who thinks campaigns are won and lost entirely on the blogs without ever lifting a finger to do any real work is Tony Soares. And something tells me he's on your team. So good luck with that!
Folks (minus EddyE),
DeleteEddyE is a DeFusco operative. Yes, he's wasting our time replying to his bullshit. My suggestion is to ignore his posts, and I'll sweep them into the garbage.
There were lots of them at the debate last night...making sure to make a deafening applause after the weasel's closing remarks.
Delete