Another mystery bumper sticker near Camden City Hall
For the second time in two weeks, a bumper sticker calling for the ouster of Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd's chief of staff appeared outside City Hall on Wednesday.
For the second time in two weeks, a bumper sticker calling for the ouster of Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd's chief of staff appeared outside City Hall on Wednesday.
The sticker, white with red letters reading "Novella Hinson No Good 4 Camden," was placed on the door of a vacant office on the 500 block of Market Street, across from Roosevelt Plaza and City Hall.
The sticker was similar to those placed on the doors of City Hall last month, which read, "Novella Hinson Must Leave Camden City Hall."
City business administrator Robert Corrales said that Hinson is respected and that she has received calls of support from many in the community.
"The propaganda being circulated within the city are baseless and nothing more than an attempt to distract the progress occurring in Camden," Corrales said. "The mayor fully supports Ms. Hinson as her chief of staff and is proud of the work she has done to assist her in moving Camden forward."
Hinson, Redd's longtime adviser, has recently stoked anger among some residents for allegedly interfering in the appointment of a City Council member, and last month a handful of community activists spoke out against Hinson at a Council meeting.
Though she is essentially an unpaid aide to Redd, Hinson has been a fixture in city politics for decades, and some longtime residents believe she wields as much influence as the mayor.
Last month, after Council members moved to nominate a replacement for a vacant seat, Hinson reportedly discouraged two of the three candidates from pursuing the job so Angel Fuentes, a former assemblyman who served on Council for more than a decade, could return.
Through her spokesman, Vincent Basara, Redd has declined to comment on the comments against Hinson, and has not made Hinson available to be interviewed.
The source of the stickers remains a mystery.
The Camden County police opened an investigation last month after the first stickers were placed outside City Hall, and members of Redd's administration have questioned several outspoken residents in an effort to identify the culprit, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
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