Tea Partiers blast Runyan for ducking debates

by: Jason Springer

Wed May 05, 2010 at 12:30:00 PM EDT

"Jon Runyan is becoming a joke around the District," said Bill Haney, founder of the Burlington County Tea Party.  "Runyan has been offered, what?...four or five opportunities to debate Murphy and to prove that he is the better candidate and he keeps saying he is busy?!  That's a load of chicken....manure.

"First of all, that is a slap in the face of all veterans.  You don't send an email! That is really bush league.  Secondly, you don't respectfully decline...that is not a reason, that's an excuse and a lame one at that," said Haney.  He went on to say that the Runyan campaign is ducking the debate because their candidate would expose his weaknesses which in Haney's words "are legendary...Runyan couldn't tell you the difference between the alternative minimum tax (AMT) and taxi cab."  

"they found a guy who can spend his own money and they convinced him that he was smart enough to be a Congressman.  I feel sorry for Jon because Adler will make a fool out of him if he gets past the primary.  The party bosses should be taken outside and have the snot kicked out of them.  Maybe Runyan will do that after he loses the primary."

Not quite the model that learned from past problems

by: Jason Springer

Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 06:48:30 PM EDT

The Philadelphia Inquirer had an in depth piece yesterday on the agency talking about how despite the notion they want people to believe that they are a model that has learned from past mistakes under the new leadership of John Comegno, they are still a prime source of business for many of the GOP donors and the game continues:

The commission and its staff have a number of Republican ties. Comegno's law firm, the Comegno Law Group, is a GOP donor. The executive director is the son of a Republican political action committee treasurer. And the new chief financial officer is a former GOP councilwoman from Riverton.

The law firm Capehart Scatchard, an influential backer of the Burlington County Republican Party, has received $2.2 million in legal fees since 2007. That's the equivalent of billing 13 hours a workday over the last three years.

Quote of the Day: Ignoring the public interest in favor of their partisan interests

by: Jason Springer

Sun Mar 14, 2010 at 02:10:28 PM EDT

The Republican majority on the freeholder board appears to be ignoring what's in the public interest in favor of what's in their partisan interest.

Evesham Mayor jumps ship to the team that's been attacking him for 3 years

by: Jason Springer

Sat Mar 06, 2010 at 02:01:04 PM EST

Since that time, Republicans have retaken control of the council. Both the Burlington County Democratic Chair and Treasurer were forced to resign in scandal, which seriously undermined the charges of corruption the Democrats hurled at the Republicans, and the Party's still struggling to get back on track. The party has seen a fight over the Chair position, which after many stops and starts, will be chosen in June. In the mean time, Brown has used the divisions in the party and the shifting political winds as a chance to switch teams again.

The funny things is, the GOP ran ads against the last Democratic council candidates accusing them of being just a continuation of Brown's policies. They even attacked Brown in a mailer, calling him a liar (click to enlarge the mailer to the right). Chris Russell, spokesman for the County Republicans and defender of Brown's switch, still touts the mailers that he produced on his business website, though I doubt the'll be posted there for long. The GOP spent the last 3 years trashing Brown. But now that he's one of them, they're all good to keep him around.

What were they afraid of?

by: Jason Springer

Wed Dec 31, 2008 at 10:45:00 AM EST

Never before had the freeholder board tried to limit access to the reorganization.  Then again, maybe they didn't think people would actually come when the same Republicans were elected over and over.  Times have changed. Two Democratic Freeholders will be sworn in along with the new Democratic Clerk. Apparently the GOP was afraid of the crowds wanting to witness.  

The GOP freeholders came up with a plan to limit attendance to "ticket holders" by funneling tickets through officeholders first.  If any were left over after that, the public could be lucky enough to see their newly elected officials sworn in. It was a clear effort to limit the crowd to a more friendly audience.

After pressure from many Democrats, the GOP has reversed course and agreed to open up the meeting and swearing in to anyone who wants to attend.  Attendance will still be first come, first serve until the courthouse reaches capacity.  Here's what Burlington County Democratic Party Chairman Rick Perr had to say about the situation:

Burlington County Democrats ran on a platform that included increasing accessibility to county government. This is just the first step in showing that having Democrats in county government actually makes a difference.

I'm glad the GOP freeholders scrapped the county Ticketmaster policy.  What were they afraid of, people coming to see government in action?

Burlco Times rips Bridge Commission Scheme (aka the GOP Freeholder Slush Fund)

by: Jason Springer

Mon Oct 08, 2007 at 10:58:00 PM EDT

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.

Touting Reforms, while playing the same games

by: Jason Springer

Sun Sep 02, 2007 at 05:54:57 PM EDT

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.

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.

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...

Grassroots for Rich Dennison, State Senate (District 7)

by: Martin

Sun Aug 12, 2007 at 04:38:24 PM EDT

Trying to pass Allen is Democratic Senate candidate Rich Dennison, a 30-year-old attorney from Florence, who is pressing her on everything from her recent vote against a state budget that provides $2.2 billion in property tax relief to her longtime support for President Bush.

For all the reasons that Allen is wrong for District 7, Dennison is right and represents the superior choice in this election.  On the national stage, Dennison has opposed the Iraq War from the beginning and wouldn't short change our state's veterans by refusing to vote against the troop surge bill as did Allen. Dennison has strong local ties to the community and grew up in a family whose field is education; Dennison's experience in education and his campaign's emphasis on increased funding for programs in education would be an asset for voters who share such concerns if elected to serve in Trenton. Dennison is incredibly strong on bread-and-butter issues affecting not only District 7 voters but all New Jerseyans, as evidenced by his stand on expanding health care to those who most need it, particularly uninsured children.

My experiences thus far with Dennison have revealed him to be a down-to-earth, humble and thoughtful person who would be one of our most capable and promising legislators in Trenton.  If elected, Dennison could serve much of his life in the state senate, since he is only 30, but he has an incredibly impressive resume thus far, from serving as a speechwriter in the Clinton white house to beginning his own law firm to working in his family's business in multiple BurlCo locations.  In contrast, Allen only seems available to her constituents when an election rolls around every few years and has consistently voted with the Republican leadership over the years in the state senate, including recent votes against both the 2007-2008 budget and clean needle exchange, not to mention her "non votes" (neither yea nor nay) on the landmark civil unions bill and a recent stem cell funding bill.

Not a week doesn't go by without politicsnj.com    giving some press,  to this increasingly-competitive campaign in the winnable, Democratic-leaning 7th district, and his victory would help stop BurlCo GOP machine politics, which is behind Allen, that have hurt taxpayers for far too long. Dennison, however, needs our help to win, and you can do three things right now to ensure that District 7 turns from red-to-blue. . First, become a friend of Dennison on his MySpace page, then join and volunteer for  the District 7 team of Dennison-Conaway-Conners. Finally, we absolutely need to give Rich the financial support he needs to win in November and defeat such an entrenched and out-of-touch incumbent as Diane Allen. Finally, If you would, please make a check, however small, out to"Dennison for Senate" and send it to: Rich Dennison 225 W. Front St., Florence, NJ 08518

Dennison is a progressive voice who can very well win this senate race and is deserving of Blue Jersey's support!

Burlco Times exposes Freeholder Board's potential shell game

by: Jason Springer

Fri Aug 10, 2007 at 12:26:33 PM EDT

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.

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.

The loan program, which the bridge commission is calling Burlington Bank, could be operating as early as October under the current schedule.

Freeholders using Burlco Bridge Commission to bond for "smaller purchases"

by: Jason Springer

Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 06:08:03 PM EDT

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.

"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 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.

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.

The Case for Supporting Fran Bodine

by: Martin

Thu Aug 02, 2007 at 05:15:34 PM EDT

This post is in response to those who, in the spirit of liberal orthodoxy, would rather not support Fran Bodine as he runs for the currently-Republican held state senate seat in the 8th-district.  My respectful reply to such progressives who would refrain from voting for Bodine or supporting his campaign is that there are larger implications to winning this 8th district BurlCo seat, and Bodine should be included as a voice within the Democratic Party.

In April, Bodine made a high-profile switch from the Republican Party to the Democrats in the state Assembly, giving Democrats a substantial 50-30 advantage in that chamber.  One can argue with some degree of accuracy that Bodine's switch was one of convenience, since the corrupt BurlCo GOP machine went with other candidates for the 8th district slate, but Bodine's switch should be a welcome turn-of-events for all Democrats who want further influence and a greater majority. 

The major criticism of Bodine stems from his rather conservative stances on social issues, and this criticism is deserved. Bodine, unfortunately, does not support a woman's right to choose, and he also is against civil unions for gays and lesbians, according to his Vote Smart questionnaire and conventional wisdom about his positions.  On these issues, and his previous support for President Bush, Bodine is dead wrong, and there is no other way of approaching him on the social issues but via a critical lens.  That said, I am of the opinion that the Democratic Party should include those with a more conservative philosophy and not exclude anyone based on a party litmus test.  If we didn't include pro-life legislators, then Sen. Bob Casey wouldn't be a Democrat, neither would 9/11 Commission appointee Tim Roemer.  Further, I'm not sure how we as progressives will convince those who disagree with us on social issues to change their views  if we won't even sit at the same dinner table with them, so to speak.

