Campaign Flyer In Belleville Ignites Controversy As Election Day Nears

BELLEVILLE, NJ — In New Jersey, your stance on property taxes – or where voters think you stand on taxes – can make or break a political campaign. And with less than a week to go before the 2024 municipal election in Belleville, a town council candidate is claiming that a flyer from her opponent is an “outright lie” that may lead to legal action.

Belleville’s nonpartisan municipal election will take place on May 14. Candidates do not declare party affiliations in a nonpartisan election. Read More: Belleville 2024 Election (See List Of Candidates)

As the countdown to Election Day continues, the candidates have been reaching out to voters with public appearances and social media campaigns. Some have also been sending out campaign mailers, including Patricia Inaugurato, who is running against Tracy Juanita Williams for a seat on the town council in the First Ward.

The contest is especially heated in the ward, where longtime councilwoman Marie Strumolo-Burke’s recent death has left a vacuum of power for the first time in two decades. Read More: Belleville Councilwoman Dies Before Term Ends; Town Needs Replacement

Some voters in the town’s First Ward recently received a mailer at their homes from Inaugurato’s campaign team, which went on the offensive against Williams, who currently serves on the local school board (see the flyer below).

“Before you vote … did you know, Tracy Juanita Williams, a renter, council candidate and current board of education trustee just voted for a huge tax increase!” the flyer reads.

The mailer says that Williams voted in favor of a $413 property tax increase for the average assessed house of $278,000 – or a $826 tax hike for a home assessed at $550,000.

The back of the flyer – which states that it was “Paid for by Patti Inaugurato for First Ward Council” – blasts Williams for “consistently voting for property tax increases” among other criticisms. It also says that she is endorsed by the “Melham Team” and “all township council members.”

But according to Williams, the claim that she voted for a “huge tax increase” amounts to slander.

In March, the Belleville Board of Education unanimously voted to introduce the school board’s tentative 2024-2025 budget, which did include a potential $413 tax hike. Administrators said the proposed spending plan was a work in progress, and would likely end up with changes before it crossed the finish line. Read More: Taxes May Go Up In Belleville Under Proposed School Budget

Earlier this week, the school board held a final budget hearing, voting 3-3 on a revamped spending plan – which comes with a lower tax hike of $171 for a home assessed at $275,000. However, Williams didn’t vote on the current version of the budget, instead choosing to abstain “due to a conflict.” Read More: Belleville School Board Sees Tie Vote On Budget, Potential Tax Hike

And that’s where the problem kicks in, she says.

“I’m very disappointed – but not surprised – by the recent slanderous statement made by my opponent in her latest mailer,” Williams said Wednesday. “Clearly, everyone could see that a mailer was sent out before the 2024 board of education budget vote was even made.”

“I abstained from that vote because of a potential conflict of interest, something I wish more board members would’ve done over the last several years,” she said.

“The day after the mailer hit, I was informed that I was being removed from the finance committee by the board of education president,” Williams continued. “I guess after the mailer had already done damage to my character, it was okay for the president to remove me from the committee.”

“I will now be considering my legal options with my attorney for slander and defamation of character against my opponent and the people responsible for this mailer,” Williams said.

Inaugurato is part of the Better Belleville slate, which is endorsing three town council candidates for the May 14 election: Inaugurato, Victor Mesce (2nd Ward) and Diana Guardabasco (4th Ward). The Better Belleville slate has also included school board candidates in past elections, such as Luis Muniz, Gabrielle Bennett-Meany, Brenda Pacheco and Michael Derro – who all voted in favor of the $413 proposed tax hike in March along with Williams.

The three board members who voted against the budget and $171 tax hike this week are Derro, Pacheco and Nicole Daddis. Meanwhile, Lissa Missaggia, Muniz and Bennett-Meany voted yes.

Patch reached out to Inaugurato seeking comment about the flyer that was recently mailed out in the First Ward. We will update this article with any reply we receive.

Mayor Michael Melham, who has endorsed Inaugurato and the other Better Belleville candidates for town council as a member of the campaign team, accused Williams of “punting” her vote on the budget.

Melham pointed out that the mailer was designed after the first vote, when Williams voted “yes” for the $413 increase.

“After design, the mailer was then sent to a printer and printed,” Melham told Patch. “It then went from the printer to the post office. It was then delivered and hit this Monday (and some on Tuesday). All before the second vote.”

“Since that time, a second vote happened, whereby she abstained,” the mayor added. “And there may very well be another mailing coming out, updating the voters that she now punted when given the opportunity to either correct her original $413 tax increase vote and vote yes on a reduced budget or to join other board members in voting down the budget all together.”

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