Burlco GOP 
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Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 03:55:36 PM EDT
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Talk about a surprise at the first working meeting of the new council in Evesham this past Tuesday night:The council voted last month to put a referendum on the November ballot, asking residents whether they want local elections held in November, instead of May.
But in a surprise move, Deputy Mayor Joe Howarth introduced an ordinance Tuesday that would repeal that decision Tuesday.
Howarth said he's not opposed to the referendum or moving the election, but said he thinks more discussion needs to take place. More discussion has to take place, but at the last minute he rushes through a resolution to repeal the chance for voters to weigh in on that conversation? Apparently he wants to have a discussion, but not letting members of the current council know what he was planning to do surely doesn't lead itself to more discussion:Mayor Randy Brown said he and Councilman John McKenna, both Democrats, weren't told about the ordinance.
Howarth said even Hackman and Croft were caught off guard. Those are some great communication skills for the discussion. Howarth appears to want to defend the politics he has, not what may be; and there is a cost to the voters: Supporters of the referendum say it will save the township $50,000 every two years and could increase voter turnout.
But Howarth offered a different take.
"If it was just about the money, it would've been done after (Brown) took office, in that first year," he said. "But they did it after they lost an election, and that leads me to believe there are other motives." Ah, so those evil sore losers. There was actually talk and plans to move the election because of cost savings and increased turnout long before the last results came in. Rather than a discussion with everyone, it seems like Howarth is just talking to himself. Or maybe he is only having his "discussions" with those same politically connected people that helped to get him elected.
He says he wants a discussion, but he didn't tell anyone he was raising the issue and now has scheduled an emergency special meeting on July 27 to expedite a 2nd reading on the matter. And where was he discussing the issue during the open comments when the resolution was being considered after he was elected to office, but before he was sworn in? Howarth had an opportunity to "join the discussion," but sat silent. That's some in depth conversation Howarth is leading.
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Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 01:00:00 PM EDT
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Although Chris Christie bailed out of the event, the new Evesham Council candidates were sworn into office and they took control on Wednesday night. Fundraising allegations that surfaced in the days before the swearing in served as no deterrent though as the new council members wasted no time getting back to business as usual. With their first appointment, they brought in someone named Tony Drollas to serve as solicitor: 
Drollas is with Burlington County GOP Party Boss Glenn Paulsen's law firm, Capehart Scatchard Attorneys at Law of Mount Laurel. While Paulsen isn't the formal party Chairman, his next door neighbor Bill Layton holds the role. The Burlington County Democrats put out a video last year detailing the connections of the Paulsen's 20 shell game and how they finance the election of Republicans in the county. At 2 minutes, 19 seconds of that video, they explored the connections of Drollas guaranteeing $30,000 in loans along with the work he and his family have received. Not only did Drollas become solicitor, but Capehart scored another appointment with Brian Kowalski being named the new bond counsel. The Burlington County Democrats didn't miss the chance to respond to this latest connection:The Paulsen's 20 (www.paulsens20.com) is a political version of a Ponzi scheme founded by Paulsen in which investors have made over $30 million in taxpayer-funded contracts, jobs, salaries and billings. Here's what Paulsen said at the time the Democrats initially released the Paulsen's 20 video:Paulsen said his contributions have nothing to do with his law firm doing work in the county.
"Pay-to-play is illegal. There never were quid pro quos when I was county chairmen or now," he said. "That shouldn't preclude me or anyone else from exercising their first amendment rights in accordance with the law." Come to think of it, it's probably fitting that Chris Christie didn't attend the event. He turned his back as US Attorney while corruption reigned at the Burlington County Bridge Commission, where under oath it was said by Bob Stears at sentencing, "I got sucked into a corrupt group of people." The former Republican Mayor of Evesham Gus Tamburro said Paulsen held the attitude, "So let it be written, so Let it be done." Last Wednesday, it was done once again.
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Sun Jul 05, 2009 at 02:51:01 PM EDT
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The latest release from the GOP candidates for Freeholder in Burlington County speaks volumes about their own GOP Freeholder Leadership:Garganio & O'Brien Call Budget Process "A Mess;" This is the budget that their own Republican counterparts they want to join on the board crafted. Here's how the candidates described things as they continued:Pointing to spotty, unreliable revenue information provided by staff that made the county budget process "a mess" and lamenting the failure of the freeholder board to make the tough decisions necessary... With friends like that... If that's how their own people speak about them and the way they do work, what do you think the Democratic opponents will have to say?
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Fri Jun 12, 2009 at 09:45:00 AM EDT
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Maybe the Republican Freeholders need to find some new accountants in Burlington County:And after Republican Freeholder James Wujcik disclosed additional county revenue of $621,000, Democratic Freeholder Chris Brown became incensed that other board members were unaware of the development.
"This information is absolutely critical. When you put a budget together, we need the damn numbers," Brown said. "We should not be handed a document (tonight) saying there is another $621,000. This is a joke."
The freeholders unanimously passed Brown's motion to table action on the Donnelly budget until the freeholders can review new budget information.
Wujcik said he learned earlier Wednesday that the county would have to pay $621,000 less in projected payments for leased bonds sold through the county bridge commission. Wujcik, who said he did not withhold that information from the board, later called Brown "arrogant" and "pompous." This would be the Burlington County Bridge Commission. The same bridge commission by which $2.7 million of no bid, now work deals were done and someone was indicted because as they put it, "I got sucked into a corrupt group of people." Now the taxpayers are supposed to believe what, that the bridge commission lost a tooth and found that the tooth fairy left an extra $621 grand under their pillow? And then they're so excited, that they share it with the Freeholders to magically balance the budget.
As to the disclosure timeline, Donnelly apparently briefed the Republican Freeholders earlier in the day, but left the two Democrats on the board in the dark on the matter. The Democrats challenging for the Freeholder seats in November jumped at the opening: "How do you "find" more than $600,000 this late in the process, when a budget is up for public hearing?" asked Bernard. "That's either incompetence or dishonesty, but it's definitely fiscal malpractice. Burlington County taxpayers deserve accountability from their public officials."
"The political appointees who are responsible for this stunt need to be punished or terminated," said Kersey. "This is precisely why their patronage salaries need to be cut. Actions such as this "miraculous discovery" of revenue at the last minute are more proof they are over-paid and under-qualified." Maybe the Governor can call the bridge commission for help with the state shortfall too.
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Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 06:03:31 PM EDT
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The speculation about two open seats on the Freeholder Board was confirmed yesterday:Long-time Freeholders Bill Haines and Jim Wujcik announced during a press conference today that they would retire at the end of their terms.
Haines and Wujcik submitted a formal letter to Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton. You can view the full letter they submitted to Layton. The County Republican Committee plans to meet this Saturday to nominate candidates for freeholder and other offices. Last cycle, County Democrats picked up big wins with two freeholder seats and the clerk's office. This year, they're looking to gain control of the board and are running Mount Holly Councilwoman Kimberly Kersey and Cinnaminson labor leader Jim Bernard:Kersey, an in-house attorney for Manalapan-based CMX Engineers, was elected to the non-partisan Mount Holly Township Council last May. Bernard, a member of electrical union IBEW 98 in Philadelphia, ran unsuccessfully for Cinnaminson Township Committee in November. I wrote last week about the Assembly candidates and the changing playing field of the 8th district, which makes up a large part of Burlington County. We'll see who the Republicans put up to compete this weekend, but they don't have the State Senators or incumbent Congressman for help on the ballot anymore and now they don't have incumbent freeholders either.
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Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 02:40:16 PM EST
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The stars could be aligning for the Burlington County Democrats. I have speculated in a few posts about rumors that at least one of the two sitting Republican Freeholders set to stand for re-election this year would not be running again. Now comes public speculation along the same lines. First, Freeholder James Wujcik last week, with a name everyone will recognize as a possible replacement:There is speculation among Republican insiders that Burlington County Freeholder James Wujcik will not seek re-election this year. Wujcik has been a Freeholder since 1997. One possible candidate to replace him is former Medford Mayor Christopher Myers, who won 48% of the vote in his bid for Congress last year. Myers, sources say, is involved in a project at Lockheed Martin, where he is a Vice President, and has not made any decisions regarding his political future. Chris "the economy is basically strong" Myers would be one of the few names already known on a county level from his unsuccessful effort against Congressman Adler last cycle, but that may just be a GOP dream as he doesn't seem to be committed to running. Myers is up for re-election this year in Medford, so if he ran for Freeholder, he would have to give up his local seat. He also lost the Burlington County part of the Congressional District and that was without many of the more Democratic river towns. At the time of that story last Friday, they said it was expected Bill Haines would seek re-election. Now today, comes quotes on the record from Freeholder Bill Haines:"I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do about freeholder," said Haines, who this year finishes up his fifth term.
