Is Bilik spreading false claims again or is Vohden just losing it?

Maybe we shouldn't blame Marie Bilik for this one.  On Friday, at the start of the Memorial Day weekend, Freeholder Richard Vohden asked his "followers" on social media to spread a lie for him.  The lie Vohden wants to spread is that there are no Assembly debates between now and the June 2nd primary.

Vohden is a supporter of Marie Bilik for Assembly and a sometime spokesperson for her campaign.  Bilik was recruited to run for Assembly by a lobbyist for Concord Energy after Freeholder Gail Phoebus refused to vote for a solar energy bailout that cost Sussex County taxpayers millions.  Freeholder Vohden voted for the bailout and has been on a revenge tour ever since.

We don't think that Marie Bilik is behind the lie Vohden is asking people to spread  because Bilik is well aware that she will be attending at least two debates next week -- a radio debate at WRNJ on Tuesday morning and a videotaped debate at the New Jersey Herald on Wednesday afternoon.  There is a third debate, this one hosted by the Skylands Tea Party on Tuesday evening, that Marie Bilik has not yet confirmed she will be attending (Parker Space and Gail Phoebus are confirmed, we have leaned).

So, far from there being no debates next week, which is the lie that the "honorable" Mr. Vohden wants people to spread for him, there are three debates scheduled for next week, although Marie Bilik might miss one of them.

What's up with Vohden?  Was it a lapse in memory or is he just predisposed to not telling the truth?  We believe that Mr. Vohden is so filled with  jealous rage over the fact that Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose and Senator Steve Oroho backed Gail Phoebus and didn't ask him to run that he can no longer think straight.  We're worried about him and think he should cool it and get some anger management therapy, before he totally loses its one day.

Police should reject effort to make them part of solar retaliation

 

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. 

A severe case of mendacity

There is an old American saying that was used to praise a man dependable in all his relations and who had the confidence of all around him -- "You always know where to find him."

In this simple and old-fashioned way we may define constancy, which is, in truth, just another name for loyalty, the virtue at the heart of all friendship.  Think of what a happy world this would be if we could always be sure of the constancy, loyalty, and dependability of all who share our work.

Sussex County has got a bad name in recent years for the lack of constancy of some of its elected  officials.  The talk is that their word isn't really their word and an endorsement here isn't worth what an endorsement is everywhere else.

A good example is Molly Whilesmith, a Sparta councilwoman and former mayor.  She signed the nominating petition of Parker Space and Gail Phoebus, giving her support for them in writing, only to turn around and circulate the petition of Marie Bilik a few days later.  She signed Bilik's petition when state law states that you cannot sign the petition of more than two candidates for Assembly.

Of course, there are many in the county who see nothing wrong with this duplicity.  The smile and handshake -- accompanied by the stab in the back -- is just our distinctive style, they say.  But with so few primaries this year, and the state GOP and the Governor's personal involvement, it is getting noticed more and more.  Eyes are rolling. 

A couple years ago, the Republican county chairwoman appointed a friend to serve as the coordinator of the local Christie for Governor campaign, only to have her trash the Governor for the way his state pensions reforms affected her state employee husband.  That kind of thing happened nowhere else in New Jersey.

The Governor throws his support to a candidate to replace Assemblywoman McHose -- only to watch three Freeholders who had previously supported the same candidate snub the Governor and withdraw their support because the candidate hadn't voted for a solar bailout.

Is there anyone who can be counted on to keep their word? 

Energy Aggregation: Are we creating a Monopoly?

Last evening, the Sussex County Freeholders voted 3 (Crabb, Vohden, and Mudrick) to 2 (Phoebus and Graham) to make Concord Energy/ Concord Engineering the provider of energy to Sussex County government.  Concord is the for-profit corporation that has the contract to manage the Passaic County Government Energy Aggregation Program.  Sussex is now a part of the Passaic system.

There was an attempt to obscure this on the part of Phil "the fibber" Crabb who tried to mislead both his fellow freeholders and the public about the relationship between the Passaic County program and Concord.  He was supported in this by the manic presence of side-kick Richard Vohden.  But it failed to work because even Crabb and Vohden can't hide the volumes of correspondence they have received from Concord representatives Vicki Molloy and Wendy Molner about the Passaic program.  They know and they know too well.

