Expands inital ethics filing against incumbent Dennis Espinosa and the Wahler Administration for unlawful Ethics Board representation, costs and other concerns

For immediate release: May 19, 2026
For more information: pwayprogressives@gmail.com; aumack4pway@gmail.com

Piscataway, NJ -- Today, Democratic Ward 2 Council candidate Elizabeth "Betsy" Aumack filed formal requests for investigations with the state Attorney General and the State Comptroller into possible public office corruption and waste, fraud and abuse of public funds . Aumack originally filed an ethics complaint on May 7 against Councilman Dennis Espinosa, who sent a letter on Township letterhead and at taxpayer expense, championing his position on an ordinance that had been adopted by the Municipal Council. In addition to her complaint with Piscataway's local Ethics Board, Aumack filed an Open Public Records Act request for all of the information related to the letter, including the list of recipients and the cost of the mailing borne by taxpayers. No other Council members were permitted to send letters, and requests to Mayor Brian Wahler's office made by other members went unanswered, she said in the original complaint.

"Today, I filed with additional authorities to ensure an independent review of this matter. When I tried to file with the Township, I learned that one of the Local Ethic Board members, Paster Joseph Leo, does not live in Piscataway and, therefore, cannot serve on the Ethics Board, despite being appointed by Mayor Wahler. Further, the Board does not have the legally required partisan balance of Board members, as required by the local ordinance. Piscataway residents deserve a thorough investigation into who is protecting our taxpayers from nepotism, cronyism and other ethics concerns, said Aumack.

"Additionally, the Township's response to my Open Public Records Act request shed additional doubt on Mr. Espinosa's claim that he was simply responding to constituents who had reached out. Instead, it showed that the Mayor's chief of staff asked for letters to be mailed to residents of entire streets, without any explanation of why those streets were chosen. Lastly, the Township was unable to provide any information about how much this mailing cost taxpayers. We have more questions than we have answers now. We look forward to state authorities reviewing this matter to be sure Piscataway is not paying for political campaigning on the public's dime. We must end NJ's corruption tax that is driving up costs for all of our hard working families and seniors," she said.

Aumack is running with a slate of challengers in the June 2 Democratic Primary, on an agenda of transparency, accountability and affordability. She and her running mates, the Democrats Putting Piscataway Working Families First, have been endorsed by NJ Working Families Party, NJ Citizen Action and Food and Water Action, as well as the Piscataway Progressive Democratic Organization (PPDO). The PPDO won two at-large seats in the 2024 Primary, the first election without the "County Line."