the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Hackensack NJ, the upcoming Hackensack municipal election may be seven months away, but political tensions are already running high. Councilman Gerard Carroll, who is serving his first term after being elected in 2021, claims he was removed from Mayor John Labrosse’s reelection ticket after planning to address a council member’s racially charged comments.
Hackensack’s five-person Mayor and Council are elected at large every four years in a nonpartisan election, and the next one is set for May 2024. However, controversy has already emerged within the current council.
The incident at the center of the tension occurred last month when an email was sent to the mayor and council, detailing racist comments allegedly made by Councilman Leo Battaglia at a high school soccer game. The email, forwarded by Hackensack High School soccer coach Shaun Holder, who is Black, outlined Battaglia’s inappropriate remarks about the coach and the players.
Holder expressed his reluctance to report the incident, saying in the email that, as a Black man, he was “embarrassed” that such comments still affect him. He added that multiple parents approached him, confused about why Battaglia thought it was appropriate to speak about the children in such a manner. “I am upset to have an elected city official call me out of my name and refer to me by the color of my skin,” Holder wrote.
Carroll, Hackensack’s only Black council member, felt compelled to address the situation. He wanted to raise the issue in a closed council meeting on Sept. 24, hoping for an official statement from the mayor or another council member about the incident. However, before the meeting took place, Carroll was reportedly removed from Labrosse’s reelection ticket.
“It needed to be addressed. But they beat me to the punch by throwing me off the ticket,” Carroll said. “I was totally shocked.”
Labrosse responded to the controversy during the council meeting, saying he had learned that Carroll planned to accuse the council of racism. Labrosse said, “I’m the leader of the Labrosse team. It’s my name up there and you’re about to call me a racist, so I did what I thought was necessary to move forward.”
A source close to the Labrosse campaign indicated that internal tensions had been brewing and that the decision to drop Carroll from the ticket was based on these issues, not solely on the racially charged comments.
Labrosse is currently running for reelection alongside Deputy Mayor Kathy Canestrino and Councilwoman Stephanie Von Rudenborg. However, they have yet to announce additional candidates for the full five-person slate.
Carroll is still contemplating his next steps, including whether he will run for a second term independently or join another ticket. “My head’s still spinning on this whole issue here,” he said. “I just want the council to look at what’s going on and really do what should be done about this whole situation.”
As Hackensack moves closer to the May 2024 election, the situation underscores how political battles and personal tensions can collide in local governance. How the council addresses these issues will likely play a key role in shaping the election’s outcome.
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when in doubt play the race card
pathetic
The race card was played by battaglia at a children’s soccer game
South of Route 4…who cares…?
Well, what exactly was said? Why should anyone be expected to take the word of the people claiming offense? Stop being babies, release the e-mail, and let everyone judge for themselves.
The Mayor & his whole gang of racist-ignorant incompetent cretins needs to go! The community should insist!