The Monroe Township Democratic Organization is facing scrutiny from opponents in Middlesex County for a perceived “failure to adequately report contributions” the group has made to Monroe Council President Gerald Tamburro’s mayoral campaign.
According to ELEC documents filed by the Tamburro for Mayor account, the Democratic organization contributed $5,378.60 to the campaign on May 7. Then, on July 13, the organization contributed another $18,000, putting their aggregate contributions to Tamburro for Mayor over $24,000.
On April 20, the Monroe Township Democratic Organization filed an ELEC report stating that their total net worth from January 1 to March 31, 2015 totaled $3,500. According to one insider, the discrepancy from March to July cannot be ignored.
“He doesn’t want us to know where it came from,” said the Middlesex County source of Tamburro who also serves as the treasurer for the Monroe Township Democratic Organization. “We don’t know who is involved as the money source for the democratic organization.”
According to Tamburro, however, there is nothing amiss with the documents. He believes that the discrepancy comes from contributions funneling from other candidate accounts into his mayoral account because he was the only candidate running contested in the primary.
“As far as I am aware, everything has been appropriately filed,” he told PolitickerNJ. “Without the numbers in front of me, I can’t say exactly what came from where.”
While Tamburro’s mayoral campaign has filed these contributions, the Monroe Township Democratic Organization has not filed any record of contributions the group has made in ELEC since 2014.
Tamburro’s candidacy comes in the wake of Monroe Mayor Richard Pucci’s announcement that he would not be seeking reelection. Pucci, a democrat, has served seven terms as mayor.
“I know the people of Monroe have elected me as a councilman for four terms,” Tamburro said. “I have the experience as councilman and as council president.”
Opposing Tamburro for the position is Republican Martin Herrmann.
