The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders has announced, thru the County Manager, that there will be 28 employees laid off shortly. Many of those employees who will be effected by the job cuts converged on the freeholder meeting last evening and it has been reported that they were joined by about 35 or so fellow workers, all members of union Council 8. Council 8 represents approximately 875 county workers the largest bargaining unit and includes practical nurses, mechanics, secretaries and inspectors. County Manager Devanney sites a $24million county shortfall and a crippled US economy as the reasons for the layoffs which would be effective in early April.

There are many out there who would say that there isn’t an industry that is safe these days however these layoffs are particularly distasteful as the freeholders frequently use the county employees’ job security as an election issue. Beating up on their GOP opponents the incumbent freeholders have repeatedly, year after year, accused the Republicans of being heartless beasts who would, for sure, be responsible for a merciless bloodbath should they be elected to sit on the board and have anything to do with managing the county budget. The Democrats of Union County have claimed that they have been able to maintain the jobs of county employees and have bragged repeatedly that they would not be the ones to do the cutting as every employee they have hired is absolutely necessary. And that it seems would include those high ticket friends and relatives who mysteriously show up on the county payroll unannounced. It is doubtful that the rank and file types who are getting cut this go round are the ones on the county payroll that those “pesky” Republicans would be cutting if they in fact were sitting on the board.

The layoff announcement this week has brought out the usual political hack or two who are attempting some early behind the scenes damage control by trying to shift the blame for the layoffs away from the freeholders and onto others where ever it will stick even onto some political activists. Claiming that the County Watchers could be even partly responsible for the coming carnage because they have spoken out frequently about county hiring practices and are finally being listened to is just too outrageous for words. Let’s be serious here folks no one will buy that one for even a minute so give it up.

Numerous freeholder candidates and some private citizens have over the past few years issued warnings to the board that they were leading us into troubled territory. Pointing out to the board that they have relied much too heavily on dwindling surplus money as well as federal and state grants to mask out of control spending and poor business practices the freeholders have finally spent themselves into a corner. Devanny has said that they have reached a point where there is no option left but to reduce the payroll, which would not have been the case if only they had listened sooner. There should have been a hiring freeze honored on all positions to include a new hire in January at a salary of $91,000+ for a confidential assistant, the county manager did not need a new truck this year why not an economy car with front wheel drive to handle the snow, and what about using our in-house attorneys instead of paying almost a half million in additional legal fees to a political supporter and how about that concert down payment that the board made for Music Fest 2009 what was up with that? And how can we forget the out of pocket expenses to settle law suits brought by employees that have cost the taxpayers millions? So much money wasted that can never be recovered again, it is mind boggling..

Cutting the jobs of 28 persons is certainly not the answer to make up for a $24 Mil shortfall, the employees know better perhaps than anyone else what can go and what needs to stay and according to one quoted in the Star Ledger there is “a lot of fat there before they get to the meat. There are a lot of other ways they can cut without cutting jobs.”

To get ahead in a public service career consider taking the advise of a party insider and try to “GET ACTIVE” in the Union County Democrat party.

John Salerno is an example of a successful ACTIVE county employee.

Salerno who’s title is currently County Director of Special Projects & Graphic Compliance, (annual salary $81,546 up from $52,084 in 2000), is shown on video recently BEING ACTIVE in the Democrat party. Click HERE to see video.

John Salerno’s Union County employee history:
2000 - $52,084 - Clerk/Public Relations I
2001 - $56,467 – Clerk/Public Relations I
2002 - $60,286 – Clerk/Public Relations I
2003 - $69,375 –Confidential Assistant
2004 - $72,844 – Confidential Assistant
2005 - $72,844 – title N/A
2006 - $81,546 – “Director of Special Projects & Graphic Compliance”. For a job description see previous post: Costs to taxpayers to date for incumbent Democrat freeholders fall campaign: $245,926.
2007 - Raises will be announced in January

