Fellow Democrat exposes Menendez for voter suppression

Our friends at Real Jersey City recently put up a post on their website reminding voters that 15 years ago, on July 29, 2003, the late Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham gave a speech about Senator Bob Menendez.  In his speech, the Mayor stood up to Menendez and his political machine – the Hudson County Democratic Organization – for its use of voter suppression tactics. 

“This renegade Democratic organization is using the same tactics that were used by infamous organizations, that attempted to prevent people from making their votes count, in the days prior to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act,” Cunningham, Jersey City’s first black mayor, said about Menendez’ Hudson Democrat machine.

“Something is wrong with our Democratic Leadership here when one of the most powerful Democratic elected officials in the nation, Congressman Bob Menendez, uses his influence to prevent the express voting will of the people of Jersey City – to be thrown away like garbage on the street.” 

Cunningham, who also served the 31st Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate, claimed Hudson Democrats sent a list of “illegal voters” to the courts so people favorable to the historic mayor would be removed from the voting rolls.

“Their actions are so frivolous and sickening, actually it’s even funny and comical” Cunningham stated as he read off a list of people on the illegal voter list. 

https://www.facebook.com/RealJerseyCityNJ/videos/2138109009547392/ 

(VIDEO: Courtesy of GetNJ.com) 

Stay up to date on Jersey City and Hudson County news… www.realjerseycity.com

Is Sussex County looking to sell its landfill?

The manner in which the George Graham-dominated Sussex County Freeholder Board has handled the Solar debacle has cost county property taxpayers dearly.  This year's property tax increase is a harbinger of things to come.

As solar activist Harvey Roseff has pointed out time and again, the money produced from the solar program will never cover the cost and the indebtedness of the project.  Solar "underperformance" was always supposed to be the risk of the developer -- not the taxpayers -- so why did Graham hire back the vendors responsible for leaving county taxpayers holding that debt?

After the county Freeholder Board's special meeting to find budget fat last week, David Danzis of the New Jersey Herald reported that "a nearly two-hour-long special meeting of the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders did not yield any significant changes to the 2017 county budget."

Some of the people on that freeholder board have openly talked about finding enough fraud, waste, and abuse to fund multi-billion dollar programs to pay for building and construction projects or indeed, the state's entire transportation infrastructure.  But when it came time to scrutinize their own budget they found... nothing.  Not one significant cut.

So it comes as no surprise that Watchdog has learned that a waste management company has contracted with a firm in Sussex County to explore the purchase of the County landfill.  Unwilling or unable to make spending cuts, the county appears to be preparing for a combination of property tax increases and selling off assets.

Watchdog intends to pass specific information along to reporters at the New Jersey Herald and Star-Ledger, so that they have the opportunity to run down the story and get the full details to the taxpayers of Sussex County.  Newspapers should be more effective at doing this than a blog.  There is something to be said for having a reporter show up with a microphone.  Let's see if it happens.  In the meantime, we will continue to keep our ears to the ground to keep you updated.

There is certainly a swamp that needs draining.  A county government swamp full of Hudson County Democrats who are clothed "Republican" for convenience.  And now they are attempting to extend their influence by taking legislative seats away from the GOP in Sussex County.

Stay tuned...

Leaked document questions need for solar study

One of the first actions of the new Sussex County Freeholder Board in January of 2016 was to spend a half million dollars of taxpayers' money on a study to figure out how the county's solar project went sour.  The solar project, which was the brainchild of Morris County politicians and the Morris County Improvement Authority, ultimately cost Sussex County taxpayers millions -- and with the bill set to go as high as $40 million, the pain will be felt in higher property tax bills for many years to come.

Led by Freeholder boss George Graham, a political consultant who counted a number of Hudson County Democrats as his clients, the incoming Freeholder Board hired a New York City law firm to conduct a review of the failed solar project in Sussex County.  As the New Jersey Herald reported on January 28, 2016:

A private investigation of Sussex County's embattled solar project, to be led by ex-State Comptroller Matthew Boxer, gained authorization Wednesday night.

In a 3-2 vote, the county freeholder board approved an agreement hiring Boxer and his firm, Lowenstein Sandler LLP. The review will take up to a year, with the payments by the county to the law firm capped at $500,000.

(Note that the review which was to "take up to a year" is still not completed.)

How did the taxpayers of Sussex County end up on the hook for a $500,000.00 contract to hire a New York City law firm?  Whose idea was it to hire the firm? 

Did the selection process begin in the open, at the Freeholder Board meeting in Newton, or did it take place months earlier at a political campaign meeting about taking over the Freeholder Board, long before the majority of those freeholders voting in favor of it were even elected?

Since handing out the contract, the stated goals of the $500,000.00 study have been somewhat downgraded.  In January 2016, its supporters told the New Jersey Herald (January 28, 2016) that they could "recover $20 million" for Sussex County taxpayers.  By the end of last year however, the Freeholders who supported the study were singing a different tune:  "We've got to finish up and close out the solar process." (Star-Ledger, December 31, 2016)

Now leaked executive session minutes from the Freeholder meeting of September 18, 2014, show that the Board understood exactly who was at fault and how to proceed in order to claw back taxpayers' money.  Even then Freeholder Gail Phoebus, who from the minutes appears to have had some difficulty in comprehending the complex financial arrangements of the solar project, understood who the culprits were:

Understanding who was at fault and how to proceed in order to recover taxpayers' money were the very reasons cited for having the study that is now costing Sussex County taxpayers another half million dollars -- only now, there appears to be no appetite by the Board to get any money back.  On top of this, the Board has continued to employ some of the same consultants and attorneys they blamed for the problem back in 2014 -- 3 years ago!

