Dear Editor,
This past Mother’s Day residents informed me Mamta Singh was going through our building knocking on doors campaigning even though this is not permitted. Our security only permits guests to enter when they are announced to and received by a resident. A couple of days later I received a mailer from her that reads “Mamta Singh Hudson County Commissioner”. I thought to myself, in addition to sneaking into our building and bothering residents on Mother’s Day, this is deceptive because she’s not our county commissioner. Her literature should say “Mamta Singh for Hudson County Commissioner”. The banker in me (I studied and practiced banking in India before coming to the US) decided to follow the money and look up her NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) reports.
Interestingly, I opened the first of her reports dated August 24, 2022 and found she filed to run for the state Assembly this year, but just four months later (December 16, 2022) she filed to run for County Commissioner. What made her change her mind so quickly? Can we believe that she really wants to be a commissioner? Does she really want to improve our community? Or is she just seeking a title? This sudden change struck me as odd.
Ms. Singh’s ELEC report dated December 14, 2022 shows Urban Families, LLC, a for profit company incorporated by Mamta Singh in 2017 for the purpose of serving “LOCAL FAMILIES” not her political aspirations, contributed $500.00 to her campaign. Also, her ELEC report dated May 8, 2023 shows Ms. Singh contributed $1265.53 to her campaign, listing JCFAMILIES, INC., a nonprofit corporation formed by Ms. Singh, as her current employer. Since financials for JC FAMILIES, LLC are not publicly accessible, it is tough to know whether compensation paid to Ms. Singh was more than actual hours worked, or in consideration of work not performed, and that would be considered a political contribution from JC FAMILIES, LLC, which is illegal. It’s ironic that Ms. Singh’s platform calls for the County to make the county budget transparent, but the JC FAMILIES, LLC budget isn’t publicly accessible even though, as its website states, “JCFamilies is a charitable organization, …, we need your help and donations”. I wonder if her donors knew she was spending their money on her political campaign whether they would continue to contribute to JC FAMILIES, LLC. Probably not.
Lastly, Ms. Singh’s ELEC report dated May 8, 2023 shows that the president of her JC FAMILIES, INC board contributed $2260.00 to her campaign and her board’s vice president contributed $400.00. A board serves as impartial members, ensuring they represent the interest of the corporation, not its CEO. If JC FAMILIES, INC board members are cozy enough with Ms. Singh to contribute such large sums of money to her political campaign, can they really be trusted to objectively manage her and JC FAMILIES, LLC, a nonprofit corporation, especially given it solicits public monies? At its best, it’s a conflict of interest. At its worst, it’s potentially illegal.
I am writing this letter to let people know about my findings, so they can evaluate Ms. Singh to determine whether she is the best candidate for county commissioner.
Sincerely,
Ravi Parikh
Democratic Committeeman Ward C, District 23
Board Member 201 St. Paul’s Condo Association
Editor’s note: Mamta Singh declined an invitation to respond to this letter.