Whereas county employees, vendors, and unions provided a large part of the $447,651 donated to the Union County Democratic Committee since 2008, the UC Republican Committee got most of their $63,473 from themselves.

No county vendors getting no-bid contracts.  No county employees as far as I can tell.  One union (Laborers UL 472) which supports mostly Democrats, threw the UC Republicans $500, possibly by mistake.  Only one big-time contribution, $10,000 from Mark Gerson, who seems to be spreading money around, Corzine-style, to get into the discussion for top ballot spots.

The bulk of the contributions, typically in the $350 range, came from Republican candidates and officeholders presumably out of a sense of obligation.

Why wouldn’t some enterprising lawyer, contractor, or county employee hedge their bets by giving the Republicans a little something in case they won the next election?  Three reasons:

1) Republicans are not likely to win as long as Plainfield and Elizabeth return 90% pluralities to the Democrats;

2) These lists are public.  Even if a county employee is worried that the current administration is endangering their pensions while frittering money away they must keep their names off any contribution lists to the opposition party.*

3) Even if the Republicans pull the unlikely upset they’re still down 6 - 3 at best and the Democratic machine continues to divide the spoils for at least the next year.

How does this cycle get broken?  The Democrats must raise taxes through the roof, throw away money on useless vanity projects while closing down potential profit centers, abuse taxpayers, repay their campaign contributors at a rate of 50 to 1 and…one more thing.  Their automaton constituencies in Plainfield and Elizabeth must notice.  There’s the rub.
.
.
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* Nice democracy we have here isn’t it?  Who speaks to power around here?  Who even speaks so anyone else will hear?  Saddam’s Iraq was more tolerant of dissenters.

The first and third pages have been hijacked by State Senator Raymond J. Lesniak sharing his spiritual beliefs and how they aided him in seemingly single handedly getting the death penalty abolished in New Jersey. But what is more annoying is that for the second consecutive year Lesniak has used the newspaper to bash the Elizabeth Board of Education. Not only did he bash the Board of Ed as a whole but he singled out its officials by name which was totally tasteless.

The Union County Alliance receives approximately 80% of its funding from the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders which means that it is paid for with tax payer dollars. Though there is some advertising in the paper, it must be noted that those ads are mostly from public entities therefore these ads would be paid for with tax dollars as well. If this newspaper is to be a useful tool of information for the residents and paid for with their hard earned monies than Ray Lesniak’s opinion of the Elizabeth BOE has no place in the publication. Senator Lesniak can certainly well afford to self fund a mailing to every house in Union County as there are many county residents who would prefer to not be a part of his attacks paid for with their tax dollars.

What was once a worthy publication, years ago, has now transgressed into a publicly funded birdcage liner loaded with platitudes for the wonderful ways that the freeholders have developed to spend the taxpayers money without their approval. The front page article about the new Countywide Performing Arts High School at the Vo-Tech is proof positive that the freeholders could care less what the voters think. It would seem to be common sense that a borrowing scheme putting the county $20 million further in debt should really be subject to voter approval and not left to the total discretion of the gang of nine who are able to just quietly take what they want whenever they want passing the costs on to the taxpayers. Something is wrong with this picture especially since we learn about this additional debt by reading about how we all got screwed in this taxpayer funded political newspaper.

And where are the other members of the UC Alliance?

Conspicuously absent in this latest edition is the list of the Board of Directors as well as what companies comprise the coalition. Have they backed away and taken their funding with them preferring not to participate. And if they have good for them as it would certainly be long overdue.

http://www.ucalliance.com/index.htm

Submitted by:
Joseph P. Doherty
Elizabeth, New Jersey

On April 10, I appeared before the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders to express my opinion on the subject of Union County Government and its lack of involvement in the illegal immigration crisis. Unfortunately, I was not able to deliver the entire text of my prepared statement, as the Board Chairman claimed I had exhausted my five minutes of “public comment” time. I did not get any satisfaction when I wondered aloud…”by whose watch?” The following is the complete thrust of my remarks:

I would like to preface my remarks by saying that my comments are critical of county government and may be considered “offensive” to the delicate sensibilities of some listeners.

