33rd Legislative District Assembly candidates Tony Hector and Frank Alonso are declaring that state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack pays zero dollars in city property taxes, which Stack already disputed in a letter to residents last year.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“We already knew that Brian Stack is the most corrupt politician in New Jersey, but the fact that Stack is scamming his own city and paying $0 in property taxes on a home worth almost $1 million is a new low,” Hector said in a statement, citing a $928,400 estimated value for 310 24th St. on Zillow and a “15F tax exemption.”
“This is the kind of obvious corruption that forces working class Hudson County residents to pay more and more in property taxes to fund Stack’s patronage machine. We are demanding an immediate law enforcement investigation into Stack’s property tax scam.”
Stack, along with the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), is backing Assemblyman Gabriel Rodriguez and Larry Wainstein, a longtime political adversary of North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, in the June 10th Democratic primary.
Meanwhile, Hector and Alonso are running under the banner “Democrats for Change” as part of gubernatorial candidate Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop’s ticket and also have the endorsement of Sacco.
Although Stack isn’t on this year’s ballot, the duo has been made it a priority to make the race about him.
“Brian Stack claims to represent the interests of everyday Union City residents, but in the last two years he has increased his own salary by a whopping 500% and reduced his property tax burden to $0 — how could any elected official justify that?” Alonso declared.
“The truth is that Brian Stack only cares about enriching himself and his cronies while gaining more and more political power. Our campaign is about standing up to Stack to give a voice to the people of the 33rd District, and they demand accountability, transparency and justice.”
Stack addressed the issue back in September in a three-page letter to residents, calling the notion that he hasn’t paid property taxes “malicious propaganda,” asserting that he paid $47,000 between 2018 and 2022 – while the home was being renovated.
“In the year I enrolled in the tax abatement incentive program, I incurred an Added Assessment fee for the work performed on my property to make it livable. This resulted in a total tax amount of $15,312.57 for 2023. My total contributions as a taxpayer in our city amount to approximately $62,000,” the letter says.
“In 2024, I will pay a base tax of around $12,600 for the year. The negative narratives against me only reflect the taxes I’ve paid this year 2024 up to the third quarter.
By the end of this year [2024], my total property taxes since purchasing the property will exceed $70,000 for a single family home with no rental income.”
