In a fast-intensifying mayoral contest in Edison, protesters took to the parking lot outside the Mirage Banquet Hall this evening to object to incumbent Mayor Tom Lankey’s appointment of Nilesh Dasondi as his special assistant.

Dasondi hosted the reelection fundraiser for Lankey, who found himself swarmed by signs condemning his choice, who last year in Facebook posts referred to COVID-19 as “the China virus.”

Chants of “Shame on Lankey” rained.

Community activist Peter Kothari led the protest against Lankey – who is seeking reelection as an independent – and Dasondi.

Here’s Lankey heading into his fundraiser and the scene that greeted him: