USPS apologizes to Senate candidate for mail mishap

The U.S. Postal Service has apologized to a Democratic State Senate candidate for returning her mail, including some campaign contributions, to the sender.

Ruth Dugan, who is challenging State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-River Vale) in the 39th district, says that she rented a post office box in Westwood for her campaign, but that the post office returned it at undeliverable.

Gail Branham, a spokesperson for the postal service, said that “an investigation was swiftly conducted” after the New Jersey Globe reached out this morning.

“We sincerely apologize for the errors in handling Ms. Dugan’s mail,” Branham said.  “As a result, all of the operational corrections have been made.  Ms. Dugan’s PO Box is now labeled with her name and PO Box Number, on the clerk’s side, making it clear the current status of the box.”

According to Branham, the recently-rented box had not been properly labeled on the clerk’s side of the boxes, something that led to the rejection of her mail.

Dugan wanted to make sure the incident wasn’t intentional.

“At a time when public confidence in our institutions is at an all-time low, we are supposed to be able to trust the integrity of our local postal process,” the Democratic Senate candidate said.

Branham said that additional training will be given to the clerks and heightened awareness emphasized.

“Although an apology is not an excuse, we sincerely hope that Ms. Dugan accepts ours,” said Branham.