Councilwoman Sues City Of Hoboken To Strike Down Law Allowing Larger Campaign Donations

HOBOKEN, NJ — A Hoboken councilwoman filed a lawsuit Friday to overturn an ordinance that the City Council revised last-minute and passed in December. The ordinance allows unions to donate up to $7,200 to local candidates instead of being limited to $500.

This past Friday, Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, who had initially warned the rest of the council that voting that night might not be legal, filed a lawsuit in Hudson County Superior Court — as a member of the public rather than in her capacity as councilwoman —to overturn the December passage.

Hoboken's city attorney had issued a ruling weeks after the vote saying the last-minute change would probably not stand up to a legal challenge. READ MORE: Bigger Campaign Donations? Council Flip Flops, May Have Faltered

If the council wants to pass the ordinance, they will have to re-introduce it at a future meeting, and hold a hearing and second and third vote at a subsequent council meeting.

The council will hold its next meeting tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. You can watch it on Facebook here or follow the links on the agenda.

According to a release about the suit, "The complaint alleges that the ordinance was substantially changed by its sponsors just an hour before the vote, without any notice given to the public or a public hearing on the amendments, violating state statute N.J.S.A. 40:49-2."

“Weakening Hoboken’s campaign finance laws goes against the will of Hoboken’s citizenry,” said Fisher on Wednesday. “On all issues before the City Council, Hoboken residents and members of the public have the right to be heard."

Fisher noted that she cannot legally file the suit as a councilwoman, but filed it as a resident.

At a council meeting last Dec. 15, several members of the public spoke against the plan to raise the limit for union campaign donations to local candidates from $500 to $7,200.

Fisher — who had been opposing the increase since its introduction Dec. 1 — had noted in a newsletter before the meeting that a previous administration had lowered the donation limit in order to lessen union interference in Hoboken campaigns.

But council members allied with Mayor Ravi Bhalla gave reasons for the change, saying the limit was too low compared to the state's $7,200 limit, that it cut down too much on unions' ability to participate like others, and that an outside lawyer had said the low limit might not be legal.

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