The Symes support certainly seems to have a lunatic fringe.

Win or lose, Dixon Advisory are going to pay for interfering in our local democracy.

But, yes, I urge to you watch the dark money funded video and ask yourself where they got the footage of Rebecca from.

Quote:

When you're reading this you have to remember that this guy used his phone to record a video playing on the internet and then uploaded it to the internet.

?\_(?)_/?

I mean this is clearly broadcast quality footage and, as Jim Behrle appears to point out, they used two different sources. Both her own soft focus ad and the chicpea shoot with the white wall.

This means they MUST have got it from Symes.

Busted.

If the dark money PAC did not collude with Rebecca Symes, how did they get all the footage of her?

From Solomon's twitter.

To tell you the truth I'm a little worried about Phil "No-Sale" Rivo's mental health.
Look at these posts, he's melting down.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _in_jersey_city_coun.html

?JERSEY CITY -- In the final week of campaigning in the Dec. 5 Downtown council race, a group with ties to a politically powerful labor union is starting to spend big money in support of Rebecca Symes.

Stronger Foundations Inc., which has spent hundreds of thousands this year to back pols like Sen. President Stephen Sweeney and Hoboken Mayor-elect Ravi Bhalla, paid for a 30-second spot on behalf of Symes that started circulating on Facebook this week and will also air on television.

The spot calls Symes "an attorney and a strong woman who will stand up to the Trump agenda."

While not unprecedented for an independent group to attempt to influence a local race -- one spent more than $250,000 to support Mayor Steve Fulop in 2013 -- this is the only one that has spent money in this year's municipal contest.


Stronger Foundations is not required to list its donors.

Symes, 36, came in first place out of five Ward E council hopefuls on Election Day, but landed in a runoff because she failed to win more than 50 percent of the vote. Her opponent is the second-place finisher, James Solomon, 33, who teaches about politics and government at two local colleges.

The Ward E race has been an expensive one. The two candidates' most recent filings show Symes raised about $92,000 and spent $58,000 on the first round of campaigning, while Solomon raised $125,000 and spent $116,000. Solomon's fundraising haul includes a personal $25,000 loan.

Solomon has made reform of the city's real-estate development process a central promise of his campaign, and he has highlighted Symes' prior work as general counsel for real-estate investment firm Dixon Advisory to cast her as the candidate who would be beholden to big-money donors tied to that industry.


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inRead invented by Teads

Stronger Foundations' ad, he told The Jersey Journal today, shows "one candidate is independent of outside special interests and the other candidate is not."

Symes' campaign has expressed irritation at Solomon for attempting to draw this contrast, noting that his campaign finance reports show maxed-out contributions from wealthy, out-of-town donors. Speaking by phone to The Jersey Journal today, Symes responded to Solomon's criticism of the Stronger Foundations ad by repeating her campaign pledge to pursue publicly financed local elections in Jersey City.

"It's not a surprise that someone who has an extra $25,000 and a national network of donors doesn't care about locally funded elections," she said. "He doesn't need them."

Stronger Foundations is an independent expenditure group, and is permitted by state law to raise unlimited sums and spend money on behalf of candidates. It is not allowed to coordinate with Symes' campaign.

Sponsor Content
10 questions every investor should ask.

By Charles Schwab
It has reported spending hundreds of thousands of dollars this election cycle, largely in legislative races, on behalf of Democrats and Republicans. On its campaign finance reports it says it spent $50,520 to support Bhalla, who won a six-way race on Nov. 7 to become Hoboken's new mayor.

The group, which has a Rahway P.O. box, says its money comes entirely from the labor management fund of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825. Its registered agent is Christopher Lalevee, whose brother Greg is that union's business manager. Greg Lalevee was named to Gov.-elect Phil Murphy's transition team as a co-chair of the labor and workforce development committee.

IUOE Local 825 represents nearly 7,000 operating engineers throughout New Jersey and New York. Its members work on transportation infrastructure.

"Stronger Foundations, Inc. is an independent organization that was created to inform voters and the public about the importance of infrastructure and economic development investments throughout New Jersey, as well as provide information regarding the positions of legislators and other elected officials on these very same issues," Stronger Foundations spokesman Michael Makarski said. "Because it is an independent organization, it does not coordinate its efforts with candidates or their campaigns."

