The Sussex County Democrat Committee wanted to use school children for a political protest against the Republicans who beat them at the polls last year. It was pure politics.
Last year, the executive director of the Sussex County Democrats couldn't have been more pro-gun if she tried.
This is why you can't trust these people.
In yet another Facebook post, Nathan Orr attacked Pro-Second Amendment groups -- including the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the New Jersey Second Amendment Society (NJ2AS) -- for supporting and endorsing Pro-Gun/Pro-Hunting/Pro-Freedom candidates Parker Space and Hal Wirths. Orr went so far as to claim that Wirths supports a certain gubernatorial candidate, which is totally false.
To understand why defenders of the Second Amendment support Parker Space and Hal Wirths, read this endorsement letter from NJ2AS:
Orr and his running mate, David Atwood (AKA David Wygonski, Dave Wygo, et al), have been featuring an ad in which they make another outrageous lie -- that Assemblyman Parker Space and Assembly candidate Hal Wirths voted for Bail Reform legislation. They certainly did not.
Assembly candidate Hal Wirths was not a member of the Legislature and could not vote on S-946.
Hal Wirths' running mate, Assemblyman Parker Space, voted NO.
Hal Wirths has made his position very clear:
Harold Wirths, R
The intent of the bail reform constitutional amendment was to give courts discretion in either allowing the release or the detention of persons arrested based on concerns on whether or not they are a threat to public safety. The Legislature was also authorized to pass laws concerning pretrial release and detention.
If elected, I will work with Senator Oroho, Assemblyman Space and law enforcement to rein in judges that are allowing those who are a threat to society back out on the streets.
In addition, as a freeholder who spent nearly a decade as liaison to the sheriff and the jail, I understand how much the county-operated justice system costs taxpayers. The goal of bail reform was to cut the costs of incarceration, and that would be the trade-off for a speedier system. As conservatives, we will work to minimize the impact these changes have on taxpayers.
http://www.njherald.com/20170418/assembly-candidates-address-bail-reform
And Assemblyman Parker Space voted NO.
That makes Nathan Orr and David Atwood... liars, again.
On top of this, Atwood and running mate Bill Hayden couldn't be bothered to vote on the public question of bail reform when it was placed on the ballot in November 2014. Both Atwood and Hayden failed to vote in that election or in most other elections, for that matter. Atwood missed every election in 2013, 2014, 2015, and the primary of 2016. Hayden missed every election in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and the primary of 2016.
And now they lie about Parker Space and Hal Wirths on top of it.
Just five months ago, money from the DCCC and other Left/Liberal interest groups flowed into Sussex County. It did its job and took out the most conservative Republican congressman in New Jersey -- Scott Garrett.
Anyone who knows history knows that the Left isn't a straightforward opponent, but one that comes at you from within and without. One of the big coups of the Garrett-Gottheimer race was when the Left/Liberals got the Republican mayor of Sussex County's largest municipality to jump ship and endorse Democrat Gottheimer over Republican Garrett.
The Democrats were smart too in stirring up trouble for Garrett in his primary, making Garrett defend himself with Republicans and spend valuable resources that he needed for the campaign against the Clinton Democrats. To this end, the Left/Liberals worked through groups like the Tea Party (in most cases, without the group's knowledge) to make the claim that Congressman Garrett wasn't conservative enough. Look at the result. Look at the votes those Tea Partiers cost conservative Scott Garrett:
Then they recruited a third-party candidate to finish the job:
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Working from within the Republican Party, the Left/Liberals got 9,136 Republican base voters to reject Scott Garrett -- nearly 20 percent of his base vote. Then they split another 7,424 away in the General Election. That's 16,560 lost votes for Garrett, who ended up losing to Gottheimer by 14,897.
And what did those Tea Partiers accomplish? They swapped a Sussex County conservative for a Clintonista liberal Democrat. Brilliant!
During his career, Scott Garrett had a lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of 99.38%. The next highest Republican in New Jersey has a rating of 69% and the lowest Republican 46%. The best New Jersey Democrat was 10.42% and the worst has 0%. Now there is a liberal Clinton Democrat were once there was Scott Garrett. Way to go Mark Quick, Michael Cino, Peter Vallorosi, Bill Hayden! Way to go!
Last year, Sussex County was a bright spot for the Clinton Democrats. Last year the Left/Liberals got their way in Sussex County, so why not try for this year? And that is what's happening.
