In a letter to the editor, Jersey City resident Ricardo Luis Rojas makes the case for why Kevin Bing is the only true progressive choice in the Ward C council race.
Dear Editor,
If it looks like the establishment, quacks like the establishment, and relies on the establishment, then it’s not progressive. Unfortunately for Tom Zuppa, he’s not the progressive choice for Jersey City in Ward C.
Much like the incumbent Boggiano, Zuppa is in lockstep with cops, developers, and the Hudson County political machine. Don’t believe me?
When immigrant rights activists protested Hudson County’s immoral ICE contract, Zuppa’s firm Chasan Lamparello Mallon & Cappuzzo, PC represented the county in seeking a restraining order against the protestors, standing against the ACLU of New Jersey.
Just last year, Zuppa represented JCPD Sgt. Rossy Barzola against federal civil rights charges for allegedly brutally assaulting a 50-year-old woman over a parking spot.
Zuppa also ignores police unions’ historic and continuing resistance to even incremental reform in our justice system while proudly touting his endorsements from two police unions.
Given this unsavory record and his connections with the Hudson County political machine, it’s evident Zuppa lacks the independent perspective necessary to drive systemic change for police reform.
Zuppa’s connections with developers are similarly concerning. His ELEC filings show large contributions from developers.
Notably, Zuppa accepted $1,000 from Mar-A-Lago member Jamie LeFrak’s foundation, the same Trumpist who cuts sweetheart deals with City Hall to build luxury condos on the taxpayer’s dime.
He also accepted $2,000 from a North Bergen shell company tied to North Hudson real estate firm NASA Holdings which advertises “the best luxurious apartments.”
Can we trust Zuppa won’t help NASA Holdings sell more luxurious apartments in the red-hot Jersey City housing market? Who knows.
However we do know the troubling revelation brought to light in the JC Times by Ward B City Council candidate Joel Brooks: Zuppa took a contribution from Brooks’s landlord during a rent control dispute while simultaneously agreeing to assist Brooks against the exact same landlord.
Corruption and double-dealing is a favorite pastime of machine apparatchiks, so how can we trust Zuppa with billion-dollar development plans when he can’t act ethically in a simple landlord-tenant dispute?
I’m sure Tom is a great guy otherwise; he’s done great community service. It’s nothing personal, but we already have “kindly” local politicians who hand out turkeys as a substitute for systemic change as part of a brutal political machine.
Don’t be fooled by Zuppa’s youth, Ward C doesn’t deserve Boggiano-esque machine politics; it deserves someone whose progressive values aren’t a bargaining chip. I have known Kevin Bing for years.
I vouch for his commitment to his Jersey City values and vision: building new affordable housing, green, safe transportation for all, and standing for working-class Jersey City residents like me.
My Journal Square and Heights neighbors, please vote for Kevin Bing!
Ricardo Luis Rojas
Jersey City
So tired of our do-nothing councilman. If Ward C is to make any progress on safe streets, housing, parks, and quality of life, we must vote out sleepy Boggiano. He’s a Trump-supporter that refuses to let anything get done while the rest of the city passes Ward C by. Kevin Bing for progress.
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