One result of municipal aggregation is that, in effect, you are undoing the benefits of deregulation.  The main benefit, of course, is achieving lower rates through competition.  The price of electricity has been decreasing steadily since alternative suppliers came into the market.  That's because individual buyers have been allowed to make individual choices.  But when you re-concentrate large numbers of buyers into co-opts and establish corporate filters, you risk undoing that competition. 

The full benefit of deregulation is yet to be seen and municipal aggregation might halt that progress entirely.  Concord spreads a lot of money around and makes hundreds of direct political contributions.  They have hired two Sussex County politicians -- Wendy Molner (a former Mayor of Hardyston) and Molly Whilesmith (a Sparta councilman) to lobby for them and sell their program.  They even recruited a candidate for Assembly -- Marie Bilik.  We should be careful not to allow our elected representatives to return us to a pre-deregulation monopoly through the back door.  Our hindquarters are already sore from what they did to us over solar.

Wendy Kuser Molner

Vice President, Government Relations

Ms. Molner has over 15 years of experience in client relations, community outreach and governmental affairs.  Prior to joining Concord, she held community and legislative relations management positions at  NJ Transit and NJ Department of Transportation.

At Concord, Ms. Molner also serves in a business development capacity, bridging communications between the public and private sector regarding energy, legislative and public policy.    

Ms. Molner holds a BS in Public Policy from Upsala College and attended the Harvard University Certificate Program for Public Involvement.  She is also past mayor of Hardyston, NJ.

Bilik operatives in line for County Contract

On Sunday, May 10th, the New Jersey Herald reported that the solar bailout was in danger of unraveling with a cost to Sussex County taxpayers of further millions. 

http://www.njherald.com/story/29037774/2015/05/12/solar-rescue-could-face-more-delays-as-schools-uncertain-of-project-progress

The bailout -- which was engineered by the County's top bureaucrats and supported in a 3 to 2 vote by Freeholders Vohden, Crabb, and Mudrick -- split Sussex County Republicans.  Prior to the vote, the three had supported Parker Space for re-election and Gail Phoebus for election to the Assembly.  After the vote, Vohden and Crabb supported the candidacy of Marie Bilik.

Since the fallout from the vote, the County's top bureaucrats have all announced their resignations.  Now it looks like they are preparing to hand their allies a no-bid contract as they get ready to head out the door. 

According to the official Agenda for the Sussex County Freeholder Board for tomorrow night, May 13th, an ordinance will be voted on that makes Concord Energy Services (an affiliate of Concord Engineering) the provider through which Sussex County will purchase energy.  The contract covers the period June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2017.

Concord Engineering's Vice President of Government Relations is Wendy Molner.  It was Molner who recruited Marie Bilik to run for Assembly.  Bilik's campaign chairman, Molly Whilesmith, is a lobbyist for Concord Engineering.  Both Molner and Whilesmith are paid to convince county and municipal governments to use the services of Concord Engineering and its affiliates.  

Both Molner and Whilesmith are former Mayors.  Molner was Freeholder Crabb's campaign manager in 2014.  Whilesmith, a Democrat turned Republican is still a member of Sparta Council.

Concord Engineering is a very political South Jersey firm that has made hundreds of monetary contributions to elected officials.  The firm is located in Voorhees, New Jersey, where it maintains a close relationship with the political machine of Camden County Democrat boss George Norcross.

Concerned citizens of Sussex County should attend tomorrow night's meeting of the Freeholder Board.  The meeting begins at 5:00 PM and is held at the Sussex County Administrative Center, 1 Spring Street, in Newton.

Update on Tuesday, May 12, 2015 at 7:30PM by Sussex County Watchdog

Update

The Agenda of the Sussex County Freeholder Board reads:

K. RESOLUTION RE:  AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT FOR ELECTRICITY GENERATION SUPPLY SERVICE UNDER THE PASSAIC COUNTY ENERGY COOPERATIVE PRICING SYSTEM TO VARIOUS BUILDINGS WITHIN

SUSSEX COUNTY (Pricing for this agreement is $.0869 per kilowatt for a 24 month period beginning June 1, 2015 and ending in May 31, 2017)

Concord Engineering is  the Program Manager for Passaic County Government Energy Aggregation Program

http://www.concord-engineering.com/

PASSAIC COUNTY ENERGY COOPERATIVE PRICING SYSTEM

http://www.northjersey.com/story-archives/questions-over-fees-stall-paterson-s-plan-to-reduce-residents-electric-bills-1.593334