Watchdog drives the Freeholder race

We are watching with delight how the Gray-Gorman campaign is using past Watchdog columns to run a very hard-hitting campaign against incumbent Freeholder George Graham and his running mate, Hopatcong Mayor Sylvia Petillo.  Watchdog's insights, often missed by corporate media, have provided nearly all of the hits used by Freeholder challengers David Gray and Kathleen Gorman.

This is the most curious campaign on record in Sussex County, not least because of the changing merry-go-round of alliances.  In 2012, George Graham started his rise in Republican politics in Sussex County as the manager of Dennis Mudrick's campaign for Freeholder and the ally of Glen Vetrano and Wendy Molner.  With Graham's help, Mudrick won that election, but the following year saw Graham side with Gary Chiusano in the race for Surrogate and against Alicia Ferrante, the candidate recruited by Glen Vetrano.  Chiusano won and Vetrano subsequently developed some ethical problems as a Trustee for the Sussex County Community College.  In 2014, Graham helped Molner with Freeholder Phil Crabb's successful bid for re-election.  Then in 2015, Graham backed fellow Freeholder Gail Phoebus in her successful bid for State Assembly against Molner-recruited candidate Marie Bilik.  

George Graham was elected to the Freeholder Board in 2013, with the strong support of the county's local elected officials.  In 2015, Graham split with fellow Freeholders Phil Crabb and Richard Vohden over the solar issue -- specifically rejecting their plan to place the entire blame for the 2011 solar project on the shoulders of Parker Space, who was a Freeholder in 2011, but who had subsequently been elected to the State Assembly in 2013.  Graham's support for Space led to his falling out with Crabb and Vohden.  This is curious, because this year Space has been somewhat loose in his support for the man who came to his aid last year.  But that's politics for you.