Makarski also works for public relations firm MWW. Stronger Foundations has reported paying only two companies, MWW and pollster McLaughlin and Associates.

Makarski previously worked for Vision Media, a politically connected Hudson County public relations company that is working for Symes' campaign.

Symes and Solomon, both Democrats, are vying to succeed Councilwoman Candice Osborne, who did not seek a second term on the nine-member council (Osborne has endorsed Symes). The Ward E race is one of four runoffs facing Jersey City voters next week.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 pm?

Quote:

You are part of the machine -

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... noff_would_bring_ove.html

"In Jersey City, we've grown used to living in a one-party state.

While Jersey City sent at least five busloads of protesters to the Women's March in January to speak out against President Donald Trump's autocratic tendencies, we laugh off our own one-party machine rule as "just the way things are."

We need to see that Jersey City's rule-by-machine has real consequences, sometimes frustrating, sometimes tragic.

We see it at the voting booth. Living in a democracy should mean voters have real choices. Yet during elections, there are often no choices on our local ballot. In November, for instance, residents of the Heights and Downtown had only one choice for Freeholder. How accountable will the "winner" of that election be, knowing he won without opposition -- and may do the same at the next election?

It's easy to see why the machine candidates are often unopposed. Candidates who run against them have a mountain to climb, since the machine puts a staggering effort into winning elections. For example, one reason why Mayor Steven Fulop's administration expanded city office's Election Day closings was to free up more city workers to pass out campaign literaturte for machine candidates outside the polls. Next election, ask the campaign volunteers you see what their day jobs are.

City workers at the highest levels are enmeshed in local politics. A few years back, I received a mass email from the personal account of the director of the city's health department, asking if I'd run as district committee person and saying she was coordinating the efforts to find Democratic committee people in each district. I was not surprised to hear from an insider that the same department head was outside the door of a candidate meet-and-greet, taking attendance of city workers.

Living in a machine-run city means working with a city government that rewards the machine's friends and allies with public jobs and extraordinary access.

In recent testimony as part of an employee lawsuit, the deputy director of the city's Housing, Economic Development and Commerce Department says the department's director runs "everything" by political operative Tom Bertoli -- who has a side business as a building permit expeditor.

If you think that's funny or cute, try getting a building permit without either an "in" or Bertoli's help. See how long it takes.

Government in machine-controlled cities isn't responsive; when winning elections and rewarding friends are top priorities, serving constituents falls by the wayside.

In Jersey City, we saw this with landlord Trendy Management. Trendy was hit with 1,400 violations in March -- but only after the grassroots group New Jersey Together mobilized hundreds of people to attend an event where it aired a slideshow of mold and missing drywall at apartments managed by the company. Nevertheless, in October, the Jersey Journal reported that six people were taken to intensive care after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning due to a faulty boiler and missing carbon monoxide detectors at a Trendy Management building.

A city government with different priorities, with Housing Department leadership focused on serving constituents rather than political friends, might have done a better job at the basic blocking and tackling of boiler inspection and code enforcement. But when a city's political class's primary focus is winning elections, basic city functions fall by the wayside.

Sadly, the city council also serves as an arm of the machine, rarely, if ever, breaking ranks with the administration, or providing the most basic oversight. The council has approved a series of measures over the last four years that would have benefited from a skeptical outsider's eye.

Those decisions include approving legal expenses for lawsuits around the revaluation contract; suits that resulted in two court losses for the city, a refusal by the state Supreme Court to hear the city's appeal, and more than $1.4 million in payments from the city to the appraisal company it sued.

Another decision, to sign a 20-year lease obligating the city to pay $80,250 beginning in October for a city hall annex in Ward F, might also have benefited from the scrutiny of an independent council. While the city has begun paying rent, the building is nowhere near completion. A Jersey Journal report last month said, "A peek inside the windows of the structure provides some clue as to what needs to be done: A lot."

A key part of any democracy is checks and balances. And an important check in Jersey City should be the city council.

Happily, on Dec. 5, we have the opportunity to elect a city council with an independent majority during special run off elections for four council seats in Wards A, C, B and E.

I urge voters in those wards to consider not just the merits of the candidates on their ballots, but the implications their votes could have for the whole city. If the four challengers win, they, along with Councilman Michael Yun, might comprise an independent majority on our council for the first time in recent memory.

