​The Party Prince and the Politics of Intimidation

There’s a story playing out in Edison that has nothing to do with policy and everything to do with power. Not the kind earned by service or votes. The kind that operates behind doors, trades favors, and quietly decides who gets a voice.

At the center is Mayor Sam Joshi. Edison’s Party Prince. The selfie king of county loyalty. His re-election campaign has shattered records, not with results, but with spending. Nearly a million dollars has poured in, most of it blown on consultants, hotels, bar tabs, and political packaging.

Not roads. Not infrastructure. Not safety. Just gloss.

His donors don’t live here. His consultants don’t work here. His campaign army shows up in neighborhoods they can’t pronounce. The mailers are printed miles away and read like they were written by people who couldn’t find Edison on a map. And while the campaign rolls on, so do the floods, the unfinished projects, and the rising taxes.

This isn’t just wasteful. It’s weaponized.

Residents say campaign signs appear on private property without permission. Delivered by men in matching track suits who seem to be township employees. The message isn’t subtle. In Edison, power doesn’t ask. It shows up, puts a sign in your yard, and dares you to remove it.

Others describe public employees pushing political information or quietly pressuring volunteers. The mayor’s campaign seems to benefit from the convenient cooperation of taxpayer-funded staff. Not all of it is illegal. But all of it is corrosive.

And while residents wait for overdue infrastructure, they watch taxpayer dollars flow freely into choreographed events and staged celebrations. The Diwali displays, for example, are beautiful. The community support is real. But the intent? That’s murkier. When cultural celebrations become curated photo ops, when they’re treated less like community milestones and more like campaign content, something important is lost. The people still show up, but so do the cameras. And everything becomes a backdrop for someone else's ambition.

Support for Diwali and other cultural traditions should never feel like a trade for silence.

Research shows that when enforcement officers or public employees publicly align with political campaigns, it damages trust in both directions. Leaders start to look like insiders, not representatives. Accountability takes a back seat to loyalty. This isn’t speculation. Cities around the country have watched this behavior stall reform and wreck public confidence. Edison isn’t immune.

And when residents try to talk about it, the blowback is personal. Verified Joshi supporters use online spaces and flood them with insults, anonymous attacks, and smear campaigns. Women and older residents are targeted the most. Not with arguments, but with character assassination. Not with disagreement, but with bullying.

That’s not democracy. That’s intimidation. To make it worse, protected and confidential information about David Tingles service is being leaked, manipulated, and made public.

This is what happens when a campaign built on county and union loyalty fuses itself with the machinery of local government. The result isn’t service. It’s silence. Residents are afraid to speak up, to ask questions, to put the wrong sign on their lawn. Those who do are mocked, labeled, or quietly punished.

And still, the same crowd calls it “unity.”

In contrast, Joshi’s challenger David Tingle, a government employee, took vacation time to campaign. He separated his public service from his candidacy. That isn’t flashy. It’s not expensive. It’s just ethical.

Edison isn’t a kingdom. It’s a community. It deserves leaders who remember that.

Because you can’t fix a town you’re too busy using.