No sooner did Assemblywoman Gail Phoebus call-off her primary challenge to Republican Senator Steve Oroho -- than the mask came off! GOP-imposter Dan Perez -- Phoebus' political attorney and sometime consultant, the same guy who Freeholder George Graham appointed to the SCMUA board -- declared that he was again a Democrat and that he would be running for the Sussex County Freeholder Board.
Money poured into the pockets of Sussex County Democrats from that Democrat candidate for Governor Phil Murphy, the former DNC finance chairman and Goldman Sachs rich guy who bought an ambassadorship and now (Jon Corzine NUMBER TWO?) wants to buy the Governor's office. The Democrats have a full-slate of legislative candidates for the first time in years and they are going to try to do to Steve Oroho, Parker Space, and Hal Wirths this year, what they did to Scott Garrett last year.
That's the without part. But the Left/Liberals wouldn't be the Left/Liberals without the within part -- the Fifth Column.
Before tearing off his GOP mask and revealing himself as the true Democrat he is, Dan Perez, George Graham, Bill Hayden, and others were all involved in the same effort trying to promote Gail Phoebus' candidacy. That was the cover. The real mission was to recruit "Tea Party" candidates to run in the Republican primary to "soften up" Oroho, Space, and Wirths for a Clinton Democrat take-down this November.
They talked two candidates into running for the Assembly -- and when no one else would do it, one of their organizers (Bill Hayden) jumped into the Senate race on the same day that Perez announced that he was again a Democrat!
So the stage is set.
The Democrats have their anchor for the 2017 Sussex County elections in the form of Dan Perez (SCMUA commissioner, courtesy of 3 GOP freeholders), their three legislative candidates, and their three GOP shills to do damage in the Republican primary.
How can you tell someone is a shill? Many have never even voted before being recruited as a shill and then suddenly they show up, have a big mouth, and are assuming a "leadership role" in a group unknowingly being used to promote the shill (in this case, the Tea Party). Doubt us? Take a look at Bill Hayden's voting record. He hasn't bothered to vote since 2010.
Another sign is a disdain for traditional conservative organizations like the National Rifle Association (NRA). Bill Hayden attacks the NRA on Facebook and craps on the group's leadership. Shills always do that because they aren't really conservative but they do have big egos. That is how the Left/Liberals recruit them, they play to their egos. A guy like Perez whispers into Hayden's ear that "you too can be a big man" but the reality is that Hayden is there simply to damage a conservative Republican enough in the primary so that Perez and company can elect a liberal Democrat in November.
So groups like the Tea Party and their followers have a decision to make. Do they want to be active participants in making Phil Murphy's dream come true of total Democrat hegemony in heretofore Republican northwest New Jersey? Or do they want to defend traditional conservative Republican values?
Your choice.
The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the NRA's voice in New Jersey, announced a big win for hunters and gun owners today. In an email blast earlier today, the ANJRPC issued the following statement:
YOUR VOICE HEARD
A4179 & A4180 PULLED
FROM MONDAY COMMITTEE AGENDA!
After several days of gun owner outcry and subsequent dialogue with the bill sponsor, Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D28) has graciously agreed to hold A4179/A4180 to allow for continued discussion to address gun owner concerns.
We also appreciate the assistance of Assembly Law & Public Safety Committee Chairman Daniel Benson (D14) in fostering an environment that will allow meaningful consideration of gun owner concerns.
And thank YOU for speaking out and making gun owner voices heard.
Please spread the word and make sure our fellow defenders of the Second Amendment know there will be no hearing on these bills on Monday, Dec 5.
Further updates will follow as the situation develops.
The New Jersey Assembly Law & Public Safety Committee had been scheduled to hear A4179 and A4180 -- "suicide prevention" bills which the ANJRPC noted "have little actual impact on suicide but represent a massive attack on every shooting range in the state and every person who uses them." The ANJRPC went on...
"There isn't a single gun owner, shooting range, gun club, instructor, hunter education student, or person trying the shooting sports for the first time who would not be impacted by these bills as presently written. The legislation as written also impacts range work by active and retired law enforcement, military members, and various agency professionals.
The bills as presently written would require the owner or operator of every range and gun club to verify that every range user has an FID card, NJ carry permit, or pistol purchase permit, along with government-issued photo ID, every time that person uses the range. That is an impossible burden for most ranges to meet - most ranges are unstaffed or staffed sporadically by volunteers. Few ranges have staff during all operating hours. NO SHOOTING ACTIVITY COULD OCCUR ON ANY RANGE THAT IS NOT STAFFED TO VERIFY CREDENTIALS.