An independent council could provide a sorely needed voice in our machine-run city, bringing a modicum of oversight. That's why I'm supporting these four independents:

Joe Conte in Ward A
Chris Gadsden in Ward B
Rich Boggiano in Ward C
and James Solomon in Ward E

Each of the four races is different, matching candidates who are, for the most part, both qualified. I know Chris Gadsden and James Solomon well and I have the utmost faith in them. I've observed the meticulous level of preparation and intellect Gadsden has brought to his work as the sitting Ward B councilman. I've worked alongside Solomon for fair school funding from abated developers and know him to have a diligent, independent and fair-minded approach to policy. While I know Joe Conte and Rich Boggiano mostly by reputation, I still urge votes for them in hopes of bringing much needed independence and oversight to our city council.

Jersey City has been run by a political machine for decades. An independent council won't change that. But it could be part of a desperately needed process to creating more transparent, responsive and responsible government for our city.

Ellen Simon is a Jersey City resident and a former member of the Board of Education. The opinions expressed here are her own."

Any lonely Symes fans know why Rebecca was filing campaign contributions from a West Village address two weeks after she moved to Jersey City?

http://classic.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/norindsea.shtml

Quote:

The only fresh dump here is the one Tom Bertoli does in his high-waisted pants every time I post accurate, informed and well-sourced revelations regarding Rebecca's ties to big money.

An undecided voter can go back through this thread and see that I have provided sources to back-up my claims, you can follow links and judge the truthfulness and validity of my words.

The Symes/Dixon camp's only defense appears to be innuendo, smear and pretending they have already won.

There's no money or glory involved here for me, just heartfelt hope for a better city, one not cynically exploited for profit by men in yachts anchored in the Hudson, beancounters in Australia or a once-powerful political troll in a nondescript McMansion in Matawan.

Ok guys, let's take another look at that job posting I mentioned earlier.

Quote:

This position was held by two different people from June 2015 up until Rebecca announced she was running for council. The position was advertised a second time in 2016.

https://www.dixonadvisoryusa.com/recru ... rnment-relations-analyst/

From the 2015 listing.




From the 2016 listing.




This is where the money came from to sponsor every community event, charitable cause and neighborhood association in Downtown Jersey City.

This money was under Rebecca's control.

Anyone still doubting the political overtones of this operation needs to look at the resumes of the pair that assisted her.




https://www.linkedin.com/in/dorothy-weldon-a92244102/




https://www.linkedin.com/in/al726/

There was no separation of Rebecca's political and business life when she worked at Dixon.
It would be foolish to expect it should she become councilwoman, especially after Dixon spent all that money.

Symes says she wants to "Keep money out of politics".

Let's take a closer look at the 2015 school board campaign she ran one month after she moved to Jersey City.

Here we can see that Rebecca was the Chairperson for the Reichart-Gangadin-Roman "Education Matters" slate and that the campaign was run from her home, a Dixon property.





Ballotpedia succinctly informs us how much the campaign raised and spent.





https://ballotpedia.org/John_Reichart


However $6000 of that came in the form of loans from the candidates which leaves $14,649 in actual donations.





The first two donations were $500 from Rebecca Symes and $1000 from Paul Silverman.
I must stress here that, once again, the Silvermans appear to be the good guys in all this. Reichart was, and still is their guy, considering that, $1000 was a modest donation.
Nevertheless I'm going to include it in the total that developers gave.




Next up is Rob Caulfield of Fields Development in Hoboken who gave $2,500.

http://www.fieldsdevelopment.com/portfolio




Can you guess who's next?
I think you can.

It's Rebecca's employer and landlord Dixon Advisory with a mindblowing $7,800 donation.




Dixon was responsible for over half of the money raised by a campaign managed by a Dixon employee working from a discounted Dixon property.

Overall the campaign received $11,800 directly from developers which accounts for over 80% of donations.

The kicker here is that the campaign spent less than $4000, half of what Dixon gave.

They didn't even need the money.








All campaign records for any candidate can be viewed here -
http://www.elec.state.nj.us/ELECReport/SearchEntityByLocation.aspx

Quote:

100% wrong. She was Head of Legal and Government Relations.
As listed on her own FEC filings.