As a concerned citizen I would like to know what this Board, the Prosecutor’s Office, the sheriff’s Department and the County Police are doing to address the illegal alien crisis that is impacting the quality-of-life in this city (Elizabeth), county, state and nation. Allow me to answer my own inquiry….little, if anything, and not enough! It is a well-known fact that this issue has reached the critical stage and the majority of American citizens want a comprehensive immigration reform initiative that includes border security, no amnesty and an aggressive campaign against the illegal interlopers who plot, plan, scheme and scam their way into this country, using forged documents and stealing the identities of American citizens in the process. The smuggling of people, weapons and drugs into America has reached epidemic proportions. The violence associated with such activity is staggering! Murderous cross-border drug wars have engulfed once-peaceful sleepy towns, turning them into killing fields and are spreading throughout the land at an alarming rate. While the local scene in Union County has yet to rise to the level of murder and mayhem I just described, it has the potential to do so, as we are plagued with gang and drug-related violence on an almost daily basis. Take Elizabeth, it is a prime example of a dying city, that despite the political propaganda spouted by its defenders to the contrary, has been transformed from a once-upon-a-time typical American city into a seedy, shabby, trashy environment, thanks in part to the scourge of illegal immigration. Let us not, however, ignore the generous contributions of that certain home-grown element amongst us who also bear a huge responsibility for this disgraceful destruction and downfall of a once-clean and wholesome city.

Let me cite just one local example of the negativity involved as it pertains to the abuse of county property. Some people may regard this example as trivial, irrelevant and even silly, but in fact, it is a vital snapshot of a much broader picture. Warinanco Park, a tax-payer funded facility is being transformed from a reasonably well-maintained facility into an abused stomping ground by hordes of soccer players, many of whom are, I suspect, much like the congregating day laborers we see and hear so much about, of questionable legal residency. On any given weekend hundreds running, romping, stomping and scampering feet scar the landscape, laying waste to everything in their path. They pick their spots, set up shop and proceed to destroy public property with impunity, content in the knowledge that they will not be challenged by any authority. In short, they come, they see, they conquer! Once pleasant and serene fields of green are now “brown and bald” as a result of this relentless onslaught. Hastily constructed goal posts dot the landscape, cutting across the domain of once-manicured baseball fields, resulting in a sloppy, shabby, ghetto-like atmosphere. allowing such conditions to take root, flourish and become accepted routine is just another example of the lunacy that reigns supreme in our politically-correct “New America,” where illegal alien invaders are treated with a “DO NOT DISTURB” attitude by public officials and law enforcement agencies, who, by their failure to act for the common good, are granting rights and privileges to foreign nationals that are generally reserved for American citizens. Such outrageous conduct poses a potential threat to our national security, while assaulting our sovereignty, ignoring the rule of law and abusing the American values of honesty and fair play. By not acting, the peoples’ elected representatives, along with bureaucratic civil servants and “selective” law enforcement officials are lending credence and legitimacy to the presence of foreign feet on American soil. The day I saw a county police officer standing on the sidelines watching a soccer game with his hands in his pockets and cheering, while a cast of questionable characters ran circles around him, I knew we had gone from the ridiculous to the sublime on the illegal immigration issue.

It is time for the mute and mummy-like amongst us to rise up and demand action on this issue. It is time to cast off the yoke of political-correctness, servitude and repression and put a stop to this foreign free-for-all! Do not allow the white flag of surrender to be raised over Warinanco Park or any other part of Union County! Stop embracing a sanctuary-like philosophy! Help enforce immigration laws! I may be old-fashioned and naive and in some ways even corny, but I still believe that politicians are elected by the citizenry to represent the people and conduct the peoples’ business in a manner consistent with the wishes and best interest of their constituents, and that discharging those responsibilities in an honest, forthright manner is paramount, and must trump all other conditions and influences that might bring pressure to bear to do otherwise.

