The campaign of District 31 Republican Assembly nominee Nick Chiaravalloti is taking a rare offensive stance in this election, referring to Republican counterpart Matthew Kopko as “Mr. New York City” over his car’s license plate. Kopko was dismissive of the claim.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
In a contentious matchup between a Democrat and Republican, a rare sight in Hudson County, Kopko has been throwing punches in bunches since the primary ended, recently accusing Chiaravalloti of practicing law without a license.
Apparently, he’s done enough to make Chiaravalloti go on the attack, as a supporter of the Democratic candidate sent Hudson County View a text message today pointing out that Kopko’s car has New York license plates.
Kopko essentially said there’s nothing to see here, explaining why the campaign tactic was “desperate.”
“Talk about a desperate campaign. The Hudson County Democratic Organization must be really desperate if this is all they got. My wife and I both work in New York City and leased this car from Fiat in Manhattan and part of the deal is we get $99 per month parking in New York City. Where else can you get a deal like that?,” he asked.
“And that’s exactly the kind of fiscal responsibility you can expect from me in Trenton. Our car is garaged in New York during the day, where we both work, and at night it sits right here, with me, in my garage, in Bayonne. Hundreds of thousands of us not ripping off and profiting off our own community actually travel across state lines each day to make a living.”
A source close to Chiaravalloti’s campaign chimed in, adding that: “This points to the great internal contradiction of Mr. Kopko: he wants to be Mr. Bayonne, but he’s really Mr. New York City,” declining to comment further.
Chiaravalloti and Angela McKnight, the HCDO-endorsed candidates, go head-to-head with Kopko and Herminio Mendoza in the November 3 general election.