African American leaders Assembly Member Benjie Wimberly, Assembly Member Shavonda Sumter, Council President Anthony Davis, Councilman William McKoy, Council Member Ken Morris, Jr., Council Member-Elect Ruby Cotton and School Board President Chris Irving today formally denounced Paterson Mayor Jeffrey Jones’ endorsement of U.S. Steve Rothman over Paterson-born U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, calling his choice “misguided and wrong.”
“There have been television ads and radio ads and billboards and fliers and mail in residents’ mail boxes, and a lot of money being made by other people, trying to convince people that Bill Pascrell is a bad guy,” the leaders said in a statement. “They’ve spent millions trying to convince people that Bill Pascrell has turned into something we know to be false and believes in things we know not to be true. And, when newspapers across north Jersey tell them they are not being truthful, they just throw more money behind their efforts to mislead us with those same ads, and fliers and mail. We think it is important that city residents know some simple truths in this election.”
They point out that The Star Ledger, The Bergen Record and The Herald News all endorsed Pascrell.
“Most importantly, he’s been endorsed by us,” said the Patersonians. “We are the ones that work with Bill Pascrell and we are the ones who see what he brings home from Washington and we are the ones who know how hard he fights every day. Bill Pascrell is the one who fought down in Washington to bring back $3.7 billion to his District, including nearly $4 million to rehire 25 police officers after Paterson was forced to lay off 125.
“Bill Pascrell fought for Paterson to get $18 million to rebuild the Alexander Hamilton Housing Project. Bill Pascrell is the one who fought for the $4 million in FEMA dollars for the city to elevate homes from flooding. And Bill Pascrell is the one who brought back federal aid for all of us . . . individuals, businesses and the city after Hurricane Irene. The Mayor’s decision to endorse Steve Rothman is misguided and wrong. Bill Pascrell is the fighter we need and we are going to work tirelessly to get him re-elected.”
