Sacco’s Racist Republican Political Consultant at It Again 

Rick Shaftan continues his racism while on Sacco’s payroll  

North Bergen, N.J. – Republican Political Consultant Rick Shaftan has worked for North Bergen Mayor and NJ State Senator Nicholas Sacco for over 30 years.  Sacco pays millions of dollars to Shaftan’s company, Mountaintop Media.  All while Sacco turns a blind eye to Shaftan’s overt racism.  

In 2013, Shaftan was fired by a U.S. Senate candidate for making anti-gay remarks. Then in 2015 he referred to First Lady Michelle Obama as “a racist pig.” Both times Sacco refused to fire Shaftan.   

Now Shaftan is at it again. 

Shaftan is also currently working for Corey Stewart, an open racist running for U.S. Senate in Virginia.  During the campaign Shaftan referred to majority black cities as “shitholes,” he called the NAACP “the black KKK, only more violent,” and stated that black football players should stand for the National Anthem “instead of sitting on the bench eating a banana.”   

Shaftan also referred to Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis as a “pompous ass” and stated that Lewis “didn’t do anything except get beat up.”  Yet, Sacco continues to keep Shaftan under his employ.   

“Sacco needs to fire Shaftan and denounce his racist remarks immediately,” Wainstein said, “Whenever Shaftan spews his racist venom, Sacco gives him a wink and a nod and then writes him another six figure check. Enough is enough.  Sacco is just as culpable as Shaftan.”  

“This is just the latest in Sacco’s long record of stepping on minorities. This is a man who was successfully sued by the NAACP because he supported an anti-black and anti-Hispanic hiring policy for North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue.  Now he supports a contract between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Hudson County jail that aides and abets in Trump’s anti-Hispanic immigration policies. For over 30 years, Sacco himself has openly discriminated against minorities,” Wainstein concluded.