WEBDESK – NJNEWSLINE
Jackson Mayor Jennifer Kuhn has reported threatening voicemails, misogynistic and antisemitic messages, and an obscene package as police investigate a series of incidents.
Jackson Township Mayor Jennifer Kuhn is facing a series of threats and harassment as political tensions intensify in the New Jersey community ahead of this fall’s mayoral election.
Kuhn, who has been mayor for less than a year, told NJ.com that she has received disturbing voicemails, Facebook messages and an unsigned package containing gummies shaped like male genitalia. Some of the messages were misogynistic, while others contained antisemitic references, although Kuhn is not Jewish and said she has Jewish family members.
One voicemail, described in the report as lasting about 90 seconds, included repeated profanity, references to Nazis, Saddam Hussein and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a demand that Kuhn leave the United States.
The incidents have been reported to police. Jackson police Lt. Joseph Candido said authorities are investigating the threatening messages and a separate incident in which a man appeared at Kuhn’s rental property earlier this month. No arrests had been made as of Sept. 18, and investigators were still working to identify the individuals involved. Police had not established whether the incidents were connected.
News 12 New Jersey had previously reported in August that police were investigating threatening voicemails sent to Kuhn’s township and business phone lines. Police said at the time that the messages could potentially constitute harassment or terroristic threats depending on their wording.
The threats come against the backdrop of an increasingly contentious political environment in Jackson, a township of about 60,000 residents in Ocean County. The community has been embroiled in disputes involving municipal governance, development, public records and allegations of unequal code enforcement.
According to NJ.com, the latest threats largely occurred in August, beginning after a particularly chaotic Township Council meeting in late July. The meeting included angry public comments and disruptions by residents and people officials described as outside agitators.
The political timing is significant. Kuhn is seeking re-election this fall against Elliott Shem-Tov, making the threats an issue in an already closely watched local campaign.
Shem-Tov, Kuhn’s electoral opponent, condemned the threats and said he does not condone violence, harassment or threats in political campaigns or elsewhere. He also said the conduct should not divert attention from what he described as Jackson’s broader municipal issues.
Council President Mordechai Burnstein also condemned the messages, saying he had not previously seen such a level of political hostility directed at another person involved in local government.
The incidents add another layer to a period of political turmoil in Jackson. Former Mayor Michael Reina resigned last year after nearly two decades in office, while the township has since faced litigation and disputes involving its police leadership, code enforcement and municipal contracting.
Kuhn said she initially kept the harassment private but reported the incidents to police after another confrontation during Jackson Day on Aug. 23. She said a man aggressively approached her over a public-records request and continued shouting after she requested police assistance.
Kuhn has said she believes the harassment is intended to intimidate her. She told NJ.com that the incidents would not cause her to back down from her role as mayor.
