Jersey City Ward F Candidate Frank Gilmore Said Attack Flyers 'Don't Faze Him'

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Residents in Ward F woke up to a flurry of flyers on their cars Tuesday morning with Frank Gilmore's face, front and center. Only it wasn't his headshot, or even his campaign flyer — it was a photo made to look like Gilmore's mugshot plastered on attack flyers.

The flyers read "Vote No"and listed his previous arrests and charges, alongside claims he "destroyed Black children in Ward F." Gilmore has been transparent about his past and integrated it as part of his platform. At 19-years-old, Gilmore had already seen his fair share of juvenile detention centers and was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in state prison on drug charges.

Gilmore told Patch on Tuesday that he found out about the flyers on Monday night and was initially shocked, but ultimately said it doesn't faze him.

"I really think that tactics like this just don't work, especially with someone like me who hasn't been hiding anything, " Gilmore said, "It's a lot of misinformation, but like Michelle Obama said, 'When they go low, we go high."

Gilmore said he's sure the flyers were published by Jermaine Robinson's team, the incumbent Ward F candidate, and cited a similar attack campaign that happened years ago against Daniel Rivera.

Robinson could not be reached for comment.

"Tactics like this are really harmful in this ward because it creates a hostile environment," Gilmore said, "It's not a good look, we should all be able to talk with cool heads and focus on the issues."

Mayoral candidate Lewis Spears condemned the flyers, taking to Facebook to denounce the tactic as disgraceful.

The post reads:

"Tactics of fear being used against a Black man, by strategically using pictures to make him look more menacing. The fact is Mayor Fulop hasn't implemented any recent initiatives to remediate the issues of incarceration. Frank Gilmore did his time, so he's still a criminal?!

The Kushner family is celebrated in Jersey City through real estate and sweet deals while we vilify Black men. My brother is coming home this month after serving a 6 year Federal sentence; doesn't he deserve to be welcomed back into the fold without being judged for the crimes he's already paid for?"