City Council election gets meaner and meaner Candidate Zimmer accused of simple assault by 18-year-old; opponent Campos faces harassment complaint
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In an already heavily reported incident, last Friday, around 5:11 p.m., 4th Ward City Council candidate Dawn Zimmer was walking her dog in the area of First and Madison streets when she was approached by 18-year-old Matthew Calicchio, who began taking pictures of her. Both individuals have since filed complaints against each other, with Zimmer claiming harassment and Calicchio simple assault.
Meanwhile, Zimmer's opponent, Christopher Campos, is facing his own harassment complaint, based on an incident that allegedly took place in the beginning of August in which he allegedly yelled something out a car window at a resident.
At stake is a city in transition, and a lot of money.
The winner of the Nov. 6 race will make decisions on development and policy for the southwest part of Hoboken - where luxury condominiums rise beside the 50-year-old federally subsidized housing projects.
In the past, it was almost always a hometown Hobokenite who represented or campaigned to represent the city's 4th Ward - members of the Francone family or the Amato family. But now, with the city's demographics changing, relative newcomer Dawn Zimmer has run on a platform of stopping flooding and scaling down development, opposing incumbent 4th Ward Councilman Christopher Campos, a young attorney who grew up in the projects and became one of the city's youngest councilmen.
This election was actually first held in May, with a runoff in June. After both candidates found irregularities with the other's votes, they avoided a court battle by agreeing to have another election this Nov. 6.
Members of the nine-member City Council earn approximately $22,000 per year.
'I was just walking my dog'
The much-talked about dog-walking incident began when, according to 18-year-old city resident Matthew Calicchio, he spotted Zimmer allegedly failing to pick up her dog's excrement last Friday evening.
Zimmer adamantly denied the charge last week, saying, "I think it's disgraceful. I always pick up after my dog. I'm not a culprit. It's a complete lie."
Calicchio began taking pictures of Zimmer and her pooch, leading Zimmer to ask Calicchio who he was, if he was working for former 4th Ward candidate Christopher Campos, and if he was a resident of the ward. According to the police report, Calicchio said that Zimmer's exact words were, "Who the f--- are you and why are you taking pictures of me?"
Calicchio told police that he refused to tell Zimmer his name, saying only that he lived in the 5th Ward. Calicchio also told police that Zimmer allegedly walked in his direction and asked for the camera, using similar language as was expressed above.
Zimmer denied ever using the profanities last week, saying, "I just don't talk like that."
Although the former councilwoman acknowledged making a request and putting her hand out for the camera, she said she did so because she was nervous and wasn't sure how to act in the situation.
Calicchio told police that she allegedly grabbed his wrist and attempted to wrestle the camera from him.
Zimmer denied ever touching Calicchio.
"I did reach for the camera," she said, "but never touched him at all. In fact, I joked with him about walking my dog. I didn't see what the big deal was. I was just walking my dog."
According to Calicchio, after breaking Zimmer's alleged grip, he was left with a red mark on his wrist for a significant amount of time, and he quickly left the area. But according to Zimmer, Calicchio fled when she asked him for his camera.
Zimmer has a slim build, while Calicchio is over 6 feet tall and well-built.
The Campos connection
Although Calicchio said he has never worked for Campos, his older brother Nick was a paid election-day worker for the former councilman, having received $100 for campaigning up and down the streets of the 4th Ward during the May election.
In addition, Matthew Calicchio assisted 5th Ward candidate Perry Belfiore, an ally of Campos, last May, handing out campaign literature to ward residents in the race.
Zimmer argued that the entire incident was "orchestrated" by individuals in the Campos' camp in an attempt to smear her.
Calicchio denied ever receiving instructions from a third party to take pictures of Zimmer, saying it was a spur-of-the-moment decision and that the reason he had a camera was that he was coming from The Boys and Girls Club, where he had taken pictures of his brother, who works there.
Zimmer said, "This is a desperate act by Campos to put an 18-year-old up to go and perjure himself. It's unbelievable that this is what I have to go through to run for council. The people of the 4th ward deserve better than someone who would resort to these tactics."
Campos declined to respond to Zimmer's comment, allowing instead a campaign spokesman, Joshua Henne of White Horse Strategies, a consulting firm hired by Campos, to respond.
"It's clear the Zimmer campaign is getting desperate," said Henne last week.
Zimmer and Raia
Zimmer also complained that the day after the incident occurred, she was followed by an assistant of former Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann. McCann is a highly vocal and controversial figure who has been helping Campos with his campaign in order to - according to McCann - get "revenge" on the powerful Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) whose chairman is allied with Zimmer.
Zimmer said that the McCann aide followed her through the Housing Authority projects while she was campaigning with local developer and school board member Frank Raia, as well as former council candidate Fred Frazier and 5th Ward Committeeman Peter Biancamano. The unwanted guest allegedly followed Zimmer for about 20 minutes, according to the 4th ward candidate, videotaping her as she knocked on doors and spoke with residents.
But McCann said that his aide had a good reason to get public proof of Zimmer's campaign tactics.
"Here is Dawn Zimmer claiming that all the developers are with Campos," McCann noted, "and she's walking around the Housing Authority with one of the biggest developers in Hoboken."
McCann shared a portion of the tape with the Reporter on Thursday afternoon in order to prove the connection.
When asked why she was campaigning with Raia, Zimmer said, "[Because] Frank, who has provided affordable housing to many Hoboken residents, supports me, and believes I'm going to be good for 4th Ward and Hoboken."
Zimmer added that Raia is not making any financial contributions to her as of yet, serving only as an advisor to her campaign. However, she said she would not rule out such financial contributions further down the road.
Special treatment?
Some in the Campos camp have suggested that Zimmer received special treatment from the police. Rather than taking Calicchio's statement and issuing an arrest warrant for Zimmer, which according to one police source is standard procedure in a case in which a person alleges that he or she was assaulted, police refused Calicchio the opportunity to file an official complaint on Friday and told him to report to City Hall's Violations Bureau on Monday and file a complaint there.
Hoboken Police Chief Dr. Carmen LaBruno said last week that Hoboken police were assisted by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office in making the decision.
When asked why the police decided to call the Prosecutor's Office in the first place, LaBruno said, "In light of the fact that Dawn is a public figure and this is a rather hectic election, we referred the matter to the Prosecutor's Office for guidance."
Chief of Intelligence for the Prosecutor's Office Jack Hill, who was involved in the decision that led to the recommendation, said that from the information provided by local authorities, it appeared to not be an indictable offense.
He said that since no police officer witnessed the alleged act, the apparent victim would be best served by filing a complaint directly with the Violations Bureau of the Municipal Court on Monday morning rather than the police.
Harassment complaint against Campos
Meanwhile, harassment complaints were recently filed against Christopher Campos and Gerald McCann stemming from an incident on Aug. 4 of this year in which a campaign worker for Zimmer alleged that Campos had yelled something at her from the backseat of a car.
The campaign worker failed to state what exactly was said in her complaint.
Several attempts were made to reach the female complainant last week. The complainant is not listed in the phone book, but Zimmer Campaign Manager Jennifer Davis, who knows the complainant, reached out to her twice, but said she was unavailable for an interview.
The complaint apparently stems from an incident in August in which McCann mistakenly handed a subpoena to the complainant, believing she was someone else. At this point, Campos, who was in a nearby car, according to the complainant, yelled something at her out the window. According to Campos, he was not speaking to the woman, but rather informing McCann that the intended recipient for the subpoena was another woman on the block.
The basis for the harassment complaint against McCann appears to be that when he approached the wrong woman, he allegedly said to her, "I'll see you in court" as he handed her the subpoena.
The case was first heard on Aug. 30 at the Hoboken Municipal Court.
However, due to the fact that Judge Kimberly Glatt, who was hearing the case, had been re-appointed by votes cast by the City Council, in which Campos was a part, she arranged to have the case heard in a different venue. Neither the location nor the new court date has yet to be released.
Michael Mullins can be reached at mmullins@hudsonreporter.com.
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