Applicant was asked: Which party are you?Friday, November 03, 2006
By LESLIE MURRAY
Cranford Chronicle
A job applicant for a Union County post was asked about his political affiliation and encouraged to “get active” in the Democratic party to improve his chances of being hired, Republicans say — and they’ve got the emails to prove it. But the county employee who made those comments was not responsible for the hiring decision, and a county spokesman said this week that her comments did not represent the county’s position “in any shape, way or form.”
Carolyn Vollero, a former county employee and chairwoman of the Cranford Democratic Party, asked Garwood resident Dennis Clark about his partisan affiliation while Clark was seeking employment with the county in 2004. The written request is made in a chain of emails shared with the Chronicle last week by Phil Morin, the chairman of the Union County Republican Party and a former Cranford mayor.
Vollero, who is also a former Cranford mayor, recently retired from her post as chairperson of the county Bureau of Mosquito Control. She did not return repeated calls for comment regarding the correspondence.
Clark, who is a registered Republican and is currently running for a seat on the Garwood Borough Council, said that he and Vollero met when she was invited to judge an essay contest for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post in Garwood. At the time Clark, a disabled veteran of the Vietnam War, was looking for employment. He applied for a job as a part-time clerk with Union County Division of Veterans Affairs and in an email dated March 24, 2004, thanked Vollero her for her involvement in the VFW contest and asked for assistance in the application process.
That day, Vollero responded to say she would reach out to a woman she knew in the Veterans Affairs office.
She also asked Clark what she called a “personal question.” “(A)re you a registered voter & how are you registered? Dem. OR Rep.??” Vollero wrote.
Clark responded less than 10 minutes later, telling her that he is a registered Republican, though he rarely votes along strict party lines. “I hope that won’t preclude my getting the position, if I’m qualified,” he wrote. In another email two days later, Clark wrote that he had had an interview and was hopeful he would be offered the job. “I think this job is tailor-made for me and I would greatly appreciate any help you would be able to give me,” he wrote.
Ultimately, though, the job went to another applicant — a veteran with ties to the Democratic Party. In an April 5 email, Vollero wrote that she had been told Clark was “a wonderful candidate, but only one position was open.” She offered him encouragement for the future and then wrote, “Also consider trying to get ACTIVE with the DEMOCRATS in Garwood. Think about it.”
Clark responded later that day, writing, “How if I’m a registered Republican can I get active with the Democratic Party of Garwood? I don’t think it should matter what party I’m affiliated with, if I meet the qualifications for a County position.” Clark said he kept the emails and sent them to Morin about a year ago, after reading a story in a local newspaper about the impact of political affiliation on employment opportunities. Asked if he feels his political views affected his application, he said, “Absolutely.”
Morin called the emails the “most blatant example of partisan politics as the deciding factor of getting a job in Union County,” and he said Vollero’s role is significant because of the “senior position” she held with the county. “She certainly bragged in her emails (about) her ability to assist him,” Morin said.
However, county officials said this week that Vollero’s comments do not mirror the county’s position. “Carolyn Vollero’s views and opinions expressed in these emails do not represent those of this administration or the County of Union in any shape, way or form,” said Sebastian D’Elia, a county spokesman. “Ms. Vollero’s employment duties did not include hiring or the development of hiring policy for the County.” “The County of Union hires the best suitable candidates for all our positions (and) is an equal opportunity employer,” D’Elia said.
He also said that the county employees mentioned in the correspondence between Vollero and Clark did not recall the interview with Clark, nor did they remember any conversations with Vollero about Clark’s application for employment. The county does not typically allow department heads to speak to the press, and D’Elia declined the Chronicle’s request to interview the individual who made the hiring decision.
According to the New Jersey State Department of Personnel, which deals with discrimination in the workplace, political affiliation can not be considered when evaluating a job applicant. “It is totally and unequivocally inappropriate to ask an applicant about their political affiliation,” said George Laufenberg, communications director for the department.

The Union County Republican Committee has issued a press release today stating that it has asked both the State and Federal governments to investigate the spending of tax dollars which promote incumbent freeholders at election time.

During the recent freeholder debate Freeholder Al Mirabella defended the practice of spending taxpayer money on mailers and commercials. Mirabella contends that they need to inform the public of services. Why they only need to inform the public of services at election time wasn’t mentioned. Mirabella also didn’t offer a reason why the county spent approximately twice as much touting their shared services initiative as the $102,000 State grant they received to explore ways to save money.

Pay close attention to the messages you get from Union County government and the timing of when you get them. After all, you are paying for them. Don’t expect the freeholders to show you the bill or even tell you that they are behind it, but be sure that their pictures and names will be prominently featured in the hopes that you’ll remember them in the election booth. I hope you remember them too, here they are again: Democrat Freeholders, Al Mirabella, Debora Scanlon and Chester Holmes.

The taxpayer costs to date for the Democrat freeholders fall campaign are $245,926. The following is a breakdown.

Union County Day at Trailside mailed 9/21/2006 featuring Al Mirabella:
Cost: $148.00 for postage (County claims that this piece was printed in-house therefore there are no costs associated with printing 500 4 color 2 sided glossy piece.)
View postage bill by clicking HERE.

Union County shared services program in which the freeholders tell us “We’re going to be even more connected to you”. Commercial which has been running these past weeks leading up to Election Day features Al Mirabella and Freeholder Daniel Sullivan who will be up for re-election next year when no doubt this same commercial will be run during the 2007 campaign season:
Cost: $159,925.
View commercial bill by clicking HERE.
View commercial by clicking HERE.

Shared Services mailer sent 10/12/2006 featuring Al Mirabella and Daniel Sullivan:
Cost: $32,369.42 for postage (County claims that this piece was printed in-house therefore there are no costs associated with printing 200,000 4 color 4 page glossy piece.)
View postage bill by clicking HERE.
View mailer by clicking HERE.

Senior News Letter featuring all 3 freeholders who are up for re-election and a mention of all 9 on the back.
Cost: $3,483.83 for postage mailed 10/20/2006 (County claims that this piece was printed in-house therefore there are no costs associated with printing approximately 13,350 of the 8 page news letter.)
View postage bill by clicking HERE.
View newsletter by clicking HERE.

Every household and business in Union County received a copy of the Union County Directions Newsletter this week. You receive two every year, one right before the primary and general elections.
Cost: Approximately $50,000 for the postage and printing. This piece is produced by county employees during their taxpayer funded work day.

REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE OF UNION COUNTY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2006
Contact: Phil Morin – 908-451-4995

GOP Says Democrats Fail To Disclose
Use of Taxpayer Money to Pay for Political Mailings, TV Ad

Today, the Union County Republican Committee (“UCRC”) sent a formal request to the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) and the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (“ELEC”) for an investigation of the Democratic freeholder candidates’ last-minute mailers paid for with taxpayer dollars and the Union County Alliance’s failure to comply with FEC and ELEC regulations, including the failure to file as a continuing political committee under New Jersey election law. The UCRC alleges that the Democratic freeholder candidates violated election law by using taxpayer funds to fund a six-figure media campaign and that the Alliance’s blatant political mailer requires the Alliance to file with ELEC.

“It is beyond question that the Directions newspaper, shared services flyer and television ad violate ELEC regulations regarding political communications within 90 days of an election,” said Phil Morin, Union County Republican Chairman. “What’s worse is that this election time propaganda is paid for with taxpayers’ dollars.”

