Jersey City councilman calls for investigation into mysterious Brian Stack fliers

Published: Thursday, November 03, 2011, 12:59 PM Updated: Thursday, November 03, 2011, 1:22 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal


The mysterious campaign fliers touting state Sen. Brian Stack?s non-existent endorsements in next week?s Jersey City City Council special election has one candidate calling for a state investigation.
The fliers, which say Stack has endorsed candidates Sue Mack and Omar Perez despite Stack?s insistence that he is staying out of the race, are a ?sinister attempt? to trick voters, said Councilman-at-Large Ray Velazquez today.
Velazquez, appointed last year to replace disgraced councilman Mariano Vega, is running in next week?s election to remain in Vega?s seat until the 2013 city election. Velazquez is battling 16 other candidates to fill two council vacancies.
The fliers, Velazquez said, do not have a required disclaimer explaining who is responsible for them, and he wants the state Election Law Enforcement Commission to investigate.
?Mack and Perez are engaging in the same old dirty tricks that have been a blight on Jersey City politics for years,? he said in a statement. ?They should be ashamed of themselves and owe Jersey City an apology."
Yesterday, after The Jersey Journal made inquiries about the fliers, both Mack, a Board of Education veteran, and Perez, a former aide to Mayor Jerramiah Healy, denied having anything to do with them. Perez initially said they had Stack?s unofficial endorsement, but his campaign manager called later to say Perez ?misspoke.?
Today, Sean Caddle, Mack?s campaign manager, and Gerald Reiner, Perez?s campaign manager, said they are not responsible for the fliers.
?Front Porch Consulting, my firm, is the only company authorized to do anything for Sue Mack,? Caddle said. ?Front Porch Consulting did not create the piece.?

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

What is being done to remove those flyers and replace it with correct information, saying "Sen Stack DID NOT endorse any one", with an apology? Just should NOT be preaching to others:

-----------------------------
A factual error in a recent flier sent out by the At-Large City Council incumbents Kalimah Ahmad and Ray Velazquez....
The mailer, .... ?no layoffs despite tough economic times and massive cuts in state aid.? ... 366 layoffs last year ..."

.....

Sean Caddle, spokesman for candidate Sue Mack, said that while he understands that ?mistakes do happen,? it would be ?preferred? if they would make an effort to correct the typo.

?There are two to three ways to remedy the mistake, and they?re all based on finances,? said Caddle. The most affordable suggestion, he said, would be to ?issue an auto-dial explaining the error.?

?You don?t want to be misleading anybody. When you look at the economy, the way it is today, and if you have people believing there were no layoffs, you?re more likely to skew a voter that way,? he said.


-------------------------------------
http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... s-despite-366-pink-slips/

With so many candidates, perhaps two rounds of votes would yield 2 candidates that more citizens can agree with.

State Sen. Brian Stack denies endorsing two Jersey City City Council candidates as silly season begins


Published: Wednesday, November 02, 2011, 4:48 PM Updated: Wednesday, November 02, 2011, 5:22 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal


State Sen. Brian Stack has not endorsed Jersey City City Council candidates Sue Mack and Omar Perez.
Kind of.
Campaign material indicating Stack?s endorsement of the duo was seen today in Jersey City, eliciting the ire of at least one of Mack?s and Perez?s 15 competitors, who told The Jersey Journal that Stack hasn?t endorsed anyone and that the flier is ?not fair.?
Perez, formerly an aide to Mayor Jerramiah Healy, said today that he met with Stack and indeed received his endorsement. Perez?s ballot mate for the November 8 race is Mack, a Board of Education veteran.
But Stack spokesman Mark Albiez said the powerful state senator and Union City mayor has kept out of this race.
Asked to respond, Perez said, ?We have met with him and we have met with his supporters and they have indicated he is supportive of our candidacy. He is not going to go out on the record and make a formal announcement.?
Mack, meanwhile, said she has neither met with Stack nor received his endorsement.
Asked to respond, Albiez issued this statement: ?Senator Stack has not made any endorsements in the Jersey City council race, however, he is supportive of a candidate's efforts to improve the lives of local residents.?
?A candidate? meaning someone specific?
?No,? Albiez responded.
So there you have it: Stack is supportive of a candidate, but no one specific, and Perez has received his endorsement, but he hasn?t.
A Perez campaign spokesman told The Jersey Journal Stack has not endorsed the Perez campaign, saying Perez "misspoke." Asked to explain the flier, the spokesman said it could be a "dirty trick" by another campaign.
Another campaign-flier kerfuffle erupted last week, when campaign material for incumbents Kalimah Ahmad and Ray Velazquez touted ?no layoffs? at the city level. Of course, there have been hundreds of layoffs, but Ahmad said on a Facebook page that she meant there were no layoffs of police officers.


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