Mayor and slate hold rally against Wal-Mart Detractors doubt mayor's motive was anything but political BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer Harvey Whille, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1262, talks to the public during a rally against the Wal-Mart on Vineyard Road in Edison on May 31. EDISON - In an attempt to thwart the inevitable, Mayor Jun Choi called in support from local unions and Edison residents on May 31 to rally against the building of a Wal-Mart store on Vineyard Road. "It's about telling Wal-Mart that they are not welcome here and setting a precedent for the next project," said Evan Stavisky, a campaign strategist for Mayor Choi's slate of council candidates. Choi and the council candidates he has been supporting for the four contested nominations in the June 5 Democratic primary, held signs against Wal-Mart, reiterating their campaign message that the Wal-Mart approval was the work of the incumbent council and that Choi's slate of candidates are the only ones not tied to this project. That slate consists of Melissa Perilstein, Dr. Sudhanshu Prasad, Wayne Mascola and AnnMarie Griffin-Ussak. Mayor Choi has been a staunch opponent of Wal-Mart since his mayoral campaign and has claimed he will never waver in fighting the retail giant. That tenacity was put to the test last month when a court ordered that Edison Township release building permits to the developer in charge of building the new Wal-Mart. Choi was named in the complaint as having allegedly ordered township officials to withhold those building permits. The release of the permits shows that a Wal-Mart may be inevitable in Edison, though Mayor Choi said that the rally was bigger than just the one project, it is a symbolic gesture against overdevelopment in the township. "It's an uphill battle," Choi said, "but there is a larger purpose to speaking out against this project." Bob Master, a representative of the Communications Workers of America, which represents roughly 65,000 New Jersey workers, said that the CWA is against what he called the unfair labor practices of Wal-Mart, and that when a Wal-Mart comes into a community, it prices out all other retailers and drives down wages below living standards. When asked why he is fighting what many consider a done deal in Edison, Master said giving up is not an option. "If you accept that," Master said of the "done deal" mentality, "you might as well roll over and give up. The fight goes on." Harvey Whille, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1262, said Wal-Mart has a history of sneaking into a community and providing low-paying jobs and putting local retailers out of business. "Wal-Mart is not an asset to the community," Whille said. "They put good businesses out." Merril Yurch, an Edison resident, said that she came to the rally because she wanted a chance to speak out. "I had to be out here just to show how I feel," Yurch said. While the Wal-Mart rally consisted of roughly equal numbers of union representatives and local residents, the tone and the overwhelming majority of literature and signs were of a political nature. People held signs supporting the "Column A" Democrats, as Choi's slate has become known, and the mayor remarked often on the political independence he claims his slate has. While the rally went on, members of the "Column C" campaign slate - consisting of Bill Stephens, Anthony Russomanno, Nilesh Dasondi and Richard Westover - distributed fliers undermining Choi's resolve against Wal-Mart. The flier stated that a check from Wal-Mart to the township for $1 million was cashed by Mayor Choi on the third day of his administration. The check was for infrastructure improvements in the area in anticipation of the Wal-Mart coming in. "If he didn't want the Wal-Mart so bad," Russomanno said, "he wouldn't have cashed the check." Stephens said the rally was not much more than a political stunt aimed to have Choi's slate given the nomination. "If you're serious about being the mayor," Stephens said, "why are you putting up the political signs?" Council President Charles Tomaro, who is running for re-election this June alongside council members Salvatore Pizzi, Rob Karabinchak and Joan Kapitan, echoed the same sentiment, saying that if it were not political, he would have been right out there with Choi. But that wasn't the case. Tomaro said that even the new council is not going to be able to do anything to stop Wal-Mart, unless they are prepared to involve the township in a lawsuit that he believes they cannot possibly win. Tomaro said that the rally was political, not symbolic, and he cited the date as his reasoning. "If he did it on June 6, it would have been symbolic," Tomaro said. "He did it on May 31 - that's political."