PRESS RELEASE

After ignoring candidates recommended by the 8th Ward Democratic Club who were to nominate to represent the neighborhood, a powerful lawmaker is suing the City of Linden to usurp local authorities and install his own council member.

City officials are furious about state Senator Nicholas “Scutari’s naked power grab,” as the lawmaker, who is chairman of both the Union County Democratic Committee and Linden’s City Democratic Committee, seeks to ignore the will of the people by naming someone to the Linden City Council.

Mayor Derek Armstead and Council President Michele Yamakaitis charge that Scutari is seeking to influence the city for his own profit, and his actions violate state law and pose a clear conflict of interest that works to harm city residents.

“Scutari’s naked power grab is one of the most appalling actions I have ever witnessed in this decaying democracy,” said Armstead. “This bully has taken it upon himself to select and swear in a councilman for himself because he wants to control the allocation of tax dollars and deny voters the government that they voted for.”

Yamakaitis, whose election to lead the governing body created the vacancy in the 8th Ward council seat, said, “The individual appointed by Senator Scutari will not represent the people because he has allegiances to the political boss who wants to dictate how we spend money because we fired him from a job he was doing poorly for way too long.”

Scutari is chairman of the county political organization, the city Democratic Party, and the Senate Judiciary Committee as well as the state senator, and until he was fired on January 1, as the municipal prosecutor.

“There is such a thing as having too much power, and greedy Nick Scutari wants it all to himself,” said Armstead, who faulted the powerful politician with ignoring the city during his tenure as prosecutor.
Yamakaitis said Scutari’s record as prosecutor has been particularly alarming when it comes to his attendance. He was out 60 times last year, while he was paid $80,000 from taxpayer money. After 15 years as Linden’s municipal prosecutor, Scutari was ousted from the job in January.

Danny Yamakaitis, president of the 8th Ward Democratic Club, said the organization selected three upstanding individuals who deserve consideration but none of them were submitted to the governing body by Scutari.

The Democratic Club President said, “Scutari wants to exert his will on the 8th Ward residents by unlawfully appointing someone to our council seat but we are not going to allow political bosses to say who should represent us.”

“The 8th Ward is outraged by this and we will not be bullied into accepting a council representative who is unacceptable to us,” said Danny Yamakaitis.

“The City Council unanimously voted to keep the seat vacant,” said Councilman Barry E. Javick, of the 2nd Ward. “When you take away the rights of individuals to choose responsibly for their community, it’s the beginning of giving up the God given freedom to make a difference in our society.”

Armstead said, “Things have gotten worse since Scutari staged a takeover of the county Democratic machine following the death of Assemblyman Gerald Green, the former party leader.”

“Since he became a countywide power broker, Nick Scutari has been purging government employees and elected officials, soaking up campaign contributions and slacking off on his responsibilities,” said Armstead. Freeholder Mohamed S. Jalloh was denied support for re­election to a fourth term last year, a Scutari aide was named county manager and there is a ‘political hit list’ rumored to be circulating that targets public employees and elected officials for removal. Scutari orchestrated the recommendation of three unacceptable nominees to replace Yamakaitis, in an effort to usurp the City Council’s authority and pervert the intentions of 8th Ward residents on the Municipal Democratic Committee. Consequently, the governing body rejected all three Scutari loyalists. The Democratic Committee is comprised of 72 members from the various wards, however, the by-laws stipulate that 15 members constitute a quorum. Ultimately, that means 8 members can alone decide the fate of the residents of the City.

“I believe the law stipulates that when the vacancy occurs before September 1, the office shall be filled at the next general election,” said Armstead. “The governing body ‘may’ fill the position on a temporary basis until the public can vote but it is not required to do so and the council majority voted to wait until the voters decide.”

Paul Coates, a 44-year-old barber and bail bondsman, was chosen by Scutari to replace Yamakaitis but council members worry that the appointee will try to divert public money to the senator’s political contributors.

“I have dedicated my heart and soul for the last 13 years serving my neighbors in the 8th Ward as their councilwoman,” said Yamakaitis. “They deserve to have a councilperson who will answer to them and be their voice, not someone appointed by a party boss to do his bidding.”

“Chairman Scutari acted as a dictator and stripped the 8th Ward Democratic Committee people of their elected duties. He and the other committee people in Linden need to be held accountable on Election Day for this atrocity,” said Yamakaitis.

Armstead noted that there haven’t been many monetary bails set in New Jersey for people arrested after Jan. 1, 2017, because of civil rights reforms. Coates could be seeking to replace lost income with a plum job Scutari can arrange, since state Bail Reform and Speedy Trial Act decimated his business.
Armstead advised city officials in writing that any candidate selected by Scutari should not be recognized as the bona fide 8th Ward representative, and he says the city is prepared to fight in court.

Scutari remains chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which makes Armstead concerned that any legal proceeding in court might be unfair. Armstead says, “Taxpayers will suffer if the political boss won’t relent but there appears to be little chance of that.”

Scutari filed a lawsuit against Linden on Wednesday in the Chancery Division of Union County Superior Court, which could prove costly for strapped taxpayers, who will pay for litigation that may continue all the way to the Supreme Court.

“Our city is doing great without Scutari but he is trying to strong arm us by appointing someone against our wishes and defying our municipal and state laws,” said Armstead.