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201604159012560013

As such she spearheaded Dixon Advisory?s attempts to reduce their property tax bill.
As we know there is a reval around the corner and Dixon Advisory owns hundreds of properties that have all seen ?gorgeous? renovations. Dixon are looking at a collective tax increase in the millions and will do anything they can to reduce this, thus maximizing profits for themselves and their Australian shareholders while actual residents will be forced to pay more.

Quote:

Perhaps you could point to some examples.

In an archived job posting from June 2015 Dixon Advisory sought a Legal and Government Affairs Analyst to "report to the Head of Legal & Government Relations" which was of course Rebecca Symes.

https://web.archive.org/web/2015062104 ... rnment-relations-analyst/

Some highlights -

"Research and write briefing materials on elected officials, government agencies, community groups, and other stakeholders in areas where the Company has invested"

"Track the location of the Company?s properties within electoral districts, neighbourhood association boundaries, and special zoning or redevelopment areas"

"Attend frequent community meetings (typically 2 evenings per week) and report to senior management regarding relevant or otherwise important topics"

"Strong interest in New Jersey politics, particularly Hudson County, NJ"

This is a smoking gun regarding Dixon Advisory actively seeking political influence.
Dixon Advisory paid somebody to investigate elected and other local officials, they paid people to attend Neighborhood Association and other community meetings and they sought employees with political aspirations in Hudson County.

Quote:

Look at the first post in this thread and ask yourself this question -
Who cannot spell Kushner and knows what a push poll is?
The same person who cannot spell Solomon and knows what opo research is.

I had to google both terms.


Quote:

You mean like this?

"Seen as a mastermind of street campaigning, Bertoli is known to have a hatful of tricks that he has used in campaigns dating back to when he dared to take on Mayor Nicholas Sacco in North Bergen in the early 1990s. Bertoli is known for digging up old facts and using them for best results."

http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_s ... ns_lead_story_left_column

Or this?

"Political consultant Tom Bertoli, a senior advisor to Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop testified in a deposition last January. He described Plaintiff Lane Bajardi as a senior advisor like himself, and conversations with Beth Mason and Mr. Bajardi about suing bloggers during her spring 2009 mayoral race. No Defendants had websites but Hoboken ?bloggers? in general were considered a problem and Bertoli outlined the discussions to file ?frivolous lawsuits? and draining defendants who were getting in Mason?s way for higher office"

https://www.scribd.com/document/291340 ... ior-Court-August-4th-2014

Or this?

"According to a January 9, 2014 deposition in the Bajardi v Pincus civil litigation, decades long Hudson County political operative Tom Bertoli describes how the use of "frivolous lawsuits" was broached against the escalating impact of Hoboken residents commenting online, re: bloggers."

http://www.hobokenhorse.com/2015/03/b ... mer-senior-political.html

The fact that someone of Tom Bertoli's stature took the time to try and discredit what I am saying only adds weight to my words.

Watch this space.

"Shitposting is the act of posting large amounts of content of "aggressively, ironically, and trollishly poor quality" to an online forum or social network, in some cases intended to derail discussions or otherwise make the site unusable to its regular visitors."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitposting

Hmmm.

A homage to Hoboken?




Credit the source.

Link

Homewrecker Symes certainly seems to think she lives in Hoboken.






Link

Quote:

What you fail to mention is that the majority of Coastal Point Construction's work is for Dixon.
You should know this because Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy recognized Coastal Points for its work on Dixon Property 237b Montgomery St.

https://jerseydigs.com/jersey-city-lan ... ervation-awards-ceremony/

Please note -

"This event was made possible by the generous support of our sponsors.

PLATINUM LEVEL SPONSOR
Dixon Advisors"

This would be the carriage house of 237 Montgomery St, the property where Dixon attempted to avoid a $17000 tax increase.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... sessments_homeowners.html

This is the opinion of a candidate who dropped out of the race.

Quote:

Yes.

"Rebecca Symes candidacy has always made me feel uneasy. You should know why. Long term significant ties with developers and at best- disingenuous. #JerseyCity #DowntownJC"

Like myself he endorses no candidate.

https://www.facebook.com/TheMichaelBilly/videos/10213695630561721/

Quote:

Yes, as outside capital pours into our city and seeps into our political system, Conrad's thematic summation of the devastation wrought by a distant colonial capitalism does easily spring to mind.

