The “Sires Team for West New York” received $10,000 total from two entities linked to Jersey City Mayor/gubernatorial candidate Steven Fulop, going towards a $129,788.81 haul with $60,749.47 cash on hand, according to an April 20th campaign finance report.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
The report, filed with New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC), did not reveal a ton of new donors from 48 hours prior, though there were some and an amendment was necessary since no expenditures were listed.
Arguably the two most notable new contributions listed came from the Jersey City Democratic Organization and the Fund for Quality Leadership: both gave $5,000 on March 31st.
JCDO Chair Barbara Stamato is one of the two state Assembly picks for the Hudson County Democratic Organization in the 31st Legislative District and is also the county coordinator for Fulop’s bid for governor.
On the other hand, the Fund for Quality Leadership is a super PAC that Fulop has served as a key note speaker/guest of honor for several times and is chaired by Maureen Hulings: the board chair for the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority.
While Fulop hasn’t endorsed in the North Hudson municipal contest, this may be his way of paying it forward for Sires endorsing him early in his 2021 re-election bid long before he had a declared opponent.
At the time, Sires’ eventual successor in the House of Representatives, Rob Menendez, the son of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), was mulling a Jersey City mayoral run.
Furthermore, the New York Hotel Trades Council Committee on Political Education gave a max donation of $8,200 on March 31st, while Joe DeMarco, the campaign manager of former West New York Mayor Felix Roque in 2011, donated $500 on April 3rd.
DeMarco also briefly served as the business administrator in town.
As for expenses, the campaign’s biggest cost listed is on literature: spending at least $50,365.38 on local vendor Royal Printing as of March 31st. RP also donated $500 to the team on April 3rd.
Also of note, Austin, Texas-based Cabyra, LLC was paid $10,000 on March 11th for media production, the ELEC report shows.
Their opponents in the non-partisan May 9th race, “West New York Forward,” led by Public Affairs Commissioner Cosmo Cirillo, reported raising $96,075 with $53,105.28 cash on hand in their April 10th ELEC report.
