Edison Council Calls On AG To Investigate Racist Campaign Flyers

EDISON, NJ — The Edison Town Council passed a resolution calling on the Attorney General's Office to continue their investigation into an anonymous racist flyer sent in the days before the 2017 school board election.

The resolution was added to the agenda for Wednesday night's meeting by Councilmen Robert Diehl and Leonard Sendelsky after organized public outcry at the previous meeting.

The resolution calls for the Attorney General's Office to continue their investigation into who sent the flyers, and, if appropriate, bring criminal charges against whoever is involved; it will be sent to the Attorney General's Office.

Edison Police Chief Tom Bryan confirmed at the Aug. 22 meeting that the Attorney General's office had taken over the investigation. A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service confirmed to Patch in August that they were investigating the flyers in conjunction with the Edison Police Department. Spokesperson Greg Kliemisch said that no charges have been filed at of yet, but that it was an active investigation.

The Attorney General's office told Patch their policy is to neither confirm nor deny investigations. They declined to comment further.

• Read More: AG Investigating Racist Campaign Fliers: Edison Police Chief

Mayor Thomas Lankey said he supported the resolution, and called the flyer a "despicable act."

"The Council’s resolution clearly expresses my sentiments too,” Lankey said in a statement. “I was first to denounce that racist flier last November. I was first to alert law enforcement and to demand a full investigation to find the person or persons responsible. The Edison community proudly embraces our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. We do not and we will never tolerate such despicable acts."

"Mayor Lankey did have a conversation with me early on and reported the flyers at which point we initiated an immediate investigation," Chief Bryan confirmed to Patch.

The fliers, which said "Make Edison Great Again," were sent out in the days leading up to the school board election in 2017. They featured photos of Jerry Shi and Falguni Patel, two Board of Education candidates of Asian descent, with the word "deport" stamped on them. Both were elected onto the board. Their running mates on the BOE Unity Team, Beth Maroney and Paul Distefano, both of whom are white, were also elected. Maroney and Distefano were not mentioned on the flier, nor was the date of the election.

• Read More: 'Make Edison Great Again,' Anti-Immigration Election Flyer Says

Not everyone received a copy of the flier, and its mailing appeared to be targeted, Diehl said at the August meeting.

Edison has a large Asian population, particularly Southeast Asian. According to the 2010 census, the town's population of just over 100,000 is 43 percent Asian. Caucasians make up 44 percent of the town's population.

Main image: Katie Kausch for Patch. Flier images provided to Patch and used with permission