In conclusion, may I be so bold as to say that if this Board spent just a fraction of the time on the illegal immigration issue as they do on figuring out ways to raise taxes, Union County might be a better place.

P.S. Why is the Warinanco Park “water works” project taking so long to complete?

NOTE: The above commentary may be considered somewhat lengthy by some standards, but in order to get the “full meaning and flavor” of the words and appreciate the emotional passion and impact of same, one must deliver them in an inflective manner, not in a “rapid fire” voice that is more like hurry up and “beat the clock.” While the Board Chairman exercised his right to restrict my comments, it is my opinion that he did so because he heard enough truth for one evening and did not want to hear anymore. His utterance of a few Spanish words to me as I prepared to leave the podium was an obvious “dig” and a feeble attempt to ridicule an American citizen who was exercising his right to free speech and expression, as granted by God and the founding fathers of this great land. A Board member also displayed contempt for my presentation by laughing as I neared the exit door. Such a public display of mocking ignorance and arrogance directed towards a concerned citizen with a legitimate complaint is a prime example of a political coward, who lacks the courage to confront an “adversary” to his face, opting instead to snicker and sneer when his back is turned.

This one-party lock on the Board of Freeholders has dealt a death blow to true democratic representation and produced a breed of politician that stifles dissent and is not responsive to the will of the people.

I’ve worked the polls in Union County for a number of elections and I am not all concerned about the voting machines. However, I have always been amazed that the system of hiring poll workers is so dysfunctional. Given to what I know about the people running Union County this past decade I have to wonder if this is orchestrated by the power brokers.

It certainly worked in their favor in Elizabeth in 2006. When a contentious primary election didn’t go their way and the only independent Democrat on the city council won re-election they had the money to challenge it in court. If you look close enough at any election you will find poll worker errors. In this case poll workers allowed 40 registered Republicans to vote Democrat. A judge threw out the election results and ordered a second primary and the machine won that one. “There is nothing to be done except policing,” said Michael Moussallem, director of information systems for the county elections board in a Star-Ledger article. “This could be happening every time.”

I get my conspiracy theory from the fact that every county will tell you it is hard to find enough people to work the polls. Yet I don’t see enough of an effort on Union County’s part to hire poll workers and on any given election in places like Elizabeth you will see county and city workers being used as challengers alongside poll workers and as campaign workers handing out literature outside of the polls. With such a shortage of poll workers, why doesn’t the Democrat machine encourage these employees to be poll workers instead?

Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi is an educated and professional woman, yet when she raised alarms about voting machines recently, however justified her concerns may be, the fact that she chooses to ignore the process by which poll workers are hired to work these machines makes her motive’s suspect to me. Why didn’t she demand an overhaul of the system that hires poll workers after the Elizabeth fiasco when she called the special election “unprecedented (in Union County) from my historical knowledge”. The redo election required the services of 103 poll workers and cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

Ditto for State Senator Nicholas Scutari who plans to introduce legislation to create a Voting Machine Integrity Unit within the state Division of Gaming Enforcement to thoroughly test and certify all new voting technologies before they are implemented. Sequoia already submits their machines to a federal certification process.

“It’s an embarrassment that we have a far more rigorous and thorough approach to ensuring the fidelity of our slot machines than voting machines” Scutari said in a March 29, 2008 Star-Ledger article.

Yet Scutari isn’t embarrassed that a poll worker who operates the voting machines could be hired by simply providing their name and social security number. The gaming workers that are in charge of the slot machines are required to have a license issued by a regulatory agency, such as a state casino control board or commission. Applicants for a license must provide photo identification. Poll workers are never looked at face to face, never mind interviewed. Poll workers do not have to submit work experience or references.

To be a poll worker you fill out a form which gives your basic information: name, address, Social Security number. The only requirement for employment, besides showing up for work, is you have to attend a mandatory training class every two years.