Late this week, county residents received a 24 page newspaper from the Union County Alliance, which is funded with taxpayer dollars and was found by the Government Records Council earlier this year to be subject to the Open Public Records Act because of their close links with the all-Democrat Union County government. The thinly-veiled campaign piece featured at least 12 photos of freeholder chairman Mirabella, and 10 photos of Deborah Scanlon, who is also up for reelection, and numerous articles touting the freeholders’ alleged “governmental or political objectives or achievements,” a clear violation of the political communications regulations.

Additionally, the inclusion of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez’s photo in the Directions newspaper raises the question of whether federal election law requirements were violated we are calling on the FEC to investigate this matter as well. “The inclusion of a candidate for federal elected office in the Alliance’s election eve newspaper appears to be a violation of federal election law which we will prosecute to the full extent of the law,” Morin said.

That same freeholder chairman is featured in a television ad that conveniently began to run this fall and is linked to the county’s web page at http://www.unioncountynj.org/ . Ironically, the brochure and the TV commercial highlight the County’s receipt of a $104,500 state grant for promotion of shared services. The all-Democrat freeholder board has spent over $200,000 – twice the amount of the grant — promoting the fact that they received this grant, according to bills for postage, printing and production of a TV ad were paid for with taxpayer funds.

“The brochure, Directions publication and the television commercial are “political communications” under ELEC’s regulations, and the cost of these communications must be disclosed as “in-kind” contributions on their campaign reports by law. The Democratic freeholders failed to disclose these expenditures on their 29-day pre-election day October 2006 filing with ELEC, which is a violation of law. The Democrats could be facing thousands of dollars in fines from both the FEC and ELEC as a result of failure to report the misuse of taxpayer dollars to fund what is essentially campaign literature.

“It’s time for the County Democrats to stop using taxpayer’s hard-earned money to pay for trips to Chicago and Hawaii, for no-bid contracts for their relatives and for their political campaigns,” Morin said. “The all-Democrat Freeholder Board is spending over $1 million of our tax dollars a day, is it any wonder why Union County is one of the top ten highest taxed counties in the country?”

(See below for text of ELEC regulation regarding “political communications.” Copies of all alleged political communications and bills relating to mailer/TV ad available upon request.)
N.J.A.C. § 19:25-10.10 Political communication contributions
. . . .
(b) A written statement, pamphlet, advertisement or other printed or broadcast matter or statement, communication, or advertisement delivered or accessed by electronic means, including, but not limited to, the Internet, that does not contain an explicit appeal pursuant to (a) above for the nomination for election or for the election or defeat of a candidate shall be deemed to be a political communication if it meets the following conditions:

1. The communication is circulated or broadcast within 90 days of the date of any election in which the candidate on whose behalf the communication is made is seeking nomination for election or elected office; except that in the case of a candidate for nomination for the office of Governor in a primary election, the period of time that a communication shall be deemed political shall be on or after January 1st in a year in which a primary election for Governor is being conducted, and in the case of a candidate for election to the office of Governor in a general election, the period of time that a communication shall be deemed political shall begin on the day following the date of the gubernatorial primary election;

2. The communication is circulated or broadcast to an audience substantially comprised of persons eligible to vote for the candidate on whose behalf the communication was made;

3. The communication contains a statement or reference concerning the governmental or political objectives or achievements of the candidate; and

4. The production, circulation or broadcast of the communication, or any cost associated with the production, circulation or broadcast of the communication, has been made in whole or in part with the cooperation of, prior consent of, in consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of the candidate.

The Union County GOP has charged the county with hiring a Golan Cipel type for a critical homeland security position. Below is their press release.

The employee who was given this position is Salena Carroll. Carroll was hired in 2000 and her title was “Community Organization Specialist” (view job description by clicking here) her salary was $38,659.92. Part of her job duties were to: train residents in activities necessary for them to assist them to develop and maintain a community garden, to establish a tutoring program for neighborhood youth….

In 2004 the county received homeland security funding to establish the position titled “County Emergency Management Planner” (view job description by clicking here). Carroll was promoted to the position and given a salary of $64,500. Her new job duties are to: develop, plan and provide technical guidance in the development of a regional response capability to a weapons of mass destruction incident….. Her current salary is $69,696.

God help us all.

_____________________________________________

http://politics.nexcess.net/pressrelease/2006/09/union_county_gop_2.html#more

PoliticsNJ.com Press Releases
Union County GOP
DEMOCRAT POLITICAL FAVOR JEAPORDIZES UNION COUNTY HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PLANNING
September 28, 2006
(ELIZABETH)- Union County Republican Freeholder candidates Pat Quattrocchi, Glenn Mortimer and Diane Barabas called for an investigation today into the hiring practices at the Union County Office of Emergency Management.
There seems to be a mystery around the procedure and process of the hiring of the position of the Domestic Preparedness planner, a key position should our area fall under a WMD attack in the future. “ said Pat Quattrocchi. The Republican candidates stated that the situation is particularly disconcerting since the job description calls for developing a regional plan capability that addresses the special needs of the UASI area that encompasses critical infrastructure target hardening measures, unique regional first responder capabilities and regional communications and information sharing resources.

It appears as though the individual hired for this position had no experience, has not submitted a resume, and her only qualification is that she is a good democrat party worker and friend of the political bosses. “ After months of attempting to determine what process was followed, I think we might just have the Union County version of Golan Cipel in our Emergency Management Planning Office”, said Diane Barabas.
This week’s chemical spill in Elizabeth has put this issue on the front page again. Over 50 people were sent to the hospital on Monday and the Republican candidates expressed their concern about the effectiveness of an unqualified political appointee running and planning Emergency preparedness for the citizens of Union County. “This is just another example of the democrats playing favorites, and putting their own political interests above the safety and welfare of the public,” said Mortimer. “This situation smells worse than the chemical spill.” “In the interest of public safety and our own Union County Homeland security, we are calling for an immediate investigation and we believe the public deserves an answer,” commented Quattrocchi, Mortimer and Barabas.

