By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
With just days to go before the mayoral election in North Bergen, the rough and tumble nature that is Hudson County politics is rearing its ugly head.
“We are not a bunch of violent thugs like our opponents. Mr. Wainstein’s camp on the other hand has these high profile people right at the top of the organization,” said Paul Swibinski.
That’s incumbent mayor and state Sen. Nick Sacco’s spokesperson taking a swipe at the opposition, Larry Wainstein. Wainstein’s camp recently filed a criminal complaint in state Superior Court alleging previous election fraud and violations.
“First part is there are a number of voters that have voted in prior North Bergen elections who do not live in North Bergen,” said Wainstein Campaign Attorney Mario Blanch.
“I contacted the state Attorney General’s office with regards to North Bergen elections, I sent them about 35 photographs of three and four sets of legs inside the polling booths,” said one resident at a Gov. Chris Christie town hall last month.
In a video from a recent town hall with Chrisite — a vocal critic of Mayor Sacco’s multiple public jobs — Wainstein ally Howie McPherson lodges the second part of the complaint.
“Their evidence is they showed a photo of a voting booth somewhere in America. We have no idea of telling where and there were four feet inside the booth. The fact of the matter is that it’s common for a voter, typically an elderly voter, to ask for help at a polling place,” Swibinski said.
“What else would they possibly claim? They’re the ones doing the cheating,” Blanch said. “Under New Jersey law Title 19 in order to go into a voting booth you have to fill out a certification affidavit that the voter needs assistance. The New Jersey Attorney General and the Division of Elections has not provided one certification to suggest that the law is being complied with.”
The AG’s office is investigating the allegations and will assign six state troopers and 10 additional deputies to be dispersed at the polling sites on May 12. Fine by us says Swibinksi.
“This guy is completely unbelievable. He’s a convicted felon with a long criminal record,” he said.
Here’s a new campaign ad from Mayor Sacco’s team, highlighting the Wainstein ticket.
“Sacco is running scared. He’s losing this election and everyone in his administration knows it,” said Campaign Manager Luis Gutierrez.
Sacco’s group also claims that Wainstein doesn’t reside in North Bergen, but in a $2 million home in Franklin Lakes, as evidenced by annual reports filed from companies he owns, the most recent from six weeks ago.
“He lives at 7414 Fourth Ave. I’ve been there, I’ve had barbecues at his house, so Mr. Wainstein without a shadow of a doubt lives where he says he lives,” Blanch said.
Here’s something both parties actually agree on — they would have preferred for the Attorney General’s Office to assign 100 percent monitoring, a state trooper at each polling site. They say maybe then there’d be less finger pointing. For now the lawsuit heads back to Hudson County.