LETTER: A November Hoboken election means October lies from Tiffanie Fisher

Dear Editor,

When I announced my candidacy for Mayor, I promised to run a relentlessly positive and issue-focused campaign. I’ve kept that promise.

I’ve heard from so many neighbors over the last several weeks who have loved our policy proposals to tackle some of the biggest issues in Hoboken. Affordability, safety, quality of life, and parking and transportation.

Now that ballots are out, the pledge Tiffanie Fisher made to campaign positively is out the window.

I believe the exact quote from April was “I would never go so low as to engage in mudslinging or personal attacks,” and her email from the past week stating that “the next few weeks will bring plenty of noise and negativity” seems to have been a projection, so it’s time to correct the record on a few Fisher Lies.

First Fisher Lie. The insinuation that taking campaign donations from a lifelong friend who happens to be a developer, one who actually created thousands of affordable units across the city, makes me beholden to them is fundamentally dishonest.

My votes over the last 20 years have shown a non-stop fight for fair and affordable housing in Hoboken, from voting against the landlord-favored rent control “compromise,” to my requirement for there to be 100% affordable and workforce units in the Garage B redevelopment (Tiffanie voted against it).

Should I accuse Councilwoman Fisher, who used to work for a Blackstone-owned real estate company and has taken donations from real estate investors, of ulterior motives? No, but I think she’s wrong on plenty of other things.

The Monarch land swap is an interesting example of how I work for the benefit of all residents. While Tiffanie and I both voted for this land swap, she voted to protect the value of her million dollar condos and I got a new park for the 3rd Ward.

Second Fisher Lie. Tiffanie accuses me of improper campaign activity nearly 20 years ago. I have never been convicted of, charged with, or even questioned about a crime, ever.

On the contrary, I’ve served on the City Council for more than 20 consecutive years: the longest-serving member in our history. In 2022 I was elected Council President, 8-0, by my colleagues—including Tiffanie’s allies.

Third Fisher Lie. Tiffanie alleges I illegally paid election workers 10 years ago. Wrong again. I employed local residents to help increase general turnout by knocking on doors and handing out literature.

Campaigns do this all the time and of course it’s perfectly legal. 10 years have passed since that race. Not a peep from ELEC, the state agency tasked with enforcing elections, which would have certainly stepped in if there was an issue.

Fourth Fisher Lie. This one takes the cake! Trying to link me to a murder is the most insane thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

To mention a political consultant who was convicted eight years after I last saw him, and then say “to be clear, I do not believe Mike had anything to do with that crime” (exact quote), is mudslinging by definition—because Tiffanie wouldn’t bring it up unless the intention was to paint that picture in the reader’s mind.

Fifth Fisher Lie. With zero evidence, Tiffanie claims in 2021 I struck a deal with Mayor Bhalla to be the fifth vote on key issues in exchange for running unopposed.

I have never told anyone not to run for office, nor have I ever traded my vote to fend off a challenger. Period.

I’ve proudly agreed with the Mayor when the idea was good and proudly disagreed when the idea was terrible, and I have never traded votes for personal gain or to avoid electoral competition.

In 2023 I won re-election with nearly 90% of the vote; my opponent published an op-ed praising the manner in which I conducted myself and saying I would make a great Mayor. There’s no logical reason for me to ever fear competition.

Sixth Fisher Lie. Tiffanie brings up the business I used to own as a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Before the pandemic, I had offices under the name New Jersey Institute of Balance.

Lockdowns made it impossible for us to bring in consistent revenue, and I spent the last money my business had to keep my staff working even though we couldn’t see patients. Videos with some of those staff members have even been up on russoforhoboken.com for months speaking to those months and those experiences.

I shuttered that business two years ago in complete accordance with New Jersey laws and ethics guidelines. To bring this up now discredits Tiffanie’s campaign, not ours.