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In today’s Star-Ledger, Union County Democrats deny that their Union County Directions newsletter - a publication featuring elected officials that is mailed to voters at around election time - is not political at all.

You can read the article, including a quote from our own blogger Pat Quattrocchi, who’s running for freeholder, here.

Missing from the Ledger article is the fact that the latest Directions featured a screed by Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Elizabeth, against the Elizabeth Board of Education, which is stacked with opponents of Mayor Chris Bollwage and Lesniak.

If the newsletter is not political, then why is Sen. Lesniak blasting his political opponents?

If the newsletter is not partisan then why wasn’t Elizabeth school board stalwarth Rafael Fajardo, who was accused by the pot (read Lesniak) of being black with corruption, given a chance to respond in the same publication?

Please. If that newsletter isn’t political then grits ain’t grocery and Paris Hilton is a classy broad.

Sometimes, some things in life are just too puzzling for the average person to comprehend, especially when it comes to the actions and attitudes of others.

We human beings tend to judge the performance of other people by the same standards that we set for ourselves even when we know that we will be disappointed. This is just human nature. Ever the optimist, I will admit that I did just that this week.

What was I Thinking??
What was I thinking when I dared to believe that at least one concerned Union County resident would show up at the Board of Chosen Freeholders meeting to ask the board not to award themselves a raise in pay.

The local newspapers, as well as the paper with the largest circulation in the New Jersey had run articles as early as last week about the planned salary increases, and letters to the editor appeared this week regarding this subject and still there was no one but the regular attendees at the meeting last evening. Just the two of us.

Sidewalks
Also in attendance was the long-time Union County representative to the state Republican committee and a woman to voice her repeated complaint that again this year the snow and ice were not removed from a stretch of sidewalk which borders county property making it impossible for her to walk to her bus stop each morning.

Have to be There
Though there appeared to be about 20 others in attendance, this is deceiving because these people are actually reporters or county employees who are meeting participants.

“Sour Grapes”
Though I did step up and voice my dissenting opinion on the amount of the county manager’s raise and that of the freeholders as well, my opinion as a former Republican candidate for the office is most assuredly viewed merely as “sour grapes.” What amazes me is that this “gang of nine” justifies this raise almost as though it were an entitlement evidenced by Angel Estrada telling a reporter that he and his colleagues deserve the raise.

Employed
I am quite sure that just about everyone who is employed feels that he deserves to be paid more money for his or her labors, but there is generally some trace of altruism when one seeks public office and holding office should not be viewed as a money making proposition.

Cadillac vs Chevy
Mr. Estrada, an employee of the NJ Division of Motor Vehicles along with six other freeholders are currently on the county medical and dental plans at an average of $12,000 a year apiece. I believe that most of us thought that the state offered its employees insurance so I am puzzled by his taking part in the plan, certainly no altruism there. (Just a note: a good medical insurance plan can be had for about $500-$600 a month or $7200 a year per person. This plan must be the Cadillac as opposed to the Chevy).

What are they doing???
While campaigning this past fall I repeatedly heard the same lament over and over from county residents regarding the out-of-control spending by county government, as well as the endless construction projects, and excessive legal fees, the basic line was “what are they doing?”

Schedules
Yet the residents of Union County cannot take the time out of their busy schedules to attend a meeting and ask the question themselves, perhaps doing just that would put some pressure on these board members to take the high road and say, “in fairness to the struggling taxpayers of Union County I will not vote affirmatively to increase my compensation.” But since the residents don’t come out, the freeholders really believe that they should and they do, who can blame them.

Comments
Freeholder Scanlon made a telling comment last evening during her closing statement at this the last meeting of the 2005, when she stated that obviously the residents of Union County must approve of the good job that they are doing with the exception of the three here, referring to we Republicans.

Taking the Bucks to the Bank
So there it is folks, by not saying anything to the contrary, this all-Democratic freeholder board can take it to the bank that you are all pleased with how they are spending your money. And I guess that they are right.

The numbers in Union County freeholder races don’t change much from year to year. The Democrats win by the same margins. The only thing that causes a fluctuation in freeholder race numbers is the top of the ticket; presidential and gubernatorial elections bring out more voters who more than likely will vote straight down their party line.

The Democrats don’t win because of “their services”; they surely don’t win because of their charming personalities, or good looks for that matter. They win because all nine freeholder seats are at-large and Union County is overwhelmingly Democratic. The Republican freeholder candidates win the race in most of the towns but the large population of just a few cities outdoes the efforts of the rest of the county.

Using 2003 numbers:

Towns in which Republican freeholder candidates won the election were:
Berkeley Heights, Clark, Cranford, Fanwood, Garwood, Kenilworth, Mountainside, New Providence, Roselle Park, Scotch Plains, Springfield, Summit and Westfield.

A breakdown of registered voters of the above towns by party affiliation is: 54 percent unaffiliated & independent; 22 percent Democrat; 24 percent Republican. With a combined total of 106,306 registered voters.

Towns in which Democrat freeholder candidates won the election were:
Elizabeth, Hillside, Linden, Plainfield, Rahway, Roselle, Union and Winfield.

A breakdown of registered voters of the above towns by party affiliation is: 49 percent unaffiliated & independent; 41 percent Democrat and a paltry 10 percent are Republican. With a combined total of 142,600 registered voters.

