At a fundraiser in North Jersey last night, Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) wound up taking a photo with members of the Edison Eight, a controversial group of local politicians implicated in a scandal involving an allegedly fake racist flyer aimed at inciting the township’s Asian American community in a 2017 school board race.
As the presumptive Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in a blue state, things are moving quickly for Kim, who may be facing growing pains as he seeks to navigate the treacherous waters of vetting attendees he might not know.
Kim was unaware that the host of his fundraiser, attorney Richard Trenk, had invited the Edison Democratic Municipal Chairman Mahesh Bhagia, school board member Jerry Shi, and Satish Poondi, an Edison attorney, his campaign said today.
The mailer – “Make Edison Great Again” – urged voters to “Stop Jerry Shi and Falguni Patel from taking over our school board.”
“The Chinese and Indians are taking over our Town! Chinese School! Indian School! Cricket Fields,” the flyer said. “Enough is Enough.”
The racist nature of the mailer made national headlines.
A U.S. Postal Inspector investigating the mailer had implicated Bhagia, Shi, Poondi, and five others.
The New Jersey Attorney General and Middlesex County Prosecutor joined the probe, and a grand jury was empaneled. The case remains open.
In 2017, after Bhagia awarded the organization line for mayor to himself, Middlesex Democrats cited the racist flyer scandal and instead gave the line to Sammy Joshi; Kim endorsed Joshi in that primary.
The Kim campaign told the New Jersey Globe that the three-term congressman did not know the people in the photograph.
