DeFusco Pier 13 party attendance tanks (from 2017)

A few interesting things about Mike DeFusco's (annual) Pier 13 fundraiser held last week.

POOR ATTENDANCE

According to eyewitnesses, turnout was significantly down from his 2017 Pier 13 "birthday party" which netted his campaign $75,000. This year's drop in attendance is supported by Facebook RSVPs, whose 2018 "went" count is exactly 50% of 2017's.    

Neither of the Pier 13 attendees GA spoke to paid the $25 cover, but were allowed in-- perhaps to beef up the body count? Both told GA that folks were wandering in from the Pier (which was not closed for the private event).  In other words, attendees blended with members of the public. 

"People having dinner on the Pier were coming in," said one witness. "All  night people were coming in and leaving."

Another: "Maybe 35 people were there from 6:30 to 8:30 but he probably got a lot more checks, if I had to bet on it."

Note, unlike last year,  no pictures of the crowd have been posted.

So, what can be gleaned from the plummeting interest in re-electing the First Ward Councilman?

(1) 2017 was a highly competitive mayoral race;  the electorate was energized, DeFusco was an unknown,  folks wanted a change agent. 

(2) He is no longer an unknown, and people do not like what they see. His unrelenting stream of  negativity, with constant attacks on City Hall,  conflicts at the Planning Board, Pay-to-Play ordinance violations and a poor record of First Ward accomplishment have all turned off swaths of the electorate. 

AMY DEGISE GIVES THE FINGER TO MAYOR BHALLA

HCDO Chairwoman Amy DeGise showed major chutzpah coming to Hoboken to stump for Mayor Bhalla's most vocal critic, Mike DeFusco. That was an unmistakable "Eff you!" to Bhalla (who had backed Union City Mayor Brian Stack for HCDO Chair).  

And now DeGise is picking winners and losers in Hoboken's ward elections? I don't recall Vinnie Prieto ever stumping in Hoboken for ward council candidates, do you?  Is DeGise's appearance quid pro quo for the $500 DeFusco gave her Dad?  Or did North Bergen boss Nick Sacco send her? 

Who knows.  But, her first visit to Hoboken as the County's Top Dem to take a side in a Ward election is unseemly.  Why is DeGise stumping in Hoboken? What does this have to do with her role as lead Dem in Hudson County? 

Powers that be: give some serious consideration to running a candidate for County Executive. Someone who won't take blood money.  

JERSEY CITY COUNCILMAN STICKS NOSE IN HOBOKEN RACE

Last December, GA applauded underdog Jersey City's Ward E Council candidate James Solomon, for beating Golden Girl favorite, Rebecca Symes.  Solomon won because 40% of the Symes voters stayed home on runoff-election day. 

That makes Solomon a natural advocate for run-off elections.  But while run-offs may work in Jersey City, what does Solomon know about Hoboken's plague of vote-buying which has determined outcome in low-turnout run-off elections?  Does he know that the guy he's stumping for, Mike DeFusco, reaped a large crop of VBMs in 2017 (his VBM crop would have been much larger had Anthony 'Stick' Romano not poached the harvest)? 

But really, more germane is: why is a Jersey City ward councilman sticking his nose into a (hyperlocal) Hoboken ward race?  Should Hoboken's council stump for candidates in Jersey City Ward elections?  What do Solomon's Ward E constituents think about this?

It is one thing for an outsider to advocate for an issue that affects everyone; Solomon showed up at the Gun Sense Rally at City Hall in Hoboken. That made sense. GA congratulated him personally there on his election win. 

It is another thing to stump for a particular Hoboken ward candidate- that affects Hoboken residents, not Jersey City. Frankly, Solomon should keep his nose out of Hoboken politics.  

GA suspects his foray into Hoboken is about building an anti-Fulop constituency; Solomon appears to be ambitious. Who knows. But if the Jersey City councilman wants to stump for candidates in Hoboken, that opens a door, doesn't it?

FISHER, CARMELO & MELLO ATTEND  DEFUSCO  EVENT

Neither Giattino nor Cunningham were there. Prolific online personality, Tony Soares, "showed up late."  Carmelo Garcia, who had reportedly fund-raised for DeFusco in Newark, came out to party.  And notably, Hoboken Housing Authority Chairman David Mello was there.

Speaking of Mello...

In my absence, anonymous commenters were advocating for Mello for Bhalla's 4th Ward slot.  I'd ask those folks to note with whom Mello is networking.