The bills as presently written would also prevent you from using your own firearms on a range unless the range first verifies your credentials, every time you use the range, and bans all temporary transfer on a range unless the range verifies the credentials of both the transferor and transferee. THIS IMPACTS A HUGE SWATH OF SECOND AMENDMENT ACTIVITY, INCLUDING TRAINING, COMPETITION, TARGET PRACTICE, OPEN HOUSES, RANGE GUESTS, HUNTER EDUCATION, WOMEN'S EVENTS, ETC. (see below for detailed examples).
The bills, sponsored by Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D28), are extremely overbroad and wide-ranging in their effect. Instead of narrowly addressing a specific limited problem, the bills cast an enormous net over every range in the state and every person that uses them, and would dramatically disrupt traditional Second Amendment activity that has occurred for decades without incident. Many ranges would be forced to close, and those able to stay open would be severely burdened and disrupted...
Ultimately, A4179 and A4180 are based on a deeply flawed premise. Possession of a firearms ID card, pistol purchase permit, or carry permit is not an assurance that someone is not depressed or will not become depressed in the future. Nor would the legislation prevent those intent on committing suicide from doing so.
Possession of a firearms credential is merely an indication of prior history, not present mental state. Mental health professionals opine that the most effective way to reduce suicide risk is to recognize warning signs based on present mental state, yet the legislation does not in any way address present mental state, nor does it pose solutions targeted to the specific problem it seeks to address. As written, all the legislation does is harm ranges and gun clubs, and interfere with the exercise of Second Amendment rights in New Jersey.
Here are just a few examples of how this legislation, as currently written, would harm the entire Second Amendment community in New Jersey:
*"No papers, no target practice." Every gun owner would be required to present NJ firearms credentials to the owner or operator of a range before being allowed to use their own firearms on that range, every time they use the range. What if you're from out of state? Sorry. What if the club doesn't have staff to check credentials? Too bad.
* No shooting activities on unstaffed ranges (most gun clubs and ranges are not staffed). Shooting activity could only occur where staff exists to check credentials. Unstaffed ranges would lose members (because members wouldn't be allowed to shoot there), many clubs would be forced to close.
* Staffed ranges forced to become the "FID police." Of the few ranges with staff, most are non-profit clubs with occasional volunteer staff who cannot be conscripted into becoming full-time agents of the state to verify credentials. The few ranges that do have paid staff would be burdened into hiring additional personnel to meet the state's demands. Ranges that cannot afford to check credentials during all hours of operation would lose members and some would be forced to close.
* No more temporary transfer at ranges unless both parties have NJ credentials and display those credentials to the range owner / operator (regardless of whether the range is staffed or unstaffed - same concerns as above). New Jersey's longstanding law regarding temporary transfer of firearms on ranges has allowed hundreds of thousands of people to try many different shooting sports, without incident, before deciding whether to become a firearms owner. The legislation would shut down all of these lawful activities, including the ones discussed below.
* "You have to become a gun owner before you decide whether you want to become a gun owner." FIREARMS TRAINING, OPEN HOUSES, RANGE GUESTS, WOMENS' EVENTS, SPECIAL PROGRAMS, etc. would be shut down and unavailable to anyone without a firearms credential. Most people considering firearms ownership try it first, before obtaining credentials to purchase firearms. All of this activity would be stopped, and would negatively impact many ranges and clubs in the legislation as currently written. "Sorry, you can't even try target practice until the state has investigated you."
* Domestic Violence victims would be prevented from training with firearms while awaiting issuance of their firearm credentials, so they are proficient enough to protect themselves when their credentials are finally issued (in some jurisdictions, applicants wait over a year, in violation of state law). A domestic violence victim who does not yet have their firearms credentials should not be prevented from becoming trained and proficient in the meanwhile.
*Hunter education impeded. NJ hunter education firearms safety classes require live fire range exercises, and the State makes firearms available to participants who don't have their own firearms. The legislation would prevent this activity unless the student and teacher already have credentials, which is not always the case. Ironically, this legislation interferes with hunter safety training, and the revenue it generates for the state.
* Unsafe: Hunters prevented from sighting in or test-firing their firearms. Many out-of-state hunters sight-in their firearms or do test-firing at unstaffed wildlife management area ranges maintained by New Jersey. Those without NJ firearms credentials would be forbidden from doing so. But even hunters with NJ credentials (resident or not) would also be forbidden, since their credentials could not be displayed to the range owner / operator of an unstaffed wildlife management area range.
* Competitions impacted. Shooting is an Olympic sport, and NJ competitