Councilman Photographed with Confederate Flag in AG-Besieged Mahwah
In the closing days of an election whose symbolism came packaged in the form of a Confederate Flag as much as anything else, a Mahwah Councilman surfaced clinging to a corner of Dixie in an undated photo that a source said he had seen posted on Facebook.
Councilman George Ervin (pictured above, right) assumed his seat last year upon the resignation of then-freeholder-elect Mary Amoroso.
InsiderNJ reached out to Ervin, a Republican, for an explanation of the photo. He didn’t respond.
Earlier this season, InsiderNJ interviewed Assemblyman Parker Space concerning his decision to post a photo of himself posing in front of a Confederate Flag at a Hank Williams, Jr. concert.
The photo of Ervin arguably comes at an inopportune time for the North Jersey town.
Likening the conduct of Mahwah township officials to 1950s-era “white flight” suburbanites who sought to keep African-Americans from moving into their neighborhoods, state Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced just last week that the State filed a Superior Court complaint against the Mahwah Township Council and the Township of Mahwah alleging that, in an effort to stave off a feared influx of Orthodox Jewish persons from outside New Jersey, it approved two unlawfully discriminatory ordinances.
“In addition to being on the wrong side of history, the conduct of Mahwah’s township council is legally wrong, and we intend to hold them accountable for it,” said Attorney General Porrino. “To think that there are local governments here in New Jersey, in 2017, making laws on the basis of some archaic, fear-driven and discriminatory mindset, is deeply disappointing and shocking to many, but it is exactly what we are alleging in this case. Of course, in this case we allege the target of the small-minded bias is not African-Americans, but Orthodox Jews. Nonetheless, the hateful message is the same.”
It has come to my attention that this photograph has been posted of me, shown with a confederate battle flag and it is being used to make certain inferences. Here are some facts:
1) the picture was taken over 5 years ago while vacationing in North Carolina.
2) The “flag” is actually a beach towel that the kids found in the home we rented
3) The fellow on the left was a dear friend who succumbed to the horrible disease of depression in January 2013, and this is one of very few pictures of us together- I still miss him.
4) I did not see the e-mail from NJ insider until returning home from work, at which time this” article” had already been posted
5) Deep within my heart and soul, I never intended for this photo to irepresent my views-
racism, bigotry,and anti-Semitism have no place in my heart or home.
Thank you,
George Ervin
I am sorry for the loss of your dear friend. Were there no other beach towels? If they had found a flag that represents the Third Reich would you have posed proudly with that? Someone thought this symbol in particular was a good photo op. 5 years ago not withstanding, a smiling person proudly displaying a symbol in part of the abuse of some of my ancestors is a person that I would question should represent me.
Fuck you …Most educated people let alone one in public office would run from a camera if a confederate flag was in frame. You must lie often to think that’s even remotely the right response. that’s no fucking towel if its that the thinnest largest least absorbent towel on the face of the fucking earth… P.s. fuck you!
So you wave the dead friend in our face and pretend that this isn’t part of your pattern of racism that is currently being manifest by your decision to suck up to a group of Neo-Nazis called Mawatch who compare Jews moving into the town to Cancer.
Everyone has things they have done in their past that, by today’s political correctness, would be judged differently. Can anyone say they are without a skeleton or two? For example, have you ever watched The Dukes of Hazard? How about attended a Country Music Concert in the 80’s? It’s very easy to point to something in the past and say it’s wrong based upon the present day standard.
George Ervin has devoted most of his adult life to Mahwah, and for that we should be proud. A picture taken years ago in front of a beach towel should have no bearing on his ability to continue fighting for Mahwah. Only a coward resorts to personal attacks when confronted with a situation in which they know they are beaten, so it is only fitting that less than a week before an election his opposition would attempt to go low.
MahWatch endorses George Ervin and David May because they care about the issues Mahwah presently faces. They have no reason to respond to this trash and personal attack done by his political opponents because they are clearly losing the race.
Always remember, “The Best Way to Solve an Unsolvable Problem is to Create a New Problem” Vicky Galow, Susan Steinberg, George Gares, and Insider NJ should be ashamed of themselves for resorting to this type of smear campaign. MahWatch could put forward dirt on all of them that they wouldn’t appreciate, but we will go high. Let them stay low, as that is where Galow and Steinberg are in the polls and that is where they will remain.
“Wrong by present day standard…”? Sorry vinny, but 360,222 men and women from the Northern armies gave their lives during the civil war because they knew then that the confederate battle flag represented something extremely wrong–slavery. Oh, and by the way, it is still wrong.
What polls? Your phony MahWatch group that you claim is non partisan. Hey Vinnie Pay that 21k judgment rendered against you in backruptcy court yet?
For example, Vincent Crandon is currently running a neo-Nazi group under the rubric of “Neighborhood Watch” and trying to rip off his friends and neighbors over a bogus lawsuit that is supposedly going to take down the Mahwah Eruv but will just go to line his pockets.
A Nazi like Crandon endorses a racist with a confederate flag? Gosh. That’s so surprising.
A simple “I am sorry” might have sufficed, but I did not even see it in Mr. Ervin’s statement. Why is it so hard for people to simply apologize? How about an acknowledgement of poor judgement? I did not see that mentioned either. How about a recognition that the Confederate Flag has a very negative meaning to a large population in America? How about an admission that you can understand why people may be upset seeing a government official smiling while holding this symbol of hatred?
The fact that Mr Ervin attempts to justify his actions by stating “it was a beach towel” and not a flag is dismissive at best. The fact he seeks to further justify this by noting it was 5 years ago is equally dismissive. Take ownership of your foolish ways! That’s what leaders do. Lead by example.
Perhaps Mr. Ervin needs a history lesson and a class in racial sensitivity? Then again, if I was the one being charged by my state’s Attorney General in a 9-count complaint with violating civil rights and acting with bias, maybe I wouldn’t even be running for office again. Instead, I’d been running for a lawyer.
Mr. Ervin: Next time you issue a public statement for your foolish behavior, maybe think about using the words “I AM SORRY”. They truly go a long way when you actually say them and mean them.