To most of us, including Dictionary.com, the definition of mandatory is: Law, permitting no option; not to be disregarded or modified. Yet the definition of mandatory to the Union County Board of Elections is: It is mandatory for all poll workers, to attend a training class at least once every (2) two years….The payment (for working the polls) will be $200, and if you do not attend the mandatory class, you will be paid less.

When you attend the training class you sign your name on a list and sit down without anyone speaking to you. You could easily walk out. You could just as easily have someone sign you in. Attendance isn’t called and a test isn’t given. And Senator Scutari isn’t embarrassed that we have a far more rigorous and thorough approach to ensuring the fidelity of our slot machine operators than our election poll workers? Hell Nicky, we have a far more thorough approach to ensuring the fidelity of our fast food workers. Little wonder to me that this is the same senator that introduced legislation to legalize marijuana.

When Sequoia voting machines showed a discrepancy in the last primary election, the company maintained the errors were caused by poll workers who inadvertently pressed buttons on the control panels.

During a primary election a voter is signed in at the table and given a pink slip if they are a registered democrat and a blue slip if they are a registered republican. The voter then gives this slip to the poll worker manning the machine. The poll worker then has to push (1) one button which sets the machine for either party. Yet time and again it is found that poll workers have a difficult time performing this task.

I can tell you from experience, the person manning the machine is usually determined early on in the day. It will be the person least capable of signing voters into the book which simply requires knowledge of the alphabet.

Along with a better screening process for poll workers, another piece of legislation someone truly concerned about the integrity of our elections should introduce would be that Board of Elections Deputy Administrators shouldn’t be involved in partisan politics. Union County’s Dennis Kobitz, while seemingly to be competent at his job, has been a Democrat municipal chair in Hillside for a number of years. Why aren’t the Rajoppi’s and Scutari’s concerned about this potential conflict of interest?

People are focusing on the wrong machines. Sequoia may have quirks, and perhaps a certain amount of human error will just have to be dealt with as needed, but it’s an embarrassment that no one in New Jersey has the political will power to address the fact that it is more likely that the election process is being compromised by man made political machines.

Union County Board of Elections Poll Worker Application

Articles:
Elizabeth Democrats Revote
Tougher tests sought for Jersey’s voting machines

Today’s Star-Ledger article about an Elizabeth council member being mugged and pistol-whipped around the corner from City Hall reminded me that citizens who attend freeholder meetings aren’t allowed to park in the two (2) empty county employee lots.

At the April 19, 2007 meeting of the Board of Union County Democrat Committee Chosen Freeholders I made a public comment about the public not being made to feel welcome at county public meetings. You can view it on our Veotag account HERE.

Freeholder Sullivan either ignored or didn’t comprehend anything I said and during his closing comments (freeholders never respond to you when you are at the microphone and can defend yourself) the bully went on a rant about Elizabeth being a safe place for people to visit and further proved my point that citizen input isn’t welcome.

Safe for whom I wondered? For Freeholder Sullivan who drives from his house in Elmora, which is the safest neighborhood in Elizabeth due to the fact that all the Elizabeth politicians live there, and then parks his car underneath the County administration building? His feet never touch the streets in Elizabeth where violence is reported daily.

You can see Sullivan’s rant on our Veotag account HERE.

I personally feel safe attending freeholder meetings. However, Elizabeth is a very intimidating place to many people across the county. There is no parking on the street outside of the administration building. There is parking a block away and around the corner, which you will have to find yourself, and then you will have to walk the dimly lighted streets with no security around. The extensive security staff is all inside the administration building, protecting the administration.

Couple this with the fact that citizens are routinely harassed by freeholders, after making public comments and at best are ignored by them, and you get a government that isn’t anywhere near a welcoming neighborhood “of the people”.

While exercising my First Amendment right to freedom of speech, I was removed from meetings by the county police three (3) times in 2007. I will stay true to form in 2008 and defy tyranny while being removed from meetings as often as necessary.