The 8th District in BurlCo is a Republican leaning one, and we have to take that into account when putting a slate of candidates up for election; thus, Bodine, who has strong ties to the area and was the top Assembly vote-getter in the 2005 election, is a candidate who has a unique appeal to the district. The victory of his ticket, which includes up-and-coming (and more traditionally progressive) candidates Tracey Riley, a Mt. Laurel councilwoman, and Chris Fifis, a former Lumberton Planning Board member, has a very real shot of winning this election in an increasingly-competitive district that only has a 7.6% Republican voter advantage.

Since switching parties, Bodine hasn't rested on his laurels and instead campaigned hard for the Democrat-backed mayoral ticket in Evesham, which resulted in an upset victory with significant import for changing county politics.  By the way, in case you didn't know, the Burlington County Republican Party is rife with corruption, and a Bodine victory would go a long way towards defeating the machine politics that Boss Paulsen et al have used in the county for far too long.

Finally, a perusal through Bodine's sponsored bills and supported initiatives in the state legislature reveals him to be hardly a rabid conservative but instead a fiscal watchdog, a champion for health care and the environment, and a responsive Assemblyman, particularly when it comes to flooding in BurlCo.  It is my belief that Democrats should include those voices who may differ with many of us on key issues in the party, and Bodine, despite some unattractive and unjustifiable positions, is a good candidate for his particular district.  Let's support him, Blue Jersey.

Updated: Warner out, Paulsen in as Burlco GOP Chair?

by: Jason Springer

Wed May 16, 2007 at 09:10:02 PM EDT

Update 2 (Juan): PoliticsNJ reports that some Republicans are now calling for Warner's resignation.

Update: The Burlington County Republican Committee denies this story and says that Colonel Warner will not resign.  My sources were 3 ranking County Democrats, but according to contrary reports, this may be incorrect.

Colonel Mike Warner's tenure as chair of the Burlington County Republican Party appears to be over and his replacement will be an old GOP friend, former chair Glenn Paulsen.  You can see the Paulsen Family Business flowchart from his last stint as the Boss of the Burlco GOP for a clear illustration of how Pay to Play works on the Republican side of the aisle.

Lobbyist w/ Burlco Bridge Commission pleads guilty

by: Jason Springer

Fri Dec 01, 2006 at 12:28:31 PM EST

Robert Stears, a longtime spokesman and lobbyist for the Burlington County Bridge Commission, admitted Friday to billing the commission hundreds of thousands of dollars for work not performed.

Stears also admitted that he failed to pay income taxes on much of his ill-gotten gains, entering guilty pleas to a two-count federal charge of mail fraud and income tax evasion.

It has been alleged that the former GOP Chair Tom Wilson's firms received millions of dollars in contracts and Senator Martha Bark has been under investigation after being paid $330,000 for work that has not been documented.

Stay Tuned...

**Update:  Read the US Attorney's Press Release

Where's Junior on Republican Corruption

by: Jason Springer

Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 12:39:19 AM EDT

This has been ongoing, but here's a good summary from the Burlington County Times...

The state Attorney General's Office is investigating positions Bark held with two Burlington County government agencies that paid her a combined $330,000 from 1997 to 2003.

State investigators said they are trying to determine what, if any, work Bark did while employed by the Burlington County Bridge Commission from 1997 to 2001 and Burlington County Institute of Technology in 2002 and 2003.

The state launched an investigation in March 2004, a week after the Burlington County Times published a story that said the two agencies had no records that explicitly showed how much work Bark performed on those government jobs.

Bark has similarly been criticized for sponsoring legislation that granted improvement-authority power to the bridge commission while she was an agency employee.

And regarding the Bridge Commission where she worked, probes were also sought after documents showed that no-bid deals for the firm of State GOP Chairman Tom Wilson produced no work for 5 years while being paid $2.7 million.  Junior neglects to comment on that when Tom Wilson gets his back daily.

Well stay tuned, because the grand jury concludes soon, so this story may continue and Junior may have another opportunity to oomment on the matter.

Come to think of it, this is just the Republican Corruption in Burlington County that Junior has yet to call for heads to roll on.  Is there something in your county he's missing?