Although tearing down political signs is often a common practice in heated elections, charges filed against Pat Desmond for allegedly hiring kids to tear down Mayor Joseph Doria’s re-election signs may have taken on a new wrinkle.
Desmond, a one-time strong supporter of Doria, plead innocent to charges that he hired kids to tear down political campaign signs as his case was remanded back to Bayonne Municipal Court by the Hudson County Central Judicial Processing Court on May 2.
Desmond was charged after two Bayonne police officers caught two 16-year-olds and 18-year-old Hesham Amer of Jersey City carrying Mayor Joseph Doria Team campaign signs they allegedly took down using cutting shears.
All three were charged with theft and possession of burglar tools, and allegedly claimed Desmond had ordered them to remove the signs.
Desmond, in pleading innocent, denied ordering the kids to perform the sign removal and is scheduled to appear in Bayonne Municipal Court on May 16.
Councilman Anthony Chiappone, who is running for re-election as an independent at-large candidate, said kids had been hired to tear down his signs four years ago when he ran, suggesting that this was not a new pattern of behavior but a campaign tactic employed previously by supporters of Doria.
Bayonne has been in the middle of a tough mayoral contest that had three candidates challenging Doria for mayor, including former Municipal Judge Patrick Conaghan, former Hudson County Prosecutor Vincent Militello, and retired police officer Leonard Kantor.
Why Desmond – once an ardent supporter of Doria – would allegedly order the tearing down of Doria signs is a ripe subject for speculation; some believe Desmond was despondent over the failure of Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority to pick a plan for redeveloping a section of the former Military Ocean Terminal.
Political observers claim Desmond abandoned the Doria campaign and joined the Conaghan campaign, a theory Desmond flatly refuted.
“I might not campaign for Doria, but I wouldn’t campaign against him,” he said. Several residents on West Fourth Street noted that Desmond never removed the Doria signs from in front of his own house.
Desmond supporters believe that Desmond was deliberately “set up” because of his promoting of a new union for county workers – a vote that was scheduled for the same week the charges surfaced – implying that the sign sabotage may have been orchestrated by anti-new union people on a county level and had little or nothing to do with the municipal election.
Over the last few months Desmond attempted to bring in another union to represent Hudson County employees. The first vote, which took place in early April, ended with a narrow victory for the new union. But opponents of the new union challenged some of the votes that led to a second vote in late April, which resulted in the new union losing by a larger margin.
Desmond, when contacted for comment, attributed the loss to charges brought against him. But said he would seek to have the vote voided.
Who paid the kids for their sign tampering may well become evident after the municipal election with the last batch of campaign spending reports.