Mountainside challengers hit incumbents over settlements

Council candidates in Mountainside are continuing to seize on a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, including through the use of a dildo dubbed “big blue,” and other abuses within the Mountainside Police Department to hit incumbent candidates.

Candidates Anjali Mehrotra and Ileana Montes on Wednesday took aim at settlements the borough entered in response to suits about the alleged behavior of two Mountainside police officers.

“These settlements are just another way the Council is protecting their friends in the police department from the consequences of their actions,” said Mehrotra, “The responsible thing to do would have been to stop this behavior when the Council first learned about it instead of letting it continue and putting Mountainside in the situation we now face.”

The attack follows a line the candidates have taken since news of the allegations initially broke roughly two months ago.

The two repeated their call for an independent investigation into whether or not Mountainside Mayor Paul Mirabelli and members of the Borough Council knew about the alleged violations and did nothing.

Mirabelli has previously called the candidates’ attacks over the matter political posturing.