[snip]
"I probably would have made the decision a long time ago if Aubrey Fenton and Stacey Jordan had won the last time, but with control up it makes the decision more difficult," he said. I wonder who wanted the word to get out about Haines's decision. Fenton and Jordan lost to Democrats Brown and Reinhart this past November. I bet Haines is getting a ton of pressure to run again from the party. The internal dynamics of the Burlington County Republicans these days, makes this news even more interesting. There is still talk of rifts within the party between Senator Diane Allen and leadership. They spent over a million dollars losing two seats on the Freeholder board last cycle, lost the County Clerk seat, lost the Saxton Congressional seat and still carry an outstanding debt. The incumbent Republican State Senators are not on the ballot to lead the way and the incumbent Congressman of the same party, which they used to depend on is no more. Given the snow on the ground today, the perfect storm could be forming for Democrats in Burlington County this November.
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Tue Jul 08, 2008 at 10:23:35 PM EDT
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So the Pemberton and Burlington County GOP got caught today. Take a look at a before screen shot of the Pemberton GOP website and see if anything looks out of place... 
Ah, what a tasteful municipal party message. Do you notice the creative graphic, "Obama loves America like OJ loved Nicole?" Now they can't say they just put it up there because there is a little note that the last time the page was updated was June 24, meaning this was up on their site for at least two weeks. Well Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr called them out on their blatant hate and magically, the graphic is gone... 
You'll notice now that the last update to the site was made on... July 8, aka today. Just because they take down the tasteless image does not put the dog whistle away in Burlington County. Perr listed some other instances where the whistle has been used... Gen. Preston Taylor - when he ran for Township Committee in Lumberton, the GOP used racist mailers in an effort to suggest that his election was going to turn Lumberton into Camden;Dean Buono - the GOP tried to play on his Italian last name to suggest he was associated with members of organized crime;County GOP attempts to link Burlington Democrats to "Camden" Democrats to invoke subtle images of racism." I wonder what Freeholders Fenton, Jordan and even Congressional Candidate Chris Myers will have to say about this. On second thought, I can answer my own question; probably nothing.
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Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 12:45:44 PM EST
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Yesterday, Robert Stears was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in the routine over billing of the Burlington County Bridge Commission to the tune of $2.7 million. All along, I've been asking if the other shoe would drop as i felt Stears was the fall guy and yesterday he all but confirmed that before the judge...But before sentencing, he told Judge Jerome Simandle that he was forced to contribute between $3,000 and $4,000 every month to the Republican Party as a condition of keeping his lucrative contract with the bridge commission.
"I got sucked into a group of corrupt people," Stears said. "I allowed myself to engage in fraudulent schemes."
"The contributions were mostly in Burlington County, but there were other contributions they would ask us to make."
"You're saying that money was paid back in political contributions that wouldn't otherwise have existed?" Simandle asked.
"Yes," Stears responded, adding that "I wish my case were unique, but it's not." I wonder who directed him to make those contributions and who benefited from the money donated, possibly his partner and GOP State Chair Tom Wilson, County boss Glenn Paulsen or Ms. No-Show Job herself Martha Bark? Paging U.S. Attorney Christie...
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Mon Oct 08, 2007 at 10:58:00 PM EDT
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Welcome to how not to run a government, brought to you by the Burlington County Republican Party. A few weeks ago, I posted about a scheme to create a slush fund under the control of the GOP Freeholder board with the help of their appointees at the bridge commission. At the time, the Burlington County Times called them on it and Freeholder Candidate Tom Bader kept the heat on. Today, the Burlington County Times recaps some of the highlights of the GOP run county government's fleecing of the taxpayers and calls them on their crap again with this editorial. A scheme to expand the powers of the Burlington County Bridge Commission has collapsed, which is the fate it should have met from Day One......The scandal-plagued commission needs to get its own house in order before it starts funneling money through a loan program that uses the county's good credit rating to keep interest rates reasonable.
