Tina Renna, the founding president of the Union County Watchdog Association and editor of The County Watchers, has been cleared in a defamation lawsuit brought against her blog and The Elizabeth Reporter by Union County spokesman Sebastian D’Elia.
The blog post in question, posted in 2006, compared D’Elia and his tactics to Hitler. The post was later changed after the Hillside school board election, during which school board member Nathalie Yafet and former Hillside Mayor Barbara Rowen claimed they were harassed by D’Elia while campaigning outside A.P. Morris School. (D’Elia does not live or vote in Hillside, but the county Democrats like to bus in out-of-towners [many of them county employees] to work the elections in Hillside.)
Renna said the lawsuit was an attempt to silence her and stop her from reporting on county government. The judge agreed that her blogging was not libelous. (And while her blogging may not win any literary awards — in the judge’s eyes, at least — the Watchers are the only media outlet to cover the county government on a consistent basis.)
Reacting to Renna’s win, NJ.com blogger John Bury believes it’ll snow in the Sahara before the freeholders can shut Renna up:
Tina Renna has been the single most vociferous critic of the all-Democatically controlled freeholder board since 2005. She set up a website to both blog and provide public information on county finances. She has been a constant presence at freeholder meetings questioning appropriations and priorities while occasionally being attacked personally from the dais. . . READ
Archive of TheHillsider.com 
3 comments
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November 18, 2008 at 8:40 pm
conant1
I wonder if Sebastian will walk hand and hand with defilippo? how does he spin the pending indictment? how do you explain abuse of power? Wayne Bryant couldn’t!
November 19, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Pig Farmer
Why do you wonder whether he will or won’t “walk hand-in-hand” with her? How does that effect you? How does it effect any Hillsider? When the political leaders are taken away in shackles instead of being toppled at the ballot box it’s a sad day for each of us, a sad day for democracy and not a day to walk the streets grinning.
She should be ashamed of herself… and now so should you.
December 12, 2008 at 10:15 pm
John Bury
Thanks for the plug. I’ve read the blog in question, the trial folder, and talked to both Tina Renna and Sebastian D’Elia about the case.
It was a clear abuse of process. Sad that the court system was used this way.
I think D’Elia should be allowed to stand outside Hillside polling places and verbally harass anyone. I think Renna should be allowed to blog on her site and verbally harass anyone. Harassment is subjective anyway and if the other person is allowed to respond, there can never be any harm.
Finally, the blog piece was not poorly written (outside of the last part which was plagiarized from another source). Something is well written if it gets the point across understandably and I understood Renna completely.