Civic JC, a local watchdog organization, has sent a letter to Coalition for Progress, a large political fundraising committee for Mayor Steven Fulop’s now-aborted gubernatorial campaign, warning the organization not to use money raised from local vendors in his upcoming mayoral re-election race or other municipal elections.
Esther Wintner, president and chair of Civic JC, was among those who issued the Sept. 28 letter. She said Coalition for Progress has raised money from vendors and professionals doing business with the city, and therefore use of this money in a local campaign would violate city pay to play regulations.
Former City Attorney Bill Matsikoudis, who has launched a campaign to run for mayor against Fulop in 2017, has asked the superpac to give back as much as $1.46 million to those vendors and professionals doing business with Jersey City.
Wintner said that her letter is not tied to the Matsikoudis campaign, noting Civic JC had been on the forefront of developing local pay-to-play regulations along with Fulop when he was still a councilman.
“This is just silly politics. They are discussing a federal superpac that the mayor nor the administration has any control over.” – Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill.“
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She said money raised for the superpac cannot be used for Fulop’s mayoral campaign or any local candidate or even to support or oppose a local referendum, such as the one on the ballot this November asking voters to approve moving the municipal election.
Corporation counsel claims exemption
Last year, the city’s corporation counsel issued a ruling saying that the superpac was exempt from local pay to play laws.
Matsikoudis, however, said raising funds from local vendors was an issue, saying that until recently, Fulop had left open the possibility of his running for mayor.
“Now that he’s withdrawn from running for governor and has declared that he is running for mayor, this becomes a bigger issue,” he said.
Matsikoudis said that one of the largest contributors to the PAC came from one of the founders of CarePoint Health for about $1 million.
“If you remember, Fulop tried to give the city’s ambulance contract to CarePoint,” he said.
The letter quotes news reports that claim 27 out of the 58 donations to the superpac came from entities doing business on some level with Jersey City.
Matsikoudis, in a telephone interview, said these funds should be returned to those entities.
Wintner did not call for a return of the money.
“We just wanted to put them on notice that these funds cannot be spent on local elections,” she said. “If the funds are given to another candidate for governor or are used for something not in Jersey City that’s different.”
In the letter issued by Civic JC, Wintner and her co-authors Daniel Levin and Valerio Luccio said local pay to play laws are very specific.
“If Coalition for Progress makes expenditures to support Mayor Fulop while he remains a candidate for mayor, it will cause its donors covered by either (of two ordinances) to void their contract,” the letter said.
“This is just silly politics,” said Fulop spokesperson Jennifer Morrill. “They are discussing a federal superpac that the mayor nor the administration has any control over. The laws are quite clear here and are always followed.”
The federal superpac funds both Democratic and GOP candidates throughout the nation, and has supported several candidates for House of Representatives in New Jersey, including District 5 GOP candidate Josh Gottheimer, who recently appeared in Jersey City as part his campaign. Gottheimer is a former speech writer for Democratic President Bill Clinton. The superpac has also made contributions to national figures such Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.