Freeholder Sullivan stayed true to form on April 19th and during his closing comments he didn’t address the fact that the county website was listing the wrong directions, or that the public has no where close by to park despite there being empty county employee parking in abundance all around the building. Instead he ignored all the issues I raised and harassed me for making these comments.

Freeholder Sullivan ranted “I am highly offended by Mrs. Renna’s comments about Elizabeth isn’t safe! You are all safe here in Elizabeth!”.

Sullivan should send his comments to union@starledger.com

Elizabeth council member mugged
School principal pistol-whipped
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
BY JONATHAN CASIANO
Star-Ledger Staff

An Elizabeth city councilman and school principal was robbed at gunpoint and pistol-whipped around the corner from City Hall last weekend after a night out with teachers from his school.
Frank Cuesta, a councilman at large and the principal of Elizabeth’s Alexander Hamilton Middle School, suffered fractures to his skull and right eye socket during the attack, which occurred on Dickinson Street around 1 a.m. Saturday, he said yesterday.
Cuesta was also robbed of his wallet, keys, credit cards and $1,000 in cash by the unidentified mugger, according to the police report.
“It’s been a very traumatic experience,” said Cuesta, 54. “From what my friends tell me, I’m just lucky to be alive.”
About 65 staff members from Hamilton Middle School gathered after work Friday at the Sun Tavern in Roselle Park, Cuesta said, as part of a social outing he had organized to “build morale and rela tionships” at the school. After leaving the Sun Tavern, Cuesta and several of his colleagues made their way to Dolce, a popular restaurant and lounge on Broad Street in midtown Elizabeth.
Around 1 a.m., Cuesta left the restaurant to walk one of his teachers to her car. The teacher, a 25-year-old Parsippany woman, was taking her pocketbook out of the car’s trunk when a man in a hooded sweatshirt walked out of the nearby alley. He walked up behind Cuesta, put a black handgun to the side of his head and demanded money, the police report said.
After Cuesta handed over his wallet, keys and cash, the mugger struck him in the temple with his gun.
“It happened so fast. Before I knew it, he struck me in the head and I guess I went down,” Cuesta said.
The mugger then turned his attention to the teacher, who had locked herself inside her car to call 911. After tapping on her car window with his gun, the man got into another car that was waiting nearby and drove off, the report said. The teacher was not injured.
Cuesta was taken to Trinitas Hospital, where he was treated and released later that morning. He said doctors expect him to make a full recovery without surgery.
Meanwhile, police are searching for his attacker, who was last seen riding east on Dickinson Street. Detectives are hoping that at least one of several private surveillance cameras posted near the scene will help identify the mugger and his getaway car, said police spokesman, Sgt. Stephen Negrey.
Jonathan Casiano may be reached at (908) 527-4012 or jcasia no@starledger.com.

Elizabeth Mayor Chris Bollwage appears to have the inside tract when it comes to obtaining government records and reports even when those documents are not obtainable under the Federal Freedom of Information Act, it has been reported by the Star-Ledger.

He is purported to have put on quite a show at the last Elizabeth City Council meeting by displaying the document in question so enlarged that it was displayed on an easel for all in attendance to view. An incomplete audit report of the Elizabeth Board of Education, the document has been reported to be “confidential early work from within the Federal Department of Education’s Office of the Inspector General” or OIG.

Bollwage made no secret about the fact that he obtained the report from the Union County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Carmen M. Centuolo, whose office falls under the Union County government’s umbrella. Disclosing the contents of this report, which according to the OIG, may not be complete for another six months can only be viewed as a political maneuver to discredit the incumbent school board members who are on the ballot in the current school board elections.

Though supposedly nonpartisan Elizabeth’s BOE races are certainly anything but. With Mayor Bollwage publicly supporting his own ticket along with State Senator Ray Lesniak who called for investigations of the current BOE in a county government funded newspaper these elections reek of politics at its absolute worst.

