This is probably a bigger story than people realize: the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) has contributed $10,400 to one of the two candidates in a non-partisan June 9 runoff election for Mayor of Hillside. What makes this interesting is that the recipient of the rather substantial contribution, Jerome Jewell, is the preferred candidate of Charlotte DeFilippo, who serves as both the Hillside Democratic Municipal Chair and the Union County Democratic Chair.
The DGA is under no legal obligation to report their donors, has no limits on campaign contributions, and can take money from individuals or corporations who, for a variety of reasons, cannot contribute in New Jersey.
In addition to their concern over the Hillside mayoral race, the DGA is also playing in the Republican gubernatorial primary. An allied group, the Mid-Atlantic Democratic Leadership Fund, is spending a reported $900,000 on network TV ads attacking Christopher Christie, one of the three candidates seeking the Republican nomination for Governor.
