Dawn Addiego 
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Tue Aug 04, 2009 at 04:30:00 PM EDT
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Last week, Speaker Roberts suspended pay and health benefits Assemblymen Vas, Van Pelt and Smith after getting a ruling from his counsel that the he had the authority to take the action. Despite the fact that they remained silent during the corruption in their own back yard at the Burlington County Bridge Commission, Assembly members Addiego and Rudder tried to score some political points calling for expulsion as a further action:"Last month's arrests of legislators, mayors and local officials - and the resignation of a key member of Governor Corzine's cabinet - proved that the Democratic tact of pretending New Jersey is not infested with corruption does not work," said Addiego. "We must act now to purge the Legislature of anyone - regardless of party affiliation - who is accused of breaking the public trust." But Speaker Roberts was prepared for their grandstanding, having already consulted legal counsel about that possibility as well. First he explained the rules of the Assembly and then said this in his letter responding to Addiego and Rudder:As you know, prior to any expulsion hearings, Rule 7:6 requires that the committee "serve written charges on the member, provide an opportunity for the member to be heard, to present witnesses, testimony and other evidence, to cross examine witnesses and to be represented by counsel."
Given that our rules would require the formation of a parallel investigation to the ongoing criminal inquiry, I immediately consulted with the State Attorney General and the United States Attorney concerning the expulsion of these members and the due process proceeding required by our rules. They advised that moving forward with the expulsion proceedings could significantly threaten their ongoing criminal investigation of these members and conveyed to me their strong inclination that I not move forward with any proceeding that could in any way hamper their investigation.
I agree that we must send a strong message to the public that corruption will not be tolerated. But, I believe that the actions we take can never jeopardize the ongoing work of law enforcement as they continue to interview witnesses, collect evidence and develop their criminal case against these individuals. That is why I took the unprecedented action of suspending the pay and benefits of these members last week.
I would once again renew my call for Assemblymen Smith and Vas to do the right thing for their constituents and for the good of the Legislature and resign because I believe that they cannot effectively serve the people they were elected to represent given the charges levied against them. The fact is, Addiego and Rudder could have just sent Roberts the letter, but they decided to try and get some extra attention by putting out a release, which they love to do. So given the response from Roberts, do Addiego and Rudder want to jeopardize the ongoing work of law enforcement in an effort to score more political points? Maybe they can send out a release on that.
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Sat Jan 12, 2008 at 08:23:28 PM EST
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It's amazing to read sometimes the different takes that the op-ed pages of newspapers can have when covering the same issue. Take for example, the issue of Dual Officeholder Dawn Addiego. Last week I wrote that she had broken her campaign promise to not hold 2 offices if she was elected to the Assembly before she even took office. I felt like it was an April Fools joke to read the Courier Post Op-Ed the following day entitled, "Burlco officials set example", where they held Addiego and her running mate up as a model for others... We continue to urge other dual-office holders -- such as Assemblymen John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, who also is mayor of Paulsboro, and Paul Moriarty, D-Gloucester, who also is Washington Township's mayor -- to put the interests of New Jerseyans first. We urge them to follow the lead of Addiego and Rudder and give up one of their public offices. The editorial only mentioned that she was giving up her seat, not that she was going to wait until the Boss found his next stooge. It was also really nice of them to take the opportunity to hit the Democrats, but if those officials follow Addiego's lead, they'll continue to be dual officeholders and instead of trying to justify it, they'll just lie to the voters when asked. Luckily the Burlington County Times brought some truth to the situation with their Op-Ed entitled, "A pledge unmet". Follow me below the fold to see how the BurlcoTimes got it so right where the Courier went so horribly wrong.
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Fri Jan 04, 2008 at 07:26:52 PM EST
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Republican Dawn Addiego ran her campaign for Assembly telling the voters she would resign her freeholder position if elected. She railed against opponent Tracy Riley over the possibility that Riley would hold two offices if elected...I also want to see an end to the double-dipping and the pension padding. We have to bring confidence back to elected office. Maybe Addiego isn't the one to bring that confidence back. Before she takes the Assembly oath of office on Tuesday, she will have already broken her promise and will join the distinguished club of dual office holders. The watered down dual office holding ban exempts those who hold more than one office prior to Feb 1 allowing Addiego to remain a freeholder and become an Assemblywoman. Today she is singing a different tune and not complaining about loopholes...I want to give the party an opportunity to find a replacement, she said. Well isn't it convenient that the county ban Addiego championed also allows her to serve out the remaining year of her term while the party searches for a "suitable replacement", aka someone willing to take marching orders from Boss Paulsen?Not like the party hasn't had a couple months to be looking for someone, but I guess Dawn will just wait it out and enjoy collecting both checks. She'll probably cry all the way to the bank too.