It’s not just the numbers that are stacked against the chance of ever having a watchdog on the nine-member freeholder board. There’s the pay-to-play money and misappropriation of tax dollars for freeholder campaigns. There’s also the county employees being used to work on campaigns. These campaign abuses are what make Union County a banana republic.

This year it was politics as usual around the county with the Democrat machine getting out the vote in the urban areas. They rent white passenger vans and stick Column ‘B’ posters in the window and drive people directly to the polls. They probably give them lunch or a light snack on the way.

In many places like School Nos. 1 and 3 in Elizabeth there were election board workers who steadfastly marched voters into the booths and told them to vote the Democrat line. In spite of a large Republican poll challenger presence. The workers were written up and we’ll soon find out if it was worth all the bother. Nothing less than these workers being bared from working the polls ever again would be an acceptable outcome. Including Freeholder Dan Sullivan’s beastly mother-in-law who relentlessly harassed the poll challenger assigned to her booth. Sullivan family gatherings must be a delight with that cast of characters.

There were the usual literature hand outs outside of the polls. Most likely if you approach a polling place in one of the urban areas you will be approached by some greasy looking goon trying to hand you a card with the local Democrat candidates’ names on it. The goon will say something to the effect of “Don’t vote for George Bush - Vote the Democrat B Line”.

George W. Bush has been a favorite campaign tool for the Democrats these past two years. Apparently New Jerseans aren’t taught in school that there are several layers of government with the federal government having all but nothing to do with freeholders or local municipal governments.

In Union County, the dead people apparently have suffrage.

Its been reported that 325 dead people voted in Union County last year. At this writing there is no count on how many rose from the grave to cast their votes this year. People being marched into voting booths and told how to vote might as well be considered dead voters.

This year’s election has convinced me that people aren’t reading newspapers much. However, the apathetic media always takes its toll on Union County elections. The Star-Ledger’s county coverage has been awesome as of just recently, but Worrall’s has slipped way down with its endorsement of powerbroker/Linden Mayor John Greggorio’s appointment of Nancy Ward for freeholder.

The highlight of the debate this year was Nancy Ward responding to the question, “What is a freeholder’s salary?”, she replied in that little blonde way of hers, “I don’t know, I have direct deposit.” This little cutie replaced John Wohlrab after his arrest for domestic violence, almost a year ago to the date, and has supposedly been making decisions about the $390 million county budget ever since.

Worrall endorsed Daniel Sullivan last year. I don’t know what criteria they use for endorsements but if they are going to continue to endorse these empty-heads (Ward), who have utter contempt for the public (Sullivan), who are the powerbrokers’ puppets - I’d like to see Worrall ask and then publish the response to the question “Which powerbroker anointed you and what will you be expected to do for them in return?”

County employees, including the million-dollar taxpayer-funded public information department, were seen out and about on Election Day as well as on the campaign trail. I counted at least ten county employees at the Cranford freeholder debate where they behaved like the low-class baboons that they are.

The room was packed with spectators and several reporters, yet this didn’t cause the county employee/campaign workers to act like they deserve their blotted taxpayer funded salaries. For my entertainment, they placed a stooge right behind me to make comments and cough throughout the debate. I easily ignored him, after all I have teenagers and can block out juvenile girlish banter. Afterwards he was seen running to his car and locking the door behind him.

I considered it an honor when the Public Information Department took souvenir photos posing behind me. Next debate I’m going to wear my F.B.I. hat for their photo shoot.

I was amused at all the attention I received, so I was a good sport about it. I even wanted to join in the fun. I thought a swift knee in Seb D’Elia balls in a crowded room full of people would be hilarious. This isn’t cruel or violent on my part, because I don’t think it would hurt him much as apparently he doesn’t have any balls, seeing as he sent his underlings to harass me while he kept himself clear across the room from me. Funny, but I didn’t see him leave the building. He must have been hiding in the ladies’ room ’till the coast was clear.

Then there was the pay-to-play (extortion) money - Republicans were outspent 42 to 1 according to a recent Star-Ledger article.

The taxpayer-funded commercial and mailers kept pace with what the Democrats spent of our dollars on their campaigns in past years. They’ve spent upwards of $327,769.85 to date this year. This year, the Republican County committee has filed ELEC complaints. Good for them - and me. They saved me all the paper work of having to file a complaint for the Watchdog Association.

The Democrat freeholders win in landslides in the banana republic towns. No wonder between the sheer number of registered Democrats and the way they are manipulated by the machine.

This was my second year working as a poll challenger in Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s polls are lawless in many spots. Without the poll challenger presence it would have been much worse. No doubt Plainfield, Union, Rahway, Linden, Hillside and Roselle were just as lawless.

Of course it’s illegal to use taxpayer’s money to promote campaigning freeholders; county workers working on campaigns during working hours; marching people into voting booths and telling them how to vote; pay-to-play is a nice term for extortion which is highly illegal in the business community; and the rest of the shenanigans that go on Election Day. But this is New Jersey and our tolerance for corruption hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years since the days of Frank Hague.

Despite all of the major newspapers and talk show radio hosts warning about Corzine, we now have another governor who is a friend of the powerbrokers and, barring a scandal, he’ll be in office for the next four years. Don’t expect a thing to change in the banana republic fiefdom of State Sen. Raymond Lesniak under Corzine. In fact, if the county follows the same course as previous years, they will up it another notch and be even more arrogant than ever.

They’ll be upping our taxes another notch too. Somebody’s got to keep feeding the baboons their bananas.

The Star-Ledger’s coverage today of the ELEC complaint filed by the Union County Republican committee was welcome news, however, a few facts weren’t stated and the egregious law braking as well as the total costs has not been exposed to the fed up over- burdened taxpaying public.

