Hoboken Council Candidates Make Election-Day Hiring Pledge

HOBOKEN, NJ — A slate of candidates running for city council has made a pledge not to hire any election day workers, instead relying on volunteer-power.

Last week, the Team Bhalla council slate – which is backed by Mayor Ravi Bhalla – announced that it will be using volunteers to conduct get-out-the-vote activities this November.

The candidates, Migdalia Pagan-Milano, Nora Martinez DeBenedetto, Lisa Sprengle, Phil Cohen and Cristin Cricco-Powell, released a joint statement about the decision:

“We are pledging not to hire any election day workers because we believe it is important to go the extra mile to stamp out the voter fraud that has plagued our local elections. We challenge all candidates running for Ward Council seats this fall to join us. It is important to send a message to all residents that Hoboken elections will be conducted with integrity.”

The candidates said their pledge takes aim at the illegal practice of candidates paying people to vote for them and then falsely reporting the payments as compensation for working election day.

“This was the design of the large-scale voter fraud scheme that Frank Raia was found guilty of organizing and overseeing in city elections,” the candidates said, referring to the recent conviction of the erstwhile politico.

• See related article: Ex-Hoboken Candidate 'Pupie' Raia Convicted Of Voter Bribery

The Team Bhalla slate also said they would adhere to a “5 Point Integrity Pledge to Protect Hoboken Housing Authority Residents” recently put forward by HHA Vice-Chair James Sanford, with the explicit understanding directly from Mr. Stanford that the second point in the pledge prohibits candidates from campaigning at official housing authority events, but permits direct campaign contact with HHA residents, through activities such as door-to-door campaigning, phone calls or resident hosted meet and greets.

• See related article: Hoboken Official Asks Candidates For Ethics Pledge

Sanford has called for candidates in the 2019 election to take on the following promises:

• Unequivocally denounce any GOTV campaign and similarly organized schemes that pay voters to volunteer for a candidate or issue-based campaign.
• Refrain from campaigning on HHA property or at HHA sponsored events.
• Commit to an apolitical HHA where both residents and staff are free from political coercion, intimidation, and interference.
• Donate all money received from Mr. Raia, his affiliated third-party entities, and any other entity or person affiliated with similar paid voter volunteer schemes. Further, that all donations be made directly to the Hoboken Housing Authority as contrition for the many years of serial abuses committed against HHA residents and our community at large.
• That all city council candidates who sign this pledge will hold accountable all candidates who fail to honor this pledge.

In addition to the Team Bhalla slate, Nicola Maganuco in Ward 5 has signed the pledge, Sanford said Monday.

3rd Ward Council Candidate Ron Bautista also announced he signed Sanford's 5-Point pledge on Monday.

DEFUSCO: ‘ABSOLUTELY ABSURD’

Councilman Mike DeFusco – who is running for re-election – offered the following statement about last week’s announcement from the Team Bhalla slate:

“It's absolutely absurd for a slate of candidates to preach about running a clean campaign when they're being supported by a dark money super PAC poised to spend over $150,000 to influence our local elections. That kind of disingenuous pandering is exactly what's wrong with politics today and another reason why our city must have independent council members who are accountable only to the people of Hoboken, not their dark money benefactors.”

On Sept. 18, DeFusco issued an updated statement, writing that he accepted Sanford’s request the same day he contacted council members.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the Team Bhalla slate replied that since DeFusco received political contributions from Raia himself, “you would think he would sign-on to this straightforward pledge to protect the integrity of Hoboken elections, rather than try to change the subject.”

After Raia’s conviction, DeFusco and fellow council member Ruben Ramos re-gifted thousands of dollars they received in donations from the developer and former council candidate.

DeFusco split a $5,400 donation between the Hoboken American Legion, which will be used in their ongoing effort to build housing for homeless veterans, and the Jubilee Center of Hoboken. He also made a second donation of $4,000 to the Hudson County Democratic Organization's LGBTQ+ Caucus. The money will be used to promote equality and help the caucus work with all 12 towns in Hudson County achieve a perfect Municipal Equality Index score from the Human Rights Campaign.

Ramos gave a combined $1,000 to Community Lifestyle, a program that provides free summer camp for families living within the Hoboken Housing Authority, and Amazing Truth Society, a free karate/self-defense program for children in the same area.

• See related article: Hoboken Councilmen Regift Donations From Convicted Ex-Politico

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