Five candidates are running for Jersey City’s Ward E City Council seat, which covers Downtown, in the May 12 election. But two of those candidates, Steven Fulop and Guy Catrillo, are trying to turn it into a two-man race.
Through his campaign office, Fulop, the incumbent running for a second term, issued on Tuesday afternoon an e-mail taking issue with Catrillo’s allegedly engaging in negative campaigning.
An excerpt from the e-mail reads, “In the past two weeks, Team Healy’s candidate, Guy Catrillo, has run two full-page negative ads about Steve in the Hudson Reporter. We chose not to retaliate with a similarly negative attack ad because, again, we want to avoid mudslinging and, instead, focus on the issues that are important to the Ward. This same advertisement was used as part of many of the invitations their campaign distributed during group discussions in which they participated downtown. Finally, yesterday morning, vocal and key volunteers to the Catrillo campaign started sending out emails (to addresses from community distribution email lists) and letters full of misinformation and exaggeration.”
Fulop, running as an independent, has also put out a website (www.stevenfulop.com/factcheck) to refute any “misinformation and exaggeration.”
Meanwhile, Catrillo’s camp sent out an e-mail Tuesday alleging the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association (HPNA) asked a member of their board, a Catrillo supporter, to apologize for making her support known to a friend in a private e-mail, and requesting that the board member send out an e-mail “clarifying” her views. The Catrillo campaign sent out their e-mail one day before tonight’s debate organized by the HPNA with all the Ward E candidates at the Cordero Elementary School, 158 Erie St from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Stated in the e-mail is the following: “The Catrillo Campaign does not support this selective suppression of freedom of speech. In fact, we uphold, defend and encourage lively debate and dialogue of opposing views. After all, isn’t that the purpose of a debate? This business of requesting an apology from someone who expressed their personal views in a private email is an outrageous infringement on one’s civil rights and freedom of speech. ”
In the e-mail, the Catrillo team also calls out the HPNA for allegedly having several board members who are supporters of Fulop, referred to in the e-mail as “the Current Councilman.”
Also, the Catrillo team requests in their e-mail the HPNA disclose before tonight’s debate, which Catrillo still plans to attend, “if any HPNA Board member, selecting questions for the debate, has publicly endorsed or supported the election efforts of any Ward E candidate …” – The other candidates running are Jaime Vazquez, Joseph Tarrazi and Azam Riaz.
Check the Hudson Reporter’s “up to the minute news” for more on these controversies, and comment below! – Ricardo Kaulessar