Democrat Sue Altman began airing a new broadcast and cable TV ad this morning using three career law enforcement officials to validate her support of law enforcement after four police unions endorsed the Republican incumbent, Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Westfield) in New Jersey’s 7th district.
In “Seen it All,” Altman uses two county sheriffs – both Democrats – and a relative who is a retired police detective on Long Island – to deliver a contrast with Kean and burnish her pro-police credentials. The ad notes that Altman’s grandfather and uncle were police officers – and uses a photo of her as a young child with a police officer, pointing out: “That’s Sue.”
Script: “(Darrin Russo) I’ve been in law enforcement for 35 years. (Peter Corvelli) 32 years. (Craig Copius) Walked the beat. (Corvelli) And now as sheriff. (Copius) I’ve never seen this type of crap coming out of Tom Kean, Jr. It’s a disgrace. Here’s the truth. Sue Altman gets it. Sue grew up in a family of cops. It goes back generations. (Corvelli) She’s got a plan. (Russo) Backed by law enforcement like me. (Corvelli) Like me. To get us the resources we need. (Corvelli) To get guns off the street and to keep our community safe. That’s why I want. (Corvelli) Why we need… (Copius) .. Sue Altman representing us in Congress. (Sue Altman) I’m Sue Altman, and I approve this message.”
Darrin Russo and Peter Corvelli were elected sheriffs in Somerset and Union counties, respectively, after long careers in local law enforcement. Corvelli is the Kenilworth Democratic municipal chairman. Still, the harshest statements in the ad come from Craig Copius, Altman’s uncle.
Altman has invested considerable money in TV ads. This is her fourth week on the air — buying about $400,000 on broadcast ads and roughly $150,000 on cable – and her second ad.
Kean began airing a pro-law enforcement ad last week. The freshman congressman has been endorsed by the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, the New Jersey State Troopers Fraternal Association, the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police, and the National Association of Police Organizations.
“The public servants we ask to keep our streets, families, and communities safe deserve full support from our elected leaders – not to be used as political props. Sue will be an unapologetic supporter of our law enforcement agencies, and the dedicated men and women who make them,” said Rob West, Altman’s campaign manager. “Sue believes in bringing taxpayer money back to New Jersey — so our police departments can increase their training and recruitment efforts and ensure their officers receive the compensation they deserve — in holding perpetrators of hate crimes accountable, and in getting dangerous assault weapons off our streets.”
The Kean campaign has used Republican law enforcement officials as well, with Hunterdon County Sheriff Fred Brown and Westfield Police Sergeant Nick Bruno, a Clinton councilman, to point out past statements by Altman in support of a movement to defund the police and for celebrating the New Jersey Supreme Court’s order to release convicted cop killer and Black Panther Party member Sundiata Acoli in 2022.
But Altman has walked back those statements, telling the New Jersey Globe that she regretted using hashtag #DefundThePolice on social media.
“I think I’ve made a couple of mistakes in the things I’ve said. Famously, I had a tweet in the dark days of 2020 – none of us were at our very best in November of 2020 – it was at the height of all the conflicts with the police, and I had a tweet in which I used the hashtag #DefundThePolice,” Altman said. “I think it was unnecessary; I think it turned out to be a very harmful hashtag, not just for the movement in losing credibility, but also for the men and women in law enforcement who are actively trying to do a good job.”
As a candidate for Congress, Altman has criticized Kean for backing former Gov. Chris Christie’s pension reform bill.
Altman said in her New Jersey Globe interview that “policing deserves respect (and) deserves investment.”