Jackson, NJ – A report by FAA News is igniting new controversy in Jackson Township’s ongoing political saga, accusing Mayor Jennifer Kuhn and Councilman Mordechai Burnstein of “paying to mislead” the public by using favorable media outlets to rewrite the history of the township’s recent police department turmoil.
At this time, no proof of payments to either media outlet has been made publicly available.
The article, published alleges that Kuhn and Burnstein are attempting to shift blame for the appointment of Public Safety Director Joe Candido, a move later struck down by a Superior Court judge as unlawful, despite both having supported the decision when it was made.
FAA News claims that “paid media” in neighboring towns — specifically The Lakewood Scoop and Lakewood Alerts — have helped circulate statements portraying the current administration as having “inherited” the Candido controversy.
According to FAA’s report, the dispute stems from an April 2024 council vote in which then-Mayor Michael Reina, with the support of Kuhn, Burnstein, and Councilman Scott Sargent, appointed Candido, then a police sergeant, to the newly created post of Director of Public Safety. At the time, officials publicly stated that the appointment would not undermine Police Chief Matthew Kunz, a 35-year township veteran who had led the department since 2008.
The creation of the Public Safety Director was part of Kuhn and Burnstein’s plans to oust Chief Kunz and to negotiate a settlment to get rid of the chief, which they had sought to remove since taking office, citing low morale within the department.
FAA News, however, reports that court filings tell a different story. Kunz’s lawsuit, filed in Ocean County Superior Court, claimed that Candido effectively took over command of the department — issuing orders, overruling the chief, and exercising “absolute authority” over daily operations in violation of New Jersey law.
Judge Valter Must ultimately ruled in Kunz’s favor, finding that the appointment was unlawful and violated the state’s Faulkner Act and police chief protection statutes designed to prevent political interference in law enforcement administration. The township later settled the remainder of the case, agreeing to pay Kunz back wages and longevity pay. Kunz is set to retire effective February 1, 2026.
That settlement is estimated between $1 million and $2 million dollars. Shore News Network has requested a copy of the settlement through the Open Public Records Act, but the township so far, has not delivered that settlement, as required under state law.
Despite that outcome, FAA News says Kuhn and Burnstein have since sought to reframe the situation, issuing statements that the “current administration inherited” the Candido conflict — a claim FAA calls “revisionist.”
“Inherited?” the outlet’s report reads. “Do Kuhn and Burnstein expect the public to forget they voted to appoint Candido? To forget that they stood by him throughout the litigation, praised him at council meetings, and openly criticized Chief Kunz while the case was ongoing?”
FAA’s piece paints the media fallout as part of a broader pattern of “political narrative control” inside Jackson’s administration. It suggests township leaders are now attempting to recast themselves as reformers, despite having played central roles in decisions that led to years of legal and administrative strife.
Key points:
- FAA News alleges Mayor Jennifer Kuhn and Councilman Mordechai Burnstein are paying for favorable coverage to rewrite history on the Candido case.
- Kuhn, Burnstein, and former Mayor Michael Reina voted in 2024 to appoint Joe Candido as Public Safety Director, a move later ruled illegal.
- Chief Matthew Kunz sued and won; he will retire February 1, 2026, after a settlement including back pay.
- FAA says the officials’ recent statements that they “inherited” the situation contradict public records of their votes.
Neither Kuhn nor Burnstein has publicly responded to the FAA News allegations, and no evidence has been presented that any payments were made to media outlets in connection with coverage of the case. However, the article’s explosive claims have intensified scrutiny of Jackson’s ongoing political feuds, already defined by bitter divisions between elected officials, township employees, and the press.
For now, the controversy underscores a familiar tension in local politics — between transparency, media control, and the rewriting of recent history.
