Good call
The Bergen Insider is dead- long live the Insider!
Credit is due to the posters who correctly identified the short-lived Teaneck area publication as a product of the Democratic Party power structure. While I tried in vain to tease out evidence to corroborate the claims of some of the posters on this blog who claimed the paper was a project of the BCDO machine, it turns out all I had to do was wait a few months for The County Seat to hit my mailbox. The latest edition of this free regional publication announces the merger of the Insider with The County Seat, and makes no bones about its loyalties, featuring the Wildes, Zisa, and Wilson slate for state office on the front cover.
I wonder what other signs of creeping party influence I have been missing.
Click here for an example of one of the positive, upbeat stories recently published on The County Seat website in keeping with their self-declared mission to paint a prettier picture of local life.
posted by Teaneck Blog @ 10:50 AM
15 Comments:
Kudos to The County Seat. Despite who might control the paper, it is an informative article. Mr. Gussen might be the first person to register complaints against Ms. Weinberg. Hopefully when the investigation is completed, it will have determined if Ms. Weinberg's words against 'pay to play' were meant for everyone or 'do as I say, not as I do'.
Loretta, please say 'it ain't so'.
The political practice of selecting an opponent’s strong point and attacking it to make it appear a weakness is deemed to be especially useful when it’s a weakness of ones own campaign. The Bergen Country Democratic Organization has built itself a well deserved reputation in the world of pay-for-play. This trumped up accusation against Senator Weinberg is nothing more than an attempt to distract attention from her opponents who are the true beneficiaries of pay-to-play.
The accusation might not appear quite as disingenuous if one could ignore the source. His total disdain for campaign laws was demonstrated last May, He and his running mate chose to report only $100 out of $7800 in campaign contributions before the election. Their decision to ignore in-kind contributions of another $16,000 further demonstrated their contempt for the election laws. It doesn’t seem that he feels he needs to abide by the same rules he would apply to political opponents.
This new spirit of contempt for reporting requirements has also found its way into this Teaneck's School Board elections. Three years ago incumbent Henry Pruitt’s campaign reached new levels for a Teaneck school board election spending more than $3.35 per vote.. According to his 2004 reports, his campaign collected $12,814 and spent $9,967 leaving $1,772. (His math. Not mine.) This was more than twice the combined spending of his three opponents. This year however, Mr. Pruitt appears to have learned a lesson from the municipal election and taken it one step further. He has not filed any forms at all.
I might excuse a candidate's inability to handle the simple arithmetic required by the campaign report, but I will not cast my vote for any candidate who cannot be bothered to follow the simple requirements of the NJ election laws.
Tom -
How does one find out who has filed?
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The agenda for the Wednesday 4/11 Council meeting has a resolution to make the County Seat one of the official newspapers for Twp. ads.
Pretty fast response for a publication that has only sent one issue to Teaneck.
Befuddled -
Thanks for pointing out the very quick payback to the Bergen County Dems. I wonder what else is owed? I guess we'll find out.
Good catch, Befuddled.
Interestingly, The County Seat would be the only non-weekly publication included in the list, though by virtue of the fact of that it is mailed directly to all addresses in Teaneck and surrounding towns, it can claim higher circulation than others on the list (for example, The Connection's reported circulation in Teaneck is 10,000 copies and 25,000 throughout Bergen County).
Tom Abbott said:
The political practice of selecting an opponent’s strong point and attacking it to make it appear a weakness is deemed to be especially useful when it’s a weakness of ones own campaign.
Along those lines, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
According to this Real Democrats press release, an ethics complaint has just been filed against Ken Zisa for his alleged improper reporting of campaign funding, specifically his alleged failure to disclose attorney fees.
Let's see if the Zisa family-owned County Seat reports on this with as much gusto as it reported on the complaint against Weinberg.
Anonymous said...
How does one find out who has filed?
The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission website has all election reports posted since about 2000. The site only seems to work in IE and often does not work. (Waiting a few hours often works.)
If unsure where to start select View a Candidate/Committee Report
If sorting through Teaneck reports leaves you wanting more. Check out last years Englewood's election. It might amuse you. In Teaneck, Mayor Katz spent $8,459.44 and led a field of 14 with 4,355 votes. Mayor Wildes spent $360,000 to top Katz's tally with 4,379. To be fair Wildes had an opponent who spending less then $3,500 received 2,325 votes. Perhaps Wildes campaign team thought his opponent had raised $7,000 and it was going to be a tough fight.
The following concerning the County Seat caught my attention. It is from Dr. Katherine Zatz - Teaneck Board of Education Candidate FAQ
Q. Most of the other candidates have been profiled in the County Seat newspaper. Why haven’t you?
A. Candidates were told that, to be profiled in the County Seat, they needed to buy an ad in the newspaper by April 1st. Paying to be profiled is a dubious practice.
I have since heard from others that this is indeed what this "newspaper" did. The profiles for those willing to pay are to appear ing in the April 15th issue. It does Kate Zatz credit that she did not succumb to the pressure. I was equally glad to see that Barbara Ostroth had not placed an ad.
We will know in a few weeks whether the Bergen County Dems really intend to carry out such a plan.
Tom-
What did Wildes spend $360,000 on in the Englewood mayoral race? Or, rather, what could he spend $360,000 on?
The comment on the amount spent by the Wildes campaign, reflected only the final reports bottom line number. I had not looked at how the money was spent.
A cursory look shows the 2006 Mayoral election starting in April 2004. During that month the report shows $261,000 from prior campaigns, $63,000 in new contributions and $22,000 in expenditures. The contributors do not tend to be from Englewood, but rather New York.
The expenditures appear to be for a combination of expenses in running a headquarters, fund raising events and contributions. They include the occasional "reimbursement" to Mr. Wildes. An October 2004 contribution to the BCDO appears on a later report.
From this and quick glances at other campaign reports I imagine that Wildes runs a full time political organization. I have no reason to believe it is different from other similar organizations. Teaneck on the other hand operates on a different scale which I prefer.
When Mayor Katz donates food from his restaurant for an event like the Teaneck Film Festival kick off, he doesn't have a $500,000 campaign fund to reimburse him. He spends his own money.
When Mayor Katz donates food from his restaurant for an event like the Teaneck Film Festival kick off, he doesn't have a $500,000 campaign fund to reimburse him. He spends his own money.
That was a good move on his side...free advertising for his business and it does not cost that much to give food away for free...so kudos to the mayor for a great business move!
Mayor Katz has a great business acumen in addition to being extremely generous. He is typically one of the first merchants to donate his merchandise and/or volunteer his services. There are many area charitable organizations that have him on their donor list.
It's also worth noting that Katz was running for Town Council. I assume that Englewood has an elected mayor.
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