For Immediate Release Contact: Marissa Wolf 914.329.4305 marissa@wolfcompr.com
Scott Delea Files ELEC Complaint over Apparent Illegal Continuing Political Committee (CPC) Funding Cunningham’s Campaign -Requests Attorney General to InvestigateHoboken, May 4, 2011 – Scott Delea, a candidate for Hoboken 5th Ward City Council, announced today that he filed a complaint with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission against current Councilman Peter Cunningham. NJ Election Laws specifically prohibits coordination between candidates and a Continuing Political Committee or CPC. Evidence suggests Cunningham’s campaign is illegally coordinating with a CPC known as Move Hoboken Ahead. Move Hoboken Ahead has performed a number of activities to the exclusive benefit of Mr. Cunningham and a team of council candidates he is aligned with. “With his actions, Councilman Cunningham demonstrates disregard for New Jersey campaign finance laws in order to benefit his reelection campaign.” Delea said, “He uses the City Council dais as a bully pulpit to preach reform, but his actions outside of those meetings speak louder than words. This is just the latest example where he has broken the people’s trust by saying one thing and doing another.” The CPC’s ELEC filings show that Councilman Cunningham and other candidates aligned with him contributed $1,000 to start Move Hoboken Ahead. In fact, from the time the CPC was formed until nearly a month later, virtually 100% of the contributions to the CPC came from these candidates alone. The only activity reported by the CPC during this period was an in-kind donation made to Cunningham and the other candidates in the form of a campaign poll. The entire value of the poll was distributed completely and equally to the candidate campaigns suggesting the poll had no value to the CPC at all and was done solely for the benefit of Cunningham and his running mates. Unbelievably, Cunningham does not even list the in-kind contribution on his ELEC reports as he is required to do by law. “Cunningham’s exclusion of the in-kind donation is further proof he is trying to hide his ties to this CPC,” Delea continued, “If the current Councilman put as much effort into building parks, cutting taxes, and preventing flooding as he does to playing politics we would have been able to move the Ward forward rather than incur the 100% tax increase he forced on our taxpayers in the four years he has been in office. Delea also forwarded his complaint to the NJ Attorney General Paula Dow to review if perjury was committed.
“When Continuing Political Committees are established the founders sign an oath certifying that no candidate would have direct or indirect control over the political activities,” Delea stated. “Clearly that is not the case here. From the literature and campaign polls, to the CPCs website, it seems obvious that Cunningham was illegally involved with the creation and operation of this CPC for his own selfish interest. As a seasoned politician, Peter Cunningham should know better.” “It is time to hold Mr. Cunningham and other politicians accountable for their actions. The people of the Fifth Ward are tired of politicians breaking the public trust. It has to stop.” ###