Dr. Centuolo certainly didn’t behave in a nonpartisan manner by supplying the mayor with his ammunition in view of the fact that the Dr. has been a contributor to the Union County Democratic Committee and also gave at least $1,000 to the campaign of NJ’s newest senator, Democrat Robert Menendez. http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?st=&zip=07092&last=Centuolo&first=Carmen

It is worth noting that the Doc was appointed Union County Superintendent in October of 2004 by the NJ State Board of Education, is paid a salary of $110,994.03 and is listed as among those taking an early retirement at the ripe old age of 55, effective July 1, 2003 after having worked for the Green Township, NJ BOE. Certainly looks like double dipping or perhaps some form of pension padding from here either way a six figure salary combined with a public pension is not exactly chump change at the taxpayers expense.

Mayor Bollwage’s behavior a scant week before school elections is atrocious and though he vehemently denies it even a novice can clearly see what his intentions were. But even worse is the behavior of the County Superintendent of Schools, what on earth was Dr. Centuolo thinking by handing over a confidential report? Shouldn’t the doctor have told the mayor to butt out of school territory? Or was the Doctor under instructions to leak certain tidbits of potentially damaging information at just the opportune time thus making it impossible for any damage control to be implemented and good names defended.

The situation in Elizabeth can only be termed as one big mess as the mayor and school board go at each other, the activities of the county superintendent definitely should be viewed as suspicious and definitely unethical and Senator Lesniak, well, that is another story all by itself.

From Newsmeat
Contributor
Candidate or PAC
Amount
Date
Centuolo, Carmen MMountainside, NJ 07092State of New Jersey/County Schools
MENENDEZ, ROBERT (D)Senate - NJNEW JERSEY DEMOCRATIC VICTORY
$1,000primary
09/09/06

New Jersey state government employee salaries and overtime for 2006
Click belowfor details
Last
Rest
Department
Section
Title
Base pay
Overtime*
Estimated total pay*
14069
CENTUOLO
CARMEN M
EDUCATION
CENTRAL OFFICE
COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT
$110,994.03
$0.00
$110,994.03

Five months ago the Union County Watchdog Association asked the Union County prosecutor’s office to investigate the Union County freeholder board for routinely violating the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA). I know what you’re thinking about the probability of anything coming out of that compliant; but consider that in the past the Prosecutor’s office has determined that the Elizabeth Board of Education, the towns of Roselle Park and Kenilworth and the Union County Improvement Authority had violated the OPMA.

The last update I received from the prosecutor’s office was four months ago. They informed me that they were waiting for the county to send them documentation. Apparently the prosecutor’s office has to wait patiently for the county to hand over their public records just like the public does. Oddly I find it comforting to know that the county has contempt for everyone, not just the average tax-payer off the street.

The Freeholder Board had been routinely violating N.J.S.A. 10:4-13. That statute requires a public body, before going into closed or executive session, to first adopt a resolution, at a meeting to which the public shall be admitted: a. Stating the general nature of the subject to be discussed; and b. Stating as precisely as possible, the time when and the circumstances under which the discussion conducted in closed session of the public body can be disclosed to the public.

Rather than pass the required resolution, the Chairman of the Board simply “calls for a motion” to go into executive session which is then approved unanimously. As a result, the public is deprived of any knowledge of the topics that the Freeholders are privately discussing or when those discussions will be made public.

A recent example of the consequences this has on public information is the law suit that’s been filed against Freeholder Rick Proctor. Scala v. County of Union. The suit alleges that the defendant, Denise Santiago, an official within the County, refused to hire plaintiff, an attractive 33-year old woman, because Santiago, who was having an extra-marital affair with Freeholder Rick Proctor, viewed plaintiff as a threat to her romantic relationship with Proctor. (See previous post: Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?)

It was serendipitous that the minutes I chose at random to file the complaint with the Prosecutor’s office, as well as the States Government Records Council, happened to include the discussion of this case. The executive session minutes originally released to me simply stated:

9. Minutes redacted under Attorney-Client privileged communication in a matter involving on-going litigation. Minutes redacted under Attorney-Client privileged communication.

