I am writing regarding some of the absurd statements made in the April 10 article “Allegations fly in mayor/commissioners’ race” regarding the North Bergen May 10 Commission election.
The article demonstrates largely what is wrong with the town. First there is the problem of getting public documents from Town Hall. As a member of the Citizens for Change organization that is running for office against the incumbent Mayor Sacco and his runningmates we had to file a lawsuit to get public information that we, as citizens are entitled to have. The gatekeeper of this information is the town attorney who is paid an outrageous salary of $200,000 plus fees. In the article it is noted that he had to review the documents before they were released? Why? That’s not his job. He’s the attorney, not the custodian of records.
The second problem with the town is a continued ambivalence toward conflicts of interest. The article’s writer noted correctly that the town spokesman – the person paid by the taxpayers – is also the paid spokesman for the campaign team of Mayor Nick Sacco. How does that work? According to the 2011 North Bergen budget, the town is spending $350,000 on public relations this year. The town’s spokesman some of this taxpayer money to represent the town and its citizens. But then he turns his hat around and takes thousands more to ridicule the residents who are running against the current incumbent commissioners. How does Mayor Sacco condone the obvious conflict of interest of paying someone with taxpayer money who also works for his political campaign?
Further in the story this spokesman tries to defend the alleged intimidation tactics of Mayor Sacco who allegedly sent campaign workers to residents’ homes to get them to sign a document recanting their support of the challenger team. The spokesman never denied that Sacco workers went to people’s homes. Instead he tried to call the visits “ a voter’s education effort.”
He’s got to be kidding. What kind of voter education effort is it to send workers to the homes of only those people who support the Citizens for Change candidates?
The truth is that the Sacco Administration has become so entrenched in town hall that they resent being challenged. Sacco doesn’t like people asking questions, or getting their hands on public documents. And when they do, the town trots out the highly paid town spokesman to ridicule citizens of this community.
Yes indeed, it’s time for a change in North Bergen.
Maria Benitez-Mir
Commission candidate