New Brunswick vote on wards a squeaker despite a cash gap

A grassroots political group led by college students and recent graduates pulled off the most serious threat to New Brunswick's city hall in years, all on a shoestring budget, according to preliminary campaign financing reports.

At issue is whether the city should be divided into wards for city council elections. The city-backed "no" campaign racked up 2,427 votes, while the student-backed "yes" campaign won 2,311 votes. Results of the nail-biter referendum aren't yet final, and hinge on absentee ballots expected to be counted today.

Reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission show the "no" campaign raised more than six times the amount of that raised by the students. The "no" campaign took in $29,450, while the "yes" campaign raised less than $5,000.

City officials and others claim the young group spent money it didn't report, while members of the student-led campaign claim the reports are accurate.

"The perception is that they're the grassroots group," said Kyle Kirkpatrick, employee of Message & Media on Albany Street, a consulting firm hired by the "no" campaign. "But the numbers just don't add up."

Kirkpatrick cited the professional quality of the "yes" campaign's glossy fliers, pro-bono legal advice, in-kind contributions such as office space, paid internships the group sponsored but didn't report, and a $5,000 stipend to a "yes" group leader that didn't appear in the reports.

But Kristen Clarke, treasurer for the "yes" campaign's main political committee, defended the numbers.

"I'm quite upset they're throwing around these accusations about money," she said. "I'm a 19-year-old Rutgers student and we're trying to do the best that we can."

Clarke said her campaign owns a printer and spent roughly $500 on paper costs for fliers and lawn signs. The biggest cost for the campaign was food such as pizza for volunteers. Some local restaurants gave the group discounts, she said.

The largest donations to the campaign were a $2,500 check from the union United Healthcare Workers East, known as SEIU Local 1199, and $1,000 from the city-based Latino Leadership Alliance, records show.

For the "no" campaign, the largest contribution was $7,200 from the Friends of Mayor James Cahill, the mayor's war chest for his re-election campaign in 2010. The bulk of donations were less than $300. By state law, political committees don't have to report names of donors of less than $300.

The totals are preliminary numbers, and the final numbers must be reported to the state by Nov. 23. "Yes" campaign treasurers said they expect to report about $5,000 as their final number. "No" campaign chairman Benjamin Bucca, the city's planning board attorney, said he believed the "no" campaign's final report would be similar to the numbers already reported.

Karen Keller may be reached at (732) 293-4925 or kkeller@starledger.com.