Police should reject effort to make them part of solar retaliation
Sussex County Watchdog
In the middle of a criminal investigation into the loss of millions in fees paid by Sussex County taxpayers and the improper use of millions in United States Treasury grant money, Concord Energy lobbyist Molly Whilesmith has attempted to use the police to retaliate against Freeholder Gail Phoebus for blowing the whistle on the Sussex solar bailout.
Whilesmith is a lobbyist for Concord Energy/ Concord Engineering, an energy firm that just landed a fat contract from Sussex County. She is also the chairman of the Marie Bilik for Assembly campaign.
Bilik was recruited to run against Assemblyman Parker Space and Freeholder Gail Phoebus by another Concord lobbyist. This was done in retaliation for Space and Phoebus' call for an investigation of a solar energy deal gone bad that cost Sussex taxpayers millions and had to require a $7 million bailout. The deal is currently being investigated by federal and state law enforcement authorities.
Without revealing her connection to the Bilik campaign, Concord Energy, the solar deal, or the federal/state investigation, Whilesmith contacted every police chief in Legislative District 24 yesterday and asked them to politicize their departments in the effort to retaliate against Freeholder Gail Phoebus.
It was Freeholder Phoebus who opposed the solar bailout. It was Freeholder Phoebus who led calls for an investigation. It was Freeholder Phoebus who wrote to the United States Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Securities & Exchange Commission, and the State Attorney General's Office.
Unfortunately, Watchdog has learned that a few did assist in the furtherance of Whilesmith's attempts at retaliation and in violation of accepted ethical practice. This is unfortunate because most taxpayers in these heavily Republican counties believe that the police should not become partisan political agents in an attempt at retaliation -- particularly when there is an ongoing criminal investigation.
Reader Comments (8)
How did Ms. Whilesmith attempt to retaliate with the police? You didn't say. There are two typos in your article. Proof
read before you post. It is always hard to be taken seriously when you don't write correctly.
What is the idiot Democrat chairman doing posting in defense of Molly Whilesmith? Do they have a thing going too? Is this the parking lot club?
Save the MSNBC snarky comments for your too cool Democrat club meetings in your hot tub. Everybody in town has your number so wise up.
I am not defending Ms. Whilesmith. I would just like to know how she was trying to influence the police. Right now it is just a claim, with no details. Readers would like to know the facts. Does that make me an idiot Millie Peters/Bill Winkler?
Daryl you are an idiot. The attempt at influencing the police is clear to anyone with a sixth grade education. Try reading it. You are a bigger idiot for doing that slash thing. What is that about? Maybe I should call you Daryl Savage/Molly's Assplug? You like?
Bill Winkler,
I see the e-mail now. It was not provided in the previous article where you accuse Ms. Whilesmith, and that is the only article I had read. You Republicans can fight it out amongst yourselves, I want no part of it. For the most part, the Democrats keep our disagreements to ourselves, and don't air them out in public because it's unprofessional. I will be moving Sussex County Watchdog to my spam file.
Cheaters come to Sparta and do a season worth of episodes. POS politicians jump on everything doesn't matter.
I bet the Sparta Democrat Chairlady doesn't know Bill winkler. I bet she wouldn't know who he is if she picked him up, took him home, and made breakfast for him. I run into people all the time who have an opinion about someone they never met.
I met him during the oroho-gregg race. Two types of people don't like him and they are the political losers and the criminals. The losers don't like him because he beat them in a campaign. The criminals don't because he saw their corruption, theft, political criminality and used it against them in a campaign. Criminals hate the man who shines a light on their crimes.
After Chris Russell kicks their ass you will start hearing his name kicked around too. Losers hate the man who shows the world that they are losers.
Sussex Democrats are not a professional organization. Who is she kidding?
The Sussex Democrats are not professional enough to have candidates running for freeholder during one of the best years possible. The GOP has screwed up and are split, in a scandal, and the Sussex Democrats have left it to them and run no one. They suck.