This week, sentencing was delayed a third time for a commission lobbyist and spokesman who admitted in federal court that he deliberately over billed the commission for several years beginning in 1997.
By most accounts, the activities of Robert Stears resulted in up to $1 million in losses.
The state Attorney General's Office has also subpoenaed the commission to determine what work - if any - state Sen. Martha Bark, R-8th of Medford, performed as a consultant to the Palmyra Cove Nature Park project, this to the tune of $233,101.
The park is under the bridge commission's jurisdiction.
Equally troubling, the Tacony-Palmyra and Burlington-Bristol bridges came up short this summer when federal inspectors found them "structurally deficient" in the aftermath of the collapse of a highway bridge in Minneapolis.
With its less-than-stellar reputation, the commission has a way to go to regain public trust... ...Still, it's hard not to see this loan initiative as an opportunity for more pockets to be lined, more money to be doled out and more power to be wielded by commissioners who were never elected by the people they serve. This has all occurred under the watchful eyes of the GOP controlling nearly all levels of county government for years. A GOP freeholder board, who made appointments to the bridge commission while GOP boss Glenn Paulsen pulled the strings and awarded contracts through the family business. Stears, who is awaiting sentencing has been thrown overboard by his former employer, the Strategy Group, which is the firm of none other than GOP State Chair Tom Wilson. If you're confused, that's the point. They're hoping you won't notice that they're robbing you blind.
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Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 10:33:49 PM EDT
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It's nice to see the Democrats taking the fight to their Republican opponents in Burlington County because for a long time, that didn't happen. Now you have Democrats trying continue on their recent gains in Marlton, Mount Laurel and at the County level by attempting to pick up a Freeholder Seat, a Sherriff seat and the Legislative races in the 7th and 8th districts. Today we have action in the 8th district and with the Freeholder campaign. In the 8th district, we have Assembly Candidate Dawn Addiego who gains a nickname: "Deadbeat Dawn". Apparently this "fiscally responsible" candidate who will solve the state's financial woes can't handle her own bills and finances... Assembly candidates Tracy Riley and Chris Fifis renewed their declaration that career politician and perennial tax-raiser Dawn Addiego lacks the qualities necessary to be a legislator, noting her recent failure to pay her professional fees as an attorney which has resulted in her ineligibility to practice law (Source: www.judiciary.state.nj.us/cpf/ineliglist09242007.pdf)."This is not the first time that my opponent has shirked her financial responsibilities," said Fifis.
Addiego was delinquent on $3,776.71 for tax payments on her home, and only satisfied this debt in May of 2007 (Source: Evesham Tax Collector). Will this decide the campaign, of course not but it does undercut the argument that she will be a sound watchdog for the taxpayer's dollars. Let Dawn answer questions about her own finances rather than talking about her message.Follow me below the fold to see what payback is being alleged in the Freeholder campaign...
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Sun Sep 02, 2007 at 05:54:57 PM EDT
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They have some nerve.A $44,300 study of the Burlington County Bridge Commission's management and contract-awarding practices recommends a series of reforms, all of which have either been implemented or are in the process of being implemented, bridge commission officials said. So they wasted another 45K for a study to recommend reforms that they are already implementing or have been done. What will change then? Let's remind everyone why this dog and pony show was needed in the first place...County freeholders requested the study after a public relations consultant admitted last year that he routinely overbilled the bridge commission.
The consultant, Robert Stears of Lawrenceville, admitted during a December federal court hearing that between 1997 and 2003, he routinely inflated the number of hours he and members of his firm worked while under contract with the bridge commission. Stears pleaded guilty to income tax evasion and mail fraud and the incident led to the resignation of Bridge Commission Executive Director George Nyikita. Ok, so we need a commission costing money, to study how money was taken, but all the changes recommended by said study were already being implemented anyway. Makes sense right? And what have these $44,300 worth of changes actually changed? Don't worry, the Bridge Commission is already breaking their arm patting themselves on the back to take credit for the "successes." Follow me below the fold...