Even the often referenced Waterfront Project is sponsored by Dixon Leasing, along with our old friends Carepoint.

https://www.thewaterfrontproject.org/our-supporters/

I would hope that their sponsorship of this worthy cause is as equally generous as the combined $1.3 million these two top donors gave to Fulop's super PAC.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... are_they_connected_1.html

The Carepoint money resulted in the Ambulance contract debacle.

http://hudsoncountyview.com/letter-jo ... y-ems-contract-city-hall/

What might that Dixon money have bought?

Could we please keep the Hudnut and Solomon trash talk in the appropriate threads.
This thread is strictly for examining how almost every achievement Symes has made in Jersey City has been accompanied by gifts of money from Dixon Advisory, its subsidiaries or people that do business with Dixon.

As has been barely noted, both Solomon and Symes are 2015 New Leaders Council Fellows.

http://www.newleaderscouncil.org/new_jersey_2015_fellows

From her profile (emphasis mine) -

"Rebecca Symes is the Head of Legal and Government Relations for Dixon Advisory USA, a residential Real Estate Investment Trust operating in the New York Metropolitan area. Rebecca manages relationships with elected officials, government agencies, and community stakeholders with the primary objective of identifying shared interests and maximizing opportunities for collaboration. She also handles the day-to-day legal affairs of Dixon Advisory USA and supervises outside counsel."

Of course her fellowship was accompanied by a gift from Dixon in excess of $5000.

http://www.newleaderscouncil.org/supporters_of_nlc

Quote: Glad to see you two agree on something and engaging in civil discourse. http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... l_board_turning_ugly.html "JERSEY CITY -- A fight that broke out last week at a meeting of Downtown Democratic committee people shows how much uglier the 2016 Jersey City school board race is compared to last year's sleepy campaign. At the Oct. 5 meeting, held in the basement of Grove Street restaurant The Bistro, two men who are allies of opposing slates of school board candidates began bickering about a controversial Facebook post by the school board's vice president, according to sources with knowledge of the incident. The fight turned physical when one man spat on the other and the man who was spat on returned the favor by licking the other man's face, the sources said. Two women who witnessed the fight had to pull the men apart." Was anyone else swapping saliva at these meetings?

Rebecca Symes purchased a waterfront condo in Hoboken when she moved to NJ in 2013 and began working for Dixon Advisory.

In August of 2015 she rented a two bedroom Dixon owned duplex with garden, 3 blocks from Grove Street, for a sweetheart rent of $2000 pcm.

http://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/URF/01680858.pdf

It is hard to say when she actually moved from Hoboken because she kept and still owns that apartment and was filing campaign contributions for Hillary Clinton using her Hoboken address as late as July 2016.

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?201708319071273670

What is clear is that Rebecca Symes declared her Ward E candidacy 1 year and 10 months after her earliest possible claim to residency in Jersey City.

August 2015 was a busy month for Rebecca as moving to Jersey City coincided with her being appointed by Mayor Fulop to the Jersey City Library board.

August 2015 also saw Dixon Advisory give $200,000 to Fulop's Coalition for Progress

https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespe ... 0582841&type=A&cycle=2016

Within three months of moving to Jersey City Symes was appointed secretary and board member of the Harsimus Cove Association.
This came a few months after the association had begun to receive sponsorship money from Dixon.

http://www.harsimuscove.org/event/hca-general-meeting/2015/04/13

A snapshot of HCA sponsors from the month she was appointed show 16 local businesses.

https://web.archive.org/web/2015111523 ... harsimuscove.org/sponsors

Under Symes tenure the number of sponsors reduced to Dixon Advisory and 3 others, as it remains to this day.

http://www.harsimuscove.org/sponsors

Nothing but facts.

However well meaning she may be it is difficult to view Symes presence in Jersey City as anything but a cynical and calculated play for power, one backed financially by her employers and the interests of real estate.

Quote:

Now you are changing your argument, first you disputed that bid rigging was a crime if it is not successful.
Corrected on this point you now claim that this isn't bid rigging at all. Perhaps you can further amuse us by explaining exactly what you think was going on in this recording?

"Late last year, multiple city employees told The Jersey Journal, FBI agents interviewed city employees, asking questions about the city's real-estate development practices. The employees, who asked not to be identified discussing the matter, said one of the topics discussed during the interviews was whether a Fulop political operative had undue influence over administration matters.

The FBI declined to comment, citing its policy neither to confirm nor deny the existence of investigations."

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _--_and_did_not_--_l.html