When the county responded to my complaint the minutes they gave the GRC stated instead:

9. Alyssa Scala v. The County of Union, v. Rick Proctor, v. Denise Santiago.

These minutes were dated February, 2005. Proctor was up for re-election that year. The county has managed to keep this from the public to date. This story is an exclusive of the County Watchers.

The Open Public Meetings Act N.J.S.A. 10:4-17 empowers the prosecutor’s office to enforce the act. Private citizens cannot enforce the provisions of the OPMA except through a civil action. The vast majority of citizens, unfortunately, do not- and cannot realistically be expected to have the time or resources to bring suit on their own. The Legislature, apparently contemplating this problem, vested county prosecutors office’s, with the power to impose the civil penalties.

While I’m disappointed that justice seems to be dragging its feet in this case, I am happy to report that recently the freeholders seemed to have found religion in that they have been adopting the required resolutions and keeping executive minutes somewhat up to the standards that is required by the law.

We’ll say Amen to that for now; but we’ll keep praying the prosecutor’s office does their job and holds the county accountable for their past transgressions; or the sinners will surely fall from grace again. The minutes suggest they are already tethering on the brink.

The county doesn’t post freeholder meeting minutes on their tax-payer funded website; but we do you can view them by clicking here.

Recently hundreds of American lives were saved using surveillance tools that critics have called illegal, and threatening to our civil liberties. Realizing that one third of Newark Liberty Airport lies in Union County and that we are the home of the most dangerous two miles on the eastern seaboard, I really don’t care much who is listening to my telephone conversations.

Just a few short days ago NJ Senators stood in the Port of NY and NJ claiming that the current administration has made incompetent security choices and aren’t putting the interests of the working families first.

Well, it seems to me that if the current administration wasn’t doing their job we surely could have had a plane or two exploding over the port taking a countless number of lives on both the ground and in the air along with part of a tank farm, a cat cracker and a piece of down town Elizabeth.

With campaign rhetoric sounding like he is the new kid on the block, candidate Bob Menendez says that America needs to be given a new direction where homeland security is concerned. His buddies say he is just the guy to send to Washington to do the job of ensuring America’s interests.

Somebody please tell me what he has been doing in Washington these past eight years; shouldn’t he have been looking out for New Jersey’s interests and her hard working families?

Certainly these are dangerous times and it wouldn’t take much for Union County, as we know it, to be a fond memory. It is important that we have the best of the best giving their undivided attention to Homeland Security/Emergency Management measures ensuring that in times of crisis UC is prepared.

The Dir. of Public Safety, Harold Gibson, is a county employee earning a salary of $109,793 per year. Currently he is being considered to replace the late Plainfield Councilman Ray Blanco. Council members have the responsibility to look out for their towns during times of crisis and Mr. Gibson’s county department is also an integral part of the county’s emergency management plan, so we must question his ability to be in two places at once, should a countywide emergency occur.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management issues directives, “how to” guidelines, provides training courses and sets the requirements and standards for departmental workers at the county and municipal levels. The office ensures that these standards are enforced as a division of the Dept. of Law and Public Safety/Office of the Attorney General. Position descriptions on the state’s personnel website list prior emergency response experience, specialized certifications and educational levels necessary to qualify for a variety of positions in county offices of Emergency Management. Grant monies help fund these offices with qualifiers attached in some cases to insure that the grants are used as intended including the hiring of qualified employees.

The UC Division of Environmental Health and Emergency Management writes an Assessment and Improvement Plan which outlines areas of concern, progress and existing services for handling both natural and man made environmental situations in the county. Though some changes and improvements have been made since the 2004 report, more can always be done to ensure the daily safety of county residents.

Probably the single most important department of county government because it has the potential to impact on the lives of all county residents, funding should never be an issue, regulatory compliance should always be without question, staffing second to none and deployment at the ready on a moments notice.

After all isn’t providing for the health and welfare of the residents what county government is intended to do?