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Fri Aug 10, 2007 at 12:26:33 PM EDT
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Yesterday we told you about the idea that the Burlington County Bridge Commission apparently suggested to the freeholders"(who by the way appoint them to their position) that they could bond $20 million dollars to create a county lease bank and assist towns with "small purchases". We questioned whether this was a shell game that had the potential to turn into a slush fund needing only need freeholder approval for such purchases and the Burlington County Times exposes just that setup...The money for the loans would come from a yet-to-be-selected bank and the bridge commission wouldn't be lending any toll money. The bridge commission needs the freeholders to authorize the use of the county guarantee.
The guarantee means the taxpayers of the county would be backing the loans arranged by the bridge commission, something only the freeholders can approve. Are you dizzy from going in circles yet? Despite the fact that the Freeholder board has complete GOP Control, the measure only passed by a 3-2 margin and they needed one of the freeholders to cast the deciding vote by conference call...However, Wujcik and Haines said they had reservations. Haines said he's not sure the 1 or 2 percent savings in interest lives up to the assertion by the bridge commission that the initiative is a vehicle for tax relief.
"I don't understand the rush to do this," he said. Now that's a good question, whats the rush?The loan program, which the bridge commission is calling Burlington Bank, could be operating as early as October under the current schedule. So going by the current schedule, the Freeholders will have a month to start doling out $20 million dollars under the guise of protecting the taxpayers before many of them have their name on the ballot for Election Day. That's a pretty good setup for them, wouldn't you say? Like i said yesterday, if they go forward with this plan there had better be some strict guidelines on what qualifies and constant oversight on this one.
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Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 06:08:03 PM EDT
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( - promoted by njdem)
Yesterday the Burlco Times reported that the Burlington County Bridge Commission, which has been under GOP control for the last 20 years, has hired engineers from Drexel for an emergency review to examine the bridges they have apparently failed at maintaining...The two spans operated by the Burlington County Bridge Commission both scored lower than the Minnesota bridge on the federal scale. The Burlington Bristol Bridge, built in 1931, received a 30.1 rating and is listed as "structurally deficient" in the national bridges inventory of the Federal Highway Administration.
The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, built in 1929, received a 34.1 rating, but bridge commission officials noted that, despite its rating, it was not included on the federal inventory list of structurally deficient bridges in New Jersey. So the Tacony bridge isn't bad enough to make the list yet, but still not a ringing endorsement of the commission's oversight which was pointed out by Freeholder Candidate Tom Bader..."The Bridge Commission's failure to maintain these bridges is the cost of corruption," said Bader, a Democrat from Moorestown. "This threat to the publics safety is the result of two plus decades of GOP waste." The corruption he references was the indictment of its former spokesman and further suspicions of billing for work that was not performed. Funny he should talk about GOP waste though, because today comes a story that rather than preparing to bond to repair the bridges they are supposed to be fixing, the GOP freeholder board has voted to bond for a $20 million program to fund a "lease bank" and assist local governments with low interest loans...The ordinance would create the Burlington County Lease Bank, which would provide a maximum loan of $1 million for items such as vehicle and equipment purchases.
The bridge commission approached the freeholders last month with the idea. The commission, using its powers as an improvement authority, operates a bond program intended for major capital programs like roads and buildings. The Lease Bank, however, would provide money for smaller purchases and, for the first time, would include school boards. While I like the idea of helping local towns, shouldn't they focus on their primary charge which is maintaining the roads and bridges? Especially after all of the news recently and the fact that the state says it will cost between 5 and 7 billion to repair the infrastructure. Is this really the time for this concept? They are charged with major capital improvements, not buying a vehicle or equipment for local towns. To me this just looks like more of the shell game to continue accumulating debt at all levels while telling the taxpayers you are not raising taxes. And here is a question: Who decides the towns that will get approved for these loans? Doesn't this have the potential to turn into a $20 million taxpayer funded slush fund where the freeholders can buy political support during a very tough election year? If this plan does go forward, I would hope there are some well spelled out controls and guidelines to govern it.
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