Hudson County Counsel Donato Battista is questioning why YouTuber Leroy Truth was a part of the Hudson County Clerks Association in North Bergen last week.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
” … It has come to my attention that the association recently conducted an educational seminar on July 25th during regular work hours in North Bergen that was attended by approximately five county employees in addition to yourself,” Battista wrote in a letter hand delivered to Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado yesterday.
“I learned that while the agenda for the meeting related to First Amendment audits and was conducted by Captain Jorge Raposo of the North Bergen Police Department, that was another individual who spoke was not a government official or a legal professional. I was informed that an individual by the name of Leonard Filipowski, also known as Leroy Truth, had the opportunity to address the group in attendance. If that occurred, it is problematic for a few reasons.”
Maldonado, who also serves president of the HCCA that was formed early this year, was told in the letter that anything the organization does to provide legal advice needs to be run by counsel first so that there is no potential legal liability for the county.
Battista also expressed concerns about a governmental function becoming political.
” … Based on my reading of recent news reports, it is clear to me that Mr. Filipowski is involved in the political arena, and not the government world. Allowing county employees on county time to attend an event that one can classify as partially political is problematic,” he wrote.
“I suggest that if you intend to continue your role as president of the clerks association, that you take a greater role in creating the agenda for the events, such as the recent seminar, or arranging to conduct the events on your personal time without the involvement of county employees.”
Maldonado declined to comment, stating that he would not speak about a document that was supposed to have attorney-client privilege.
North Bergen spokeswoman Sofia Quintanar said that Raposo invited Filipowski without running it by anyone, something that will change going forward.
“This event was organized by the Hudson County Municipal Clerks Association to provide an opportunity for its members to earn continuing education credits, and the Township provided a location for it to be held,” she told HCV.
“We had no prior knowledge that there would be an additional speaker at the event besides Captain Raposo, and we would not have allowed Mr. Filipowski or any other non-governmental attendee to participate had we been told in advance … Captain Raposo did not seek approval to invite Mr. Filipowski and no one in the North Bergen Police Department or the municipal government was aware that he would be attending.”
She also noted that the township would be instituting a new policy that would only allow speakers with prior approval allowed to use township facilities.
Nonetheless, a senior Hudson County official questioned North Bergen’s ties to Filipowski, despite the fact that Mayor Nick Sacco has continually denied having any involvement with his ongoing feud with state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack.
“Leroy Truth has fingerprints and footprints in North Bergen: How does he get invited into a meeting like that hosted by a North Bergen police captain?” the official, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, began.
“Also, I think it’s disgusting that [Jersey City] Mayor Steven Fulop would use the term ‘mental illness’ in a political fight, he needs to apologize to the families impacted by this disease,” he added, referencing Fulop’s remarks directed at Stack from Monday, as HCV first reported.
As for Filipowski, he wrote off Battista’s letter as much ado about nothing, indicating that Raposo had invited him and three other First Amendment advocates (only he was able to attend) to Thursday’s event so they could share their perspective.
“Rappso said multiple times this is not legal training. I spoke for maybe six minutes out of the two-hour training and I was there because I’m a First Amendment auditor. He gets insight from me to share my stories and experiences,” he said over the phone today.
“Raposo did not get political, he was simply explaining why people are allowed to go into public buildings and film. There’s no expectation of privacy in public and that goes both ways … Some municipalities, like North Bergen, gives everyone a warm welcome, but that’s not the case across the board.”
Filipowski has become a definitive adversary of Stack since he started investigating him and his administration back in December.
Earlier this month, he was walked out of a board of commissioners meeting in handcuffs for not standing behind the podium during public comment and he has since filed a false arrest lawsuit against Stack and the Union City Police Department.