Jersey City Ward F council candidate Vernon Richardson is targeting incumbent Jermaine Robinson for voting in favor of limiting public comment last year in a new campaign ad.
Here’s a new campaign ad from #JerseyCity Ward F council candidate Vernon Richardson (@mister_nj), criticizing @Jermaine4WardF for voting to scale back public comment last year.
FULL STORY: https://t.co/VAqmyVZfYY pic.twitter.com/RdyF1g8j2Q
— John Heinis (@HeinisHardNews) October 23, 2021
“This election is an opportunity to not only weigh in on all of Councilman Robinson’s five years of neglect but also the damage he’s done on those rare occasions when he has taken action. It’s been 5 years of no ideas or bad ideas,” Richardson said in a statement.
The 30-second ad, titled “Silenced,” features Richardson with a piece of duct tape on his mouth and criticizes Robinson (through a voiceover) for voting yes on first and second reading to scale back public comment from five to three minutes early last year.
“Councilman Robinson sent a harsh message to the Ward F community by voting twice to limit public participation at council meetings,” he says in the voiceover, which also has a heart rate monitor sound in the background.
“But the good news is you don’t have to vote two times to send a message to Councilman Robinson: you only have to vote once on Election Day.”
Richardson, an aide to Mayor Steven Fulop, is looking to unseat Robinson, who is running on the mayor’s ticket. They also both face a challenger from Frank “Educational” Gilmore.
A spokesman for Team Fulop declined to comment.
Richardson also released another ad simultaneously, entitled “A councilman like you,” which is now featured on his campaign website.
The nonpartisan Jersey City municipal elections are on November 2nd, while early voting started today and will run through Halloween.
