The healing is on hold
The Record's Brian Aberback reports that State Sen. Loretta Weinberg has taken up the mantle of campaign finance law enforcer with gusto. She is pointing the finger at Charlie Gonzalez, who came up short in his bid to win election to the Council earlier this week. According to Weinberg, Gonzalez was likely in violation of campaign law for not filing the proper paperwork identifying the sources of his campaign financing and detailing his outlays. She plans to file a complaint and seek an investigation. Gonzalez cited his own inexperience in his defense, but Weinberg is unmoved.
Given that Weinberg is going after a defeated candidate and that this is Bergen County politics, everybody's first instinct is to dig for an ulterior motive. The Record got Weinberg on record denying that Gonzalez's position in county government and potential ties to the Democratic Party leader, an old foe of Weinberg's, were in play here. One other possibility comes to mind- could Weinberg be digging for information that might harm Councilmen-elect Gussen and Rudolph, who were also featured in Gonzalez's last glossy mailing?
posted by Teaneck Blog @ 12:36 PM
7 Comments:
It's time to get the "Queen of all that is LIBERAL" out of office. She backed the wrong horse and the voters have spoken. Funny how she only sent a letter urging Teaneck to vote for Parker simply because she is a woman. If I was Lizzette Parker, I would be insulted. In addition, if Ms. Weinberg thinks that Charlie Gonzalez's mailings changed the outcome of the election she is living on Mars. Its over- LET IT GO!
Loretta Weinberg is an argument for term limits.
Candidates should be held accountable for obeying the electon laws whether they win or lose. Charles Gonzalez signed an A1 form that clearly outlined the reporting requirements which he appears to have violated.
Tom, you are correct but does Weinberg go after every possible violation in her district? Why this one? After years of watching LW, it seems clear.
I can't speak for other districts. I don't believe I've seen any anonymous mailing of this size and profressional quality in Teaneck before. The Gonzalez campaign is also somewhat different. I suspect if the financial reports do come out, we will find it at least the second most expensive campaign in Tenaeck's history.
There may have been minor violations that Ms. Weinberg has not gone after. I can think of a campaign where a candidate never filed any report, but it was a losing campaign where the candidate spent almost no money.
If Ms. Weinberg has additional motives for taking the proper action that's ok. I would not want her to ignore the situation just because she suspects the money came from her political adversaries.
For the record, Gussen and Rudolf were included in not just one but two of the three glossy mailings I received from Gonzalez; that doesn't include the two glossy mailings Gussen and Rudolf sent on their own behalf as the "Vision for Teaneck" team, nor the three anonymous (and slickly professional) mailings targeted against Teaneck New Beginnings, who were clearly the "candidates to beat." A conservative estimate is that each of these 8 mailings cost at least $3,000 just for printing and postage (not including graphic design services). That's a mighty big investment to propel two totally inexperienced newbies onto council. I think the most disturbing question is how much do these folks have to gain from having control of the council? Or, conversely, how much would they have had to lose if a progressive team like Teaneck New Beginnings had actually swept the elections? Clearly, it was worth a lot of money to make sure one segment of the community maintained control of the council.
I agree that it wasn't Gonzalez's mailings that changed the outcome, or he would have won a seat. It was the bigotry and hatred that bubbled up, not only from the Orthodox community but also from many other supposedly "rational" players whose main agenda is to support Teaneck's failed status quo. A new wind is blowing through town and obviously the old guard is scared and willing to say and do just about anything to stop it.
Clearly, it was worth a lot of money to make sure one segment of the community maintained control of the council...It was the bigotry and hatred that bubbled up, not only from the Orthodox community but also from many other supposedly "rational" players whose main agenda is to support Teaneck's failed status quo. A new wind is blowing through town and obviously the old guard is scared and willing to say and do just about anything to stop it.
You are making some serious and completely unsupported allegations here.
I am very skeptical of the claims that if it were not for the efforts of a mysterious cabal, TNB would have swept into office. I recognize that TNB sustained a coordinated attack from an unidentified source, and that is both unethical and unlawful and ought to be investigated.
However, just because TNB was well organized, well financed, and well connected with the local Democratic party machinery does not mean its candidates were entitled to widespread support among the voters. If the TNB slate wants to find a culprit for the resounding defeats of two of its candidates, it should peer into the mirror rather than invent fantastical excuses. TNB's left wing positions on a range of issues simple did not appeal to a generally moderate Teaneck electorate. TNB's own campaign manager's cynical introduction of religion and ethnicity into the campaign alarmed a significant portion of the populace and probably caused them to conclude that a vote for TNB was a vote for four years of divisiveness. TNB's lead candidate's combative demeanor reflected poorly on the group as a whole. Finally, TNB's cozy relationship with the town's unions alarmed many voters and made their claims to fiscal responsibility less believable.
When the votes were tallied, it became clear that for all the hype, TNB was the party of one narrow political segment in town. If TNB's candidates want to broaden their limited appeal next time around, they would be well advised to break ranks with the fringe left, cast off the unions, preach inclusion instead of division, and run toward the center.
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