Since 2003, I have been keeping track of the costs of taxpayer paid for county campaign mailings and commercials that mostly feature incumbent freeholders who are up for re-election.

The county times these mailings around the primary and general elections. For at least as far back as 2002 the county has launched a media campaign in September which lasts through October featuring a commercial and mailer. The county has defended these mailings as needing to inform the public about services.

Today’s quote in the Ledger by powerbroker/freeholder-maker Charlotte DeFillipo was the same old same old. She must have quotes filed in her home rolodex, mailings under m and so on; or maybe they’re all taped to her refrigerator for quick reference.

Not mentioned in the Ledger article is the fact that there are no ‘We’re connected to you’ propaganda mailings or commercials sent out during the rest of the year. All of these mailings occur during election time, it’s a documented fact. Also not mentioned is that there are nine freeholders, yet every year the three up for reelection become the stars of this literature. If you read this literature as well as the county press releases you would believe that only these three freeholders have anything to do.

What do the rest of them do?

Also not mentioned is the fact that Message and Media does the design of these mailings and produces the commercials. This firm has a long standing county no-bid contract in the form of a $6,000 monthly retainer ($72,000 a year) for ‘Creative Consulting Services’.

One of these contracts boosts that the firm was responsible for the successful county ‘Image Building Campaign’ which featured the branding of the logo ‘We’re connected to you!’ on signs and literature. Along with their $6,000 monthly retainer for consulting, the firm bills for the individual pieces separately.

Message and Media also does campaign consulting work for the county Democrats as well as state-wide. The Union County Democratic Committee pays Message and Media a $5,000 monthly retainer. Do the math and it would appear that the Democrats get their campaign work for less since the taxpayers are paying for their campaign mailings and commercial.

Documents obtained through the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) have shown no description of these creative consulting services. A proposal dated March 9, 2005, consists of just four short paragraphs which Freeholder Chairman Rick Proctor refers to in a memo as, a detailed proposal, states that this no-bid contract was awarded for monthly creative consulting.

Another document states, “The services to be offered by MediaSquared, Inc., are based on the extensive involvement with the County of Union in the planning and development of a marketing plan for the county. An OPRA request for the marketing plan mentioned was returned “document does not exist.”

The result of this moonlighting is that the designs and colors used are very similar. The recipient of literature would have to look very closely to know if the message is coming from their government or from campaigning politicians. This gives the campaign a double bang for their pay-to-play bucks. Because pay-to-play is another term for kick-back of tax dollars to campaign contributors, the Union County taxpayers are paying for the Democrats campaign on both fronts.

The Ledger article mentions the Union County Directions Newsletter which is supposedly published by the Union County Alliance. It is the county’s Public Information Department employees that produce this newspaper on taxpayer time in the county Administration building. Can they deny this? Most of the articles in the Directions Newspaper appear on the county website as press releases. The county charges back to county departments for advertising in this newspaper. Other advertisers are heavy pay-to-play contributors, such as Schoor Depalma.

What’s up with Kean University’s (state taxpayer money) big financial involvement with this past publication? I don’t know yet. Kean is also stonewalling my OPRA requests.

Michael Murray, the president of the Alliance, is a former head of the county’s Public Information Department. He still draws a salary from the county ($100,000) as well as having a now infamous county vehicle assigned to him. He gets a Ford Explorer with all the amenities that go along with that on the taxpayer’s dime. Yet an OPRA request seeking financial information regarding this publican was returned from Murray: We are a 501(c)3 Corporation. OPRA applies to government.

What a convenient loophole.

Let’s hope the Ledger keeps up their good work of uncovering these abuses of the public’s trust. The Union County Watchdog Association is committed to staying on top of this. We will follow every taxpayer dollar that is spent on campaigns. Kudos must also be given to the Union County Republican Committee for joining the fight.

This is no small amount of money ($327,759.85 2005 to date). The mailings mentioned in the Leader article aren’t the only ones. I have filed two GRC complaints in as many weeks because the county is trying to withhold the costs of these mailings until after the election. Good, that leaves this story opened for a continuation…….. And a few more things:

I count three more stories in the above for the Ledger to sniff around at:

Message and Media’s county contract/Democrat campaign work

The Union County Alliance scam

Charlotte DeFillippo’s home office

2005 commercial: Freeholders Proctor, Estrada and Ward are up for reelection as well as County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi

Keeping Union County Families Healthy commercial featuring Freeholder Rick Proctor
Cost: $ 23,000.00 for production of (1) :30 second TV spot
$119,824.00Cable Buy 9/12-9/25 (2 weeks)
Total: $142,824.00

2005 mailings to date: Freeholders Proctor, Estrada and Ward are up for reelection as well as Clerk Joanne Rojoppi

Keeping Union County Families Healthy mailer featuring Freeholder Angel Estrada Mailed 9/19/05
Cost: $30,000.00 (no bid) Printing Media M2 Squared (Message And Media)
$21,658.15 Postage
Total: $51,658.15

Healthcare Programs Brochure
Cost: $8,025.00 Printing Media M2 Squared (Message and Media)Postage: ? GRC complaint filed

Mailers sent to residents dated 9/15/05 – 10/20/05
GRC complaint filed. I was given postage bills without having them referenced to which mailers they go along with.
$7,901.98
$1,285.79
$1,533.83
Letters addressed to Dear Homeowner sent to all property owners in 9 municipalities listing county services rendered over an indiscriminate amount of time (not mentioned is how much tax revenue is sent to the county) mailed in months of July-September
Cost: $9,787.32 Postage for only 9 letters - GRC complaint was filed on
9/27/05 for other 2 bills Dividing this number by a .37 cent stamp would indicate that approximately 26,452 letters were mailed (minus the 2 bills missing). The county claims that there is no in-house print bill for this mailing.

Union County Directions Newspaper - Published by the Union County Alliance - Cost to the county approximately $100,000 Published right before the Primary and General elections.(See note at end of list regarding this newspaper.)

Senior Newsletter mailed during primary week featuring campaigning freeholders. ‘Meet freeholder Nancy Ward’ on back cover and a message from freeholder Rick Proctor.
Cost: Postage $12,768.78. Copies are done in house so the county claims
there is no cost (4 pages).

Four color pieces mailed to Summit regarding the acquiring of Open Space (which they later backed out of)- OPRA request for costs is still pending

Approximate expenditures 2005 Y.T.D. - $327,759.85
2004 commercial: Freeholders Sullivan, Kowalski, Wohlrab and Routolo were up for reelection as well as Sheriff Frohlich
•Aired beginning September and ran though October - Hop on the bus for education commercial featuring Freeholder Angel Estrada
Cost: Approximately $185,203.19 For production and cable buy.
2004 mailings:
A postage bill with no description for $26,000.00 dated 10/13/04, I am waiting for an explanation for this as of 8/27/05.
Three mailings were sent to residents just days before the general election:
Mailed 10/21/2004: Berkeley Heights Open Space mailing featuring Daniel Sullivan and new freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski
Cost: $683.39 for postage, no printing bills revealed (Note County Manager’s wife was hired as township administrator shortly thereafter.)
Mailed 10/26/2004:
• Hop on the bus for education featuring Freeholder Angel Estrada
Cost: Media M2 Squared (Message And Media): printing bill $33,000.00 (no bid)
Postage for 134,273 pieces: $22,627.87 (another postage bill came up in an OPRA request for $2,819.02)
Total: $55,627.81
Mailed 10/28/2004: Senior Newsletter featuring all freeholder’s up for reelection with meet Bette Jane Kowalski, Union County’s newest Freeholder on back cover
Cost: $2,190.09 for postage, no printing bills revealed (Earlier mailings of this same newsletter cost $6,501.57 in postage- I don’t believe the post office runs sales on postage.)
Union County Senior Newsletter - Featuring Sheriff Ralph Frohlich, front cover; Daniel Sullivan; and a back cover article titled ‘Meet John Wohlrab, Union County’s Newest Freeholder’ . Postage $6,501.57. Copies done in house, county claims there is no cost (4 pages).
• Union County Directions Newspaper - Published by the Union County Alliance and mailed to all residents right before the primary and general elections - Cost to the county approximately $100,000 (See note at end of list regarding this newspaper.)
• Honor Student Letter - Featuring Daniel Sullivan - No record of postage. Copies done in house, county claims there is no cost. There are a lot of miscellaneous letters of this sort that showed up in an OPRA request for documents. One interesting one was for Roselle Catholic High School. This was the only private school that received honor student letters. Joe Renna attended Roselle Catholic and is still actively involved with the school.
• Union County Arts Center - Featuring Daniel Sullivan
Cost: $2,355.26 for postage on 8,176 pieces, color copies were done in-house, county claims there is no cost.
Letter to Roselle residents signed by Daniel Sullivan and Angel Estrada
Cost: $501.49 fo postage on 2,585 pieces.
Approximate 2004 total (I can’t be sure I was given everything, this also doesn’t include most printing and copying costs) - $379,062.80
2003 commercials: Freeholders Scanlon, Mirabella and Holmes were up for reelection
Aired begining September and ran though October *The STAR Center - Featuring Debra Scanlon
I have the service contract for the Star Center - It shows a total proposed budget of $240,831 (The county used 14% of the total federal STAR grant money on this promotion.) Also note that Message And Media did this work. Message And Media also does campaign consulting work for the Democrats Freeholder campaigns as well as state-wide.
• Runnells Specialized Hospital - Featuring Debra Scanlon, Al Mirabella, Chester Holmes. The county ran this commercial in 2000 when the same freeholders were up for election. They didn’t run it 2001 & 2002. Cable buy: Approximately $186,000
2003 mailings - - All mailed within 6 weeks of the general election (I’m sure I am missing a few.)
• Open Space Trust Fund - 2003 Progress Report - Featuring Al Mirabella
Cost:
Media M2 Squared (Message And Media): printing bill $33,000.00 (no bid)
Postage for 134,273 pieces: $22,627.87
Total: $55,627.81
• Open Space Trust Fund Letters signed by Deborah Scanlon & Al Mirabella
2/03 Letter mailed to all Rahway & Clark residents - Esposito Farm Postage: $863.00
August 14, 2003 - Letter - Trailside Nature & Science Center expansion
Postage: $216.57
September 10, 2003 - Letter to all Clark & Rahway residents: New leisure and recreational park for all residents of Clark.
Postage: $874.01
• Open Space Trust Fund - 5 More Acres Saved - Deborah Scanlon
Misc Postage:
$500.00
322.38
$1,700.00
$806.34
Total: 5,282.30
• Open Space Trust fund - 8/14/03 - Letter mailed to Clark residents
• 2 Senior Newsletters - Debra Scanlon photo and letter on front - Chester
Holmes and Al Mirabella along with Scanlon photos throughout 4 pages (total
- 11 photos of the incumbents). Postage $12,768.78. Copies done in house, county claims there is
no cost (4 pages).
• *The STAR Center 4 page, full color, glossy brochure - Featuring Debra Scanlon, Angel Estrada (See * above)
• Sports Safety Forum postcard - Featuring Debra Scanlon
Cost: Postage - $1,270.78, Printing done in house, county claims there is no cost.