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Tue Oct 30, 2007 at 08:48:00 PM EDT
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Today, the U.S. District Court Judge hearing the case of the alleged attacks against Fort Dix had the pleasure of viewing the despicable flyer put out in the 8th district against Tracy Riley by her Constitution hating opponents trying to tie her to terrorists and he wasn't pleased..."It's pretty despicable stuff," the judge said, noting that Dawn Marie Addiego, one of the Republican candidates, is a lawyer. "She should know better." He's exactly right, she should know better. They all should know better. In an ironic twist, now the judge has to decide if the mailer has the potential to not only sway a political election, but taint a whole jury pool in the process.
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Thu Oct 25, 2007 at 10:50:21 PM EDT
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Former Evesham Councilwoman, turned Freeholder, turned 8th district Assembly Candidate/Constitutional Coward Dawn Addiego wants the voters to trust her to make sound decisions with their tax dollars in Trenton, but let's take a closer look at her legacy from her time on Evesham Town Council. From the Philadelphia Inquirer, Addiego would have you believe she saved the town by building a new lavish clubhouse at Indian Springs Public Golf course...The ballroom at the Indian Spring Country Club is called the Aurora Room, named for the Roman goddess who rises from the ocean in a chariot to bring on the dawn and is a reminder of former Councilwoman Dawn Marie Addiego's role in its construction.She said she was proud of her efforts "to turn around what was a struggling club, rife with corruption, and set it on the course to become a well-regarded golf facility and highly sought after banquet facility that will be a revenue generator for Evesham Township's recreation programs and its residents." Now for the real story. This course that was "rife with corruption" helped Addiego play a shell game to avoid taking the blame for her financial mismanagement of the town. The golf course allowed she and council to avoid raising taxes by borrowing from the golf course fund until she left to become a Freeholder in 2000 leaving a financial mess. More below the fold...
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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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Thu Sep 06, 2007 at 10:35:27 PM EDT
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In the 8th District, the Republican ticket of County Clerk Phil Haines, Medford Mayor Scott Rudder, and Freeholder Dawn Addiego have good reason to try and distract voters with a mindless campaign based on questioning Riley's patriotism because her husband is a public defender in the Ft. Dix case. This Republican ticket, which is running for Martha Bark's seat and has strong connections to Boss Glenn Paulsen, has refused to do anything remotely close to the level of support for ethics reform proposed by Tracy Riley and Chris Fifis, both of whom put forth strong ethics proposals while serving on the Mt. Laurel city council and Pemberton economic council, respectively.
In fact, Riley and Fifis have challenged their Republican counterparts to sign onto a pay-to-play ban and to enact such legislation as BurlCo freeholders and mayors -- not surprisingly, the Republicans refuse to join in recent pay-to-play bans in local townships. Riley, who has some potential for a bright political future, says the following about the Republicans' inaction:
"It's time for them to lead for once?It's time for them to do the right thing for taxpayers who are paying more than ever and seeing more of their tax dollars lost to insider deals like up to $50,000 a month 'lobbying' contracts for GOP bosses at obscure county agencies, $330,000 in no-show jobs for a state senator so she could lobby herself and $9 million squandered at a public country club while career politician Dawn Addiego's family profited. Enough is enough."
The Democrats in District 8 are bringing the fight straight to the Republicans who refuse to sign on for clean government. This is one more reason why change is needed there in the all Republican freeholder board and the Republican-held senate and assembly seats.
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Mon Aug 06, 2007 at 10:54:40 PM EDT
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Late last week three Republican mayors from Burlington County made a mockery of themselves when they feigned outrage that Assembly candidate Tracy Riley's husband is a defense attorney. They were shocked that he was appointed to represent one of the men accused of the Fort Dix 'terror plot'. Their thin grasp of the Constitution quickly earned them a thorough smackdown from the Burlington County Times editorial board which reminded them that "they could also use a refresher in campaigning with integrity."
The irony was probably lost on them. While they try to scare people with their terrorism fear-mongering, they are in fact that ones who - without so much as a fight - are throwing away those things that are so fundamental to our country. Due process, the presumption of innocence, the right to an attorney...they're all just arcane afterthoughts to be discarded and used for political ammunition.
It looked bad enough that they would ruin their reputations for a cheap political attack on behalf of their legislative candidates. But the public humiliation must have been too tempting for the candidates to resist. Today eighth district Republican candidates Phil Haines, Dawn Addiego and Scott Rudder issued a press release once again attacking their opponent and her husband's job.
To know in advance the ridicule and mockery that await you. To know that you are crapping on our country's most cherished values. To attack the document they each swore to uphold and defend. And to defend the indefensible. That is what desperation smells like.
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