POWER BACKING
Gusciora lands endorsements from congresswoman, three mayoral candidates
TRENTON » Assemblyman Reed Gusciora is breaking out the big bats in trying to swing the mayoral race, landing the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.
Gusciora is also expected to secure the backing of three mayoral candidates, in his quest to become Trenton’s first openly-gay mayor.
“She’s been very supportive of the campaign,” the assemblyman said in confirming Watson Coleman’s support.
A formal announcement of the quartet’s support is expected sometime in the future, Gusciora said, though he didn’t have specifics or a set date.
“We’re shying away from ‘endorsements’ and saying ‘supporting,’” said Gusciora, who has been dubbed the “career politician” by his “outsider” opponent.
Outpaced by more than 700 votes in Round 1 of Trenton’s election, the assemblyman has been going door to door at Donnelly Homes and Roger Gardens with Sen. Shirley Turner, the third member of Trenton’s Democratic triumvirate, trying to regain ground and close the gap.
Gusciora served for quite some time alongside the two 15th District powerhouses until the former assemblywoman Watson Coleman became the state’s first African American congresswoman in 2014.
Gusciora moved from Princeton to Trenton a few years ago to remain in the 15th district. His former chief of staff, Kari Osmond, is Watson Coleman’s district office director, who chipped in $500 to the assemblyman’s mayoral coffers.
Even though it was expected, Watson Coleman’s endorsement of longtime political ally Gusciora still stirred 2014 runner-up Paul Perez to his closest “fake news” pronouncement yet as he tried to paint the political coupe as a power coup.
The top-vote-getter in the opening salvo of Trenton’s election to succeed Mayor Eric Jackson called the alleged big get a desperate rallying ploy from the establishment candidate.
“I don’t think it’s real news, do you?” Perez said. “Congratulations, Reed. It’s consistent with the establishment. They have a long track record of being together, but I wish they would have done more for the city. I don’t know that we’ll see anything different now.”
Watson Coleman’s brother, Aaron, is deputy administrator of the county’s transportation and infrastructure department and took over as executive director of the Park Commission upon Kevin Bannon’s inglorious corruption-laced departure.
Neither the congresswoman nor her representatives responded to requests for comment on her support of Gusciora.
As Watson Coleman goes, so did others in the county.
Mercer Count deputy clerk and third-place finisher Walker Worthy, fifth-place finisher and city councilman Duncan Harrison and lastplace finisher and former city councilwoman Annette Lartigue are the latest passengers jumping aboard the socalled Gus Bus.
The support made sense given their ties to the county and Executive Brian Hughes’ pronouncement that everyone would coalesce around the assemblyman following Worthy’s second disappointing finish outside the runoff.
Worthy and Harrison didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Lartigue, who pulls down a six-figure salary as chief of administrative services for the Mercer County Board of Social Services, declined to comment to The Trentonian about her reasons for supporting Gusciora saying she would wait until his camp released her statement.
“Leadership begins with respect and experience. My gut is with Reed in this election runoff because his experience in public policy is unmatched,” she said in the statement, which was released late Monday night. “Any attempt to speak to Reed’s experience as an elected official should include his ability to bring in state money for our city. Reeds ability to be inclusive and build statewide coalitions is exactly what we need right now. Principles before personalities must be our battle cry at the forefront of our efforts to rebuild Trenton.”
Taking another shot at his opponent, Gusciora remarked that his “supporters” already have steady jobs and don’t expect cabinet-level hand-me-downs a la Darren “Freedom” Green.
Gusciora noted Harrison is associate executive director of UIH Family Partners, while Walker and Lartigue are set with the county.
The assemblyman was seemingly contrasting that with longtime community activist Green, who talked openly about working in Perez’s administration.
Green, who blasted the Trenton machine for “cronyism, nepotism and favoritism,” felt he had a unique skill set that could benefit the next mayor and talked to Gusciora about a possible endorsement before ultimately backing Perez.
The assemblyman left the meeting with the impression Green expected a job for his support but said he refused to make any deals for “I do’s.”
“I don’t want anybody to think I promised anything to anybody,” Gusciora said of his supporters, blasting Perez for “running around with Darren as his vice president.”
Perez laughed when informed of his Hiltonia neighbor and friend Gusciora’s “vice president” quip.
“What does that make him, Bonnie Watson Coleman’s secretary?” Perez said.
Gusciora shrugged off his opponent’s BWC errand boy comment as classic “bully Perez.”