The uses for the 1603 money are very clearly specified by the United States Treasury Department: 

1603 Program: Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits

The purpose of the 1603 payment is to reimburse eligible applicants for a portion of the cost of installing specified energy property used in a trade or business or for the production of income. A 1603 payment is made after the energy property is placed in service; a 1603 payment is not made prior to or during construction of the energy property.

With a study going on for a year and costing taxpayers $500,000.00, why hasn't this been acted upon?

Freeholder Graham is a paid political consultant

As a Sussex County Freeholder, George Graham is required to file a personal financial disclosure statement with the State of New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services.  The statement must be filed each year in order to comply with the Local Government Ethics Law.  There are penalties for not filing or for filing a statement that contains a "willful misstatement of fact or omission of material fact."

As Freeholder Director, Graham is the boss of the Sussex County Freeholder Board.  In the past, the Board's director position has rotated each year between the five members of the Freeholder Board.  This was done to prevent any one member from becoming a county machine boss, as happens in some Democrat-controlled urban counties, such as Hudson County. 

It is understood that Graham has brow-beat a majority of the other Board members into allowing him to remain Freeholder Director next year, and even the year after.  It appears that Graham has obtained their acquiescence to allow him to remain the boss of the Board indefinitely.  This is an unprecedented usurpation of power for a rural community like Sussex County.

But Sussex County has never had a Freeholder Director like George Graham.  He is a political consultant and politics is his business. 

According to Graham's financial disclosure statements filed in 2015 (Freeholder and  County Planning Board) George Graham's sole source of income came from his political consulting firm:  York Strategies.  According to Graham's financial disclosure statements filed in 2016 (Freeholder and  County Planning Board) he added the salary he receives as a Freeholder as a second source of income along with York Strategies. 

York Strategies is associated with the campaigns of a number of Democrat candidates in Hudson County.  Remember Assembly Speaker Joe Doria?  The Hudson County Democrat was Governor Jim Florio's legislative point man in the passage of the most restrictive weapons ban in our nation's history.

George Graham and his political consulting business, York Strategies, worked for Joe Doria in Hudson County.  Graham was a registered Democrat when he worked for Doria. 

George Graham was a lifelong Democrat until switching to Republican to vote against conservatives Alison McHose and Gary Chiusano.  In the General Election that year, Graham donated to their liberal Democrat opponents and switched back from Republican to Democrat in order to vote in the 2008 Democrat presidential primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. 

Afraid of losing his seat on Stanhope council, a desperate Graham switched again to Republican, his current party today.  In a matter of a few years time, George Graham flipped from Democrat to Republican, back to Democrat, and then to Republican again. Graham has been a Democrat for most of his adult life and affiliated with liberals for much of that time.

Graham's political consulting business, York Strategies, which included partner James Barracato, came up with slogans like "Joe Doria is full time Bayonne" and "I'm with Joe," according to the Hudson Reporter newspaper.  Although no longer a member of the Legislature, Joe Doria is still on the campaign trail with Jim Florio, only now they campaign for gun control and against the NRA (National Rifle Association). 

At a recent gathering the two called for new constraints on the Second Amendment, with Joe Doria calling the NRA "dirty".  Not to be outdone, Florio added that the manufacturers and sellers of guns were, in his words, "Merchants of Death." 

The presence of a growing number of ex-Hudson County Democrats in the Sussex County GOP should be cause for concern as they establish an urban machine-like presence in Sussex County.

For earlier copies of Freeholder Graham's personal financial disclosure please contact this website.

2016

George Graham worked for Mr. Gun Grabber

Remember Assembly Speaker Joe Doria?  The Hudson County Democrat was Governor Jim Florio's legislative point man in the passage of the most restrictive weapons ban in our nation's history.

 

So it is surprising to learn that Republican Freeholder George Graham, who owns a political consulting business, worked for Joe Doria in Hudson County. In fairness to Graham, who is now the boss of the Sussex County Freeholder Board, he was a registered Democrat when he worked for Doria. 

Back when Graham was a local elected official in Stanhope, he switched from Republican to Democrat in order to vote in the 2008 Democrat presidential primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.  Graham had been a Democrat before switching to Republican but later switched back to Republican, his current party today.  Just so everyone is straight, Graham went from D to R to D to R.

Graham's political consulting business, York Strategies, which included partner James Barracato, came up with slogans like "Joe Doria is full time Bayonne" and "I'm with Joe," according to the Hudson Reporter newspaper.  Although no longer a member of the Legislature, Joe Doria is still on the campaign trail with Jim Florio, only now they campaign for gun control and against the NRA (National Rifle Association). 

At a recent gathering the two called for new constraints on the Second Amendment, with Joe Doria calling the NRA "dirty".  Not to be outdone, Florio added that the manufacturers and sellers of guns were, in his words, "Merchants of Death." 

The presence of a growing number of ex-Hudson County Democrats in the Sussex County GOP could be cause for concern as they achieve more and more power.  Remember the warning in this old Nixon ad from 1972: