| I couldn't bear to stay. I just didn't have the stomach.
I got to the gym at the Hackensack Middle School at 4:30 and when I went to vote, I wasn't challenged - for once. I was handed a small blue slip of paper and I looked all around for a private place to write on it and finally saw a tiny piece of cardboard about 1 ft square - I kid you not - that I guess was supposed to be some kind of privacy screen. It was taped so it stood at one corner of the very same table where I gave my name. Grabbing one of the pens on the table which all said Ariyan for State Senate on them, I realized it didn't really matter because the ONLY choice was between Camille and Dennis for Congress and Boss Joe had used the BCDO phones and money to ONLY push for his choice - Dennis Shulman. Which is why Shulman won. It was NOT a private vote. There was a little box just 2 ft behind the workers taking signatures and I asked the young man watching the flimsy cardboard box if it had been empty before this little exercise and he smiled and said it had been checked by four people. He didn't say who. Lets just say - I DIDN'T vote for Vernon Walton who was coronated only a few weeks ago.
I then stood for roughly two hours handing out flyers to every county committee person I could in the Hackensack Middle school. The flyers quoted the Mike Kelly column in the Record today and urged members to stay and support Robert Gulack's attempt to get our "Bill of Rights" for the County Committee passed. The one that would ENSURE fair and HONEST committee elections. The one we had asked to have a convention to bring to a vote last year after obtaining the necessary signatures. The petition that was IGNORED by Boss Joe because it would have made him an honest man.
I watched the auditorium finally fill up with the Committe members for speeches by the candidates even though the only contest was really between Camille Abate and Dennis Schulman. At least this time we had a semblance of a candidates speech time - after most folks had ALREADY VOTED. After we stood for the pledge, Robert Gulack rose holding a copy of Robert's Rules of Order in his hand and declared he had a point of order. Would the Chairman allow Mr. Gulack to speak.
That was when the thugs in the back of the room threatened to throw Mr. Gulack out. It was a small but vocal and rude minority that attempted to shout Mr. Gulack down. Boss Joe stated that this convention WAS NOT SUBJECT to the Bylaws and when Mr. Gulack disagreed and asked Chairman Ferriero to explain which part of the Bylaws allowed him to preside over a convention of the Committee WITHOUT following the Bylaws, Boss Joe stated that he would take a vote on denying Mr. Gulack the floor.
It would have been funny if it was not a serious breach of the rules when Boss Joe said - "All in favor?" and his goons in the back of the room shouted "YES!!!!" before the folks still trickling into the room knew what was going on. At that, Boss Joe said basically that the ayes have it. I was stunned - still waiting for my turn to shout NAY! but there was no forthcoming "All those opposed?"
I felt like Charlie Brown lying on my back after Lucy just pulled the football away AGAIN.
So that is his LATEST trick. That is how Joe takes a voice vote. Nice, huh?
Mr. Gulack, who actually knows and follows Roberts Rules had to sit down. I was so disgusted at what I had just seen that when Boss Joe then let Ms. Lynn Hurwitz get up to speak, I had to get out of there. I got up, turned to the thug behind me - told him he was nothing more than a sheep and left the auditorium.
I was surprised we even got this far, but at least there were more witnesses tonite to the horrific way Boss Joe runs the Democratic (now there's an oxymoron) party in Bergen County.
The only fun part of the night was watching Ms. Rabbit from Bergenfiield tell Dennis Schulman who was running for Congress not to believe everything he may have heard about Bergenfield. I wanted to run up after her and say - "believe it! believe it!"
If anyone else had the strength to stand there and watch the rest of the "show" please let me know how it turned out. I just was so enraged and infuriated and disappointed and beside myself, I was afraid I would have to confront the loud mouthed bullies that had taken over my political party.
I'd be hard pressed not to punch one of them before the men (and they were mostly men - white men at that) all beat the heck out of me. They were so riled up that anyone would DARE EVEN HAVE AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT that wasn't put in their head by Joe Ferriero - the guy who got them their county jobs.
Just disgraceful, disgusting, and an event that made me want to live somewhere else. |