• Homeland Security brochure/The Role of Union County Government - Debra Scanlon and Chester Holmes featured on 1st page. This wasn’t mailed. Copies done in house, county claims there is no cost.

• Para Transit Welcome Veterans post card featuring Al Mirabella
Cost: Postage - $2,934.63, Printing done in house, county claims there is no cost.
• Youth Sports Safety - Featuring the entire freeholder board - Cost: Postage - $1,270.78. Also sent home in children’s book bags. Printing done in house, county claims there is no cost.
• And the Union County Directions Newspaper which is 24 pages and mailed to every postal patron in Union County twice a year before the primary and general elections. Featured - 22 photos of incumbents,
Scanlon, Mirabella & Holmes. Most articles pertained to programs that the incumbents were working on. Also featured 2 photos with captions of incumbent Senator Raymond Lesniak and 2 photos of Nicholas Scaturi also
running for a Senate seat.
Approximate costs:
Postage: $25,000
Printing: AFL Printing $23,000.00
SVO Printing printed the first two issues and charged $40,000 more than a second bid. SVO is owned by Richard Stender who is Assembly Woman Linda Stender’s husband. She was a sitting freeholder at the time the contract was awarded.
Approximate 2003 total (I can’t be sure I was given everything, this also doesn’t include most printing and copying costs) - $607,939.66

This election season, as well as last, I have been fascinated by how the county Democratic machine is involved in municipal politics in Berkeley Heights. What’s fascinating is that they are managing a complete take over in anonymity.

Berkeley Heights is considering a change to their form of government. They would change to an elected mayor and a six-member council. Should voters approve the change, the existing governing body would be dissolved. Anyone wishing to continue serving on the governing body would have to run again next November. All three candidates for council this year support the change, as well as massive redevelopment plans for the township.

This all sounds innocent enough until you consider that Union County Manager George Devanney, who is powerbroker/State Sen. Raymond Lesniak’s (D-Union) nephew, is on the committee which is spearheading the campaign to change the town’s power base.

Last year, the all-Republican council hired the county manager’s wife, Angie Devanney, to be the city administrator. As the county administrator of the Open Space Trust Fund she negotiated a deal for the county to buy contaminated land in Berkeley Heights with the fund. At the time of her hiring Committeeman David Cohen heaped praise on Devanney for her negotiating skills. No one mentioned that the land’s past ownership included a Greggorio. Mayor John Gregorrio is the infamous Mayor of the City of Linden.

A lot of things aren’t being mentioned in Berkeley Heights.

This charter change could mean that Berkeley heights would give up five elected officials for one all-powerful mayor. Each of the current committeepersons has the full authority and responsibilities of a mayor, with one given the title to chair meetings or to sign legal documents. Now, all are accessible to the public. They work directly with town employees to resolve issues and vote on contracts, appointments and budgets.

In the strong mayor/council form, only the mayor can talk to employees or direct the town administrator. The mayor creates the budget alone and submits it to council for approval. The mayor appoints all committee volunteers and professionals, hires employees, awards contracts and determines policy. The developers would have to have the approval of the mayor. If a resident has a problem or concern, that person must find the mayor.

The council’s primary function is to create legislation, which the strong mayor can veto.

The town of Barnegat is considering this same change this year and they estimate the cost to change their form of government is $60,000 to $100,000 just to rewrite and publish the town codes. I don’t know what the salaries are of the current committee people in Berkeley Heights or how they would compare with a Mayor’s salary, staff and perks. There would also be a cost for the new election next season.

No one is mentioning these costs to the voters. If Berkeley Heights votes for this change, I believe that most current labor contracts will become null and void; employees will be subject to being fired. All professionals would be at the will of the new mayor for appointment. The zoning and planning board members would get a complete overhaul as well.

What could go wrong? Or more to the point: what could go right for the county Democrat machine in this supposedly-Republican stronghold?

Suppose the newly elected all-powerful mayor of Berkeley Heights wanted to be a municipal judge when he grew up. Although he’d be a Republican on the ballot, he might be inclined to tip all the new contracts, patronage jobs and appointments to a Democrat county powerbroker who would have the power to make his dreams come true.

If this deal was being presented honestly to the people of Berkeley Heights then all the players, costs and consequences would be out in the open.

The town will be so transformed by this change in their government that the people of Berkeley Heights should also be considering a change of the town name while they’re at it. I’d recommend Linden West.

Commonsense would dictate that having the fox place a guard in charge of the hen house can only lead to rampant abuse of the hens and their property. Who would the hen then turn to report the abuses? The fox or the guard? We the taxpayers of New Jersey are in the same scenario with our governor appointing the States Attorney General, who is our first line of defense against political corruption.

Recently, Republican Party officials released the results of a study that they claimed found tens of thousands of examples of possible voter fraud in the 2004 election, including instances where votes were cast by dead people.

Atty. Gen. Peter Harvey responded to the allegation of dead people on the rolls with a warning to the accusers: “efforts to stop fraud shouldn’t become an excuse to take steps that discourage voters from showing up at the polls, particularly in poor urban areas.”

The sad truth is that the poor in urban areas are the ones who suffer the most from political corruption. The Democrat political machines take their votes for granted, yet since the days of Frank Hague, even in death the people in these very areas have been faithfully casting their votes for the Democrat machines.

Not even evidence of dead voters will get Harvey to investigate the fox that put him in charge of the hen house. This should send every one of us hens and roosters to the polls Nov. 8 to vote in a new fox. Only a complete changing of the guard will lead to some relief from the political shenanigans that we have been suffering from since Governor James E. McGreevey was swept into office promising to change the way business is done in Trenton.

Business hasn’t changed in New Jersey in 100 years. I wonder if Frank Hague is still voting…