Campaign Mailer for Jersey City At-Large Candidates Claims No Layoffs Despite 366 Pink Slips
By Matt Hunger • Oct 28th, 2011 • Category: Featured, News, Politics
A factual error in a recent flier sent out by the At-Large City Council incumbents Kalimah Ahmad and Ray Velazquez, who are running on a joint ticket in the election Nov. 8, has caused concern for some residents and rival candidates who see the mistake as inappropriately bolstering the candidates’ image.
The mailer, delivered to residents throughout the city, states that there were “no layoffs despite tough economic times and massive cuts in state aid.” In fact, there were 366 layoffs last year that were, in part, one of the ways the city was able keep taxes “stable” for the 2011 budget.
Under the “Crime” section of the mailer, the candidates do correctly state that there were no police layoffs.
They also say they are working towards “adding hundreds of new construction and permanent jobs,” a boast that appears adjacent to a headline about the construction of a new Goya warehouse in Jersey City. But as we’ve reported, the number of jobs may not quite be what the company claims.
The error was first reported on the wall of a Facebook group, Political Insiders, in which residents debate Jersey City politics. Ahmad, who participated in the discussion, a copy of which was obtained by JCI, acknowledged the mistake but said it was nothing more than a “typo.” She said it was supposed to be in reference to the planned police layoffs that the city was able to avoid after numerous demonstrations by the police and residents helped convince the administration to look elsewhere for savings. Ahmad, who was appointed to office in February 2011, was not part of that discussion at the time and did not immediately respond to JCI‘s request for comment.
Sean Caddle, spokesman for candidate Sue Mack, said that while he understands that “mistakes do happen,” it would be “preferred” if they would make an effort to correct the typo.
“There are two to three ways to remedy the mistake, and they’re all based on finances,” said Caddle. The most affordable suggestion, he said, would be to “issue an auto-dial explaining the error.”
“You don’t want to be misleading anybody. When you look at the economy, the way it is today, and if you have people believing there were no layoffs, you’re more likely to skew a voter that way,” he said.
Added At-Large Council candidate Dan Levin, “If I were them, I’d put out a press release correcting anything in it that they believe is erroneous. Since they have not been participating in any public in-person or broadcast forums since the first one at Mary Bethune [elementary school], there may be no opportunity for any of the other candidates to challenge their assertions.”
Photos by Steve Gold
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Matt Hunger is a staff writer for the Jersey City Independent.
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