Incumbents Used 'Politicized Attack' on Challengers, Resident Says

To the editor:

Tuesday’s council meeting was a well-orchestrated politicized attack on two candidates who are daring to run against them.  Anything to take the campaign focus away from them!  No surprise to those who have watched the campaigns of Katz, Gussen, Stern and allies. It’s the same strategy that has used successfully for years.

Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen onslaught included, “I’m not sure when in the pantheon of ideas that Mr. Sohn was somehow dubbed a financial wizard.” He can find the answer in his own words. In April of 2011, Gussen wrote, “They [Howard Rose and Alan Sohn] both bring a deep understanding not only of our community, but the mechanics of school governance, budgeting and performance that is needed now more than ever. The creativity, energy and passion they bring to the table will serve us well.” But this is politics and the kind of hypocrisy Gussen is known for.

Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin came up with a new attack. He accused Alan Sohn of rewriting the Mayor’s Wiki page and making it “Muslim, Muslim, Muslim”.  As expected it was nonsense. Alan Sohn, a frequent contributor to Wikipedia, made one rather innocuous edit in September of 2011. The posts the Mayor found offensive were posted by someone else in March of this year.  Hameeduddin may have believed what he said was true. As his style, he didn’t check his facts.

It’s the kind of campaign we have grown to expect in Teaneck since this crew took over. They don’t want to run on their record. Instead they try to change the conversation by going after their opponents. There is only one way to stop it. Vote them out of office.

Tom Abbott
Teaneck, NJ