Perez not ready to step back from campaign mode yet
TRENTON » Two-time runner-up Paul Perez isn’t “mad” about the outcome of the election.
He’s “disappointed” and has raised allegations of electioneering.
“Listen, I never said I’m mad, so don’t use that word because it would be inaccurate,” Perez said in an exclusive interview with The Trentonian in which he opened up for the first time since going nuclear on the news media during his concession speech following a crash-and-burn loss to opponent, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, on runoff night.
The two Hiltonia neighbors and friends are still squabbling over – of all things – whether Perez dropped his opponent a congratulatory call and text. That, and Perez is still burnt up about the election result and deciding what to do.
“I’m not mad,” Perez insisted over the stinging loss. “What I am is disappointed. I’m disappointed in the way the process was handled. There is no way – there is absolutely no way – that Reed beats me if he doesn’t employ the filthy tactics that he put together.”
Hinting at those alleged tactics he felt cost him the mayor’s throne, Perez refused to tip his hand about whether he’d legally challenge the election.
That’s not beyond Perez as he tried to get an emergency injunction to sideline county Board of Elections chairwoman Joanne Palmucci over alleged favoritism after she help put on a fundraising bash for mayoral candidate Walker Worthy Jr.
Perez blasted Gusciora, who scored a historic win in becoming Trenton’s first openly gay mayor, and his supporters for “ugly, filthy tactics” at the polls that bordered on electioneering.
“I expected to be the mayor today,” the perpetual runner-up said. “There were some ugly, filthy tactics being employed by the supporters of the Reed campaign on several occasions. We have documented actions and activity they were doing at the poll stations . ... To have somebody sitting in an office who deliberately, deliberately put in tactics to just rip the opportunity of the city’s future out of hard-working people’s hands by employing tactics like lying to the voters.”
Refusing to go tit-for-tat with his vanquished foe, the new mayorelect said he didn’t “know what [Perez] was talking about” and hadn’t given marching orders to supporters to deceive voters about Perez’s alleged GOP ties.
Perez contended Gusciora’s people purposely told voters at the polls he was a Republican, interjecting party politics into a race that was supposed to be non-partisan, in hopes of swaying the outcome.
Perez distinguished the alleged shenanigans from routine attack ads typical of elections.
“Attack ads are one thing,” Perez said. “But actually sitting at a polling station right before somebody’s about to cast a vote and saying I’m a Republican, that’s something different. I think that was the low point of the election cycle. … That’s
pretty bad. That’s snatching the Democratic process.”
State election law defines electioneering as “any activity or display of materials that is intended to advocate, solicit or suggest support for a candidate, political party or public referendum.” The law establishes a “protected zone” extending 100 feet beyond any polling place entrance in laying out the elections board is the “first line of defense” from the illegal practice.
Perez’s bombshell isn’t exactly new as allegations about him being a Republican floated out there.
And Perez, being the military man that he said he was, launched an all-out offensive to knock down the GOP claims after Trentonian columnist Jeff Edelstein suggested in an opinion piece Trenton’s native son was the “de facto ‘Republican’” in the race.
Perez candidly – and profanely – rebutted the Republican tag in an interview with The Trentonian, saying he was a proud Democrat. He blamed some of the confusion on pictures of him with then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, who went on to serve as vice president for Republican president George W. Bush. Perez said he was Cheney’s bodyguard. And because of that, he couldn’t escape the cloud of Republicanism that hung over him like a bad Donald Trump Twitter storm. Perez’s own actions drew comparisons from his opponent to the current “fake new”ranting Republican president after Perez made several disparaging comments about The Trentonian in a 25-minute Facebook rant streamed live a week before the runoff. Perez doubled-down on the news-bashing by straight out saying “F**k The Trentonian” during his concession speech, upset over what he felt was the newspaper’s preferential coverage of Gusciora. Perez apologized for those remarks Thursday, a day after being called out in an editorial for a “bombastic attempt” to saddle his more-than-700vote
collapse on The Trentonian.
Perez lost the runoff by 355 votes – not counting provisional ballots – or more than a 1,000-vote reversal of fortunes.
“I 100 percent regret that I said ‘eff The Trentonian,’”
Perez said. “That was me being emotional. That’s not who I am. That’s not who the people wanted to hear, so that’s on me. So I accept that.”
However, Perez blamed his blow-up on shock.
“I was absolutely shocked that night,” he explained. “Before I got there, we got briefed about how horrible the things [were] in the polling stations, and I just could not believe what had happened. Listen, I accept full responsibility for using the F-bomb on The Trentonian. That’s not who I am. I’m a soldier. I’m a respectful individual. I love my country, and I have always treated people with respect. But I have never ever, ever experienced such a takedown like the one I just saw, and that’s what had me so upset.”
Like he did throughout the election, Perez accused The
Trentonian of “gotcha” journalism over the interview at his home, when he invited reporters over, in part, to show pictures proving credentials and military chops. “I’m expecting some sense of privacy,” Perez said about the recorded interview. “And then you wait 17 days to put it in the newspaper. … I felt like I was being blindsided. Everything I told you guys, you took it to another level. I’m a solider. It felt like you guys were telling me I was a liar. Those were the kinds of things that felt you weren’t giving me a fair shot.” Perez never indicated his comments were off-record. When that was pointed out, Perez stated he wasn’t “going to argue that.” Perez went on to contend The Trentonian never published “feel-good” stories about him and alleged it published stories it hadn’t. He also faulted the newspaper for not pursuing certain allegations about Gusciora while vigorously attempting to obtain Perez’s military records. He mentioned receiving what he said was a widely distributed “anonymous packet” at home outlining allegations the assemblyman had received campaign contributions from a “lawyer who was disbarred because of pedophilia.” Perez’s other gripes – some he admitted were “small” – centered on unfounded allegations The Trentonian endorsed Gusciora. Those allegations were specifically debunked in an editorial that explained why the newspaper didn’t endorse a candidate. His biggest complaint, however, was over a Trentonian reporter asking him to voluntarily provide his Social Security Number to help locate his military records. The National Archives in St. Louis told the newspaper it needed the SSN to fulfill a public records request that mandated the release of the records. Perez was extended an opportunity to call National Archives and provided the SSN to staff there. “You guys snatched that election from the people,” Perez said. “These guys were doing some really dastardly things in the polls.” Even with the election over – the candidates had seem to strike a conciliatory tone at the end of The Trentoniansponsored runoff debate about coming together afterward – they were worlds apart. Gusciora alleged Perez still hadn’t called to congratulate him on the win, a common practices among politicians after duking it out. Perez responded that he did call and text Gusciora the morning after the election, providing a screenshot of the text. Perez’s 10:14 a.m. text message read, “Just called you.” Gusciora jabbed at Perez for not identifying himself in the text but took Perez at his word that he tried reaching out. He said the generic-sounding text must have got lost in the onslaught of congratulatory correspondence after he upset Perez – literally and figuratively – in the hard-fought race. “All elections are ugly, and there are hard feelings,” Gusciora said. “I’ve lost an election before, and I know it’s tough. … Different things were said on both sides that were said in the passion of an election. There’s things that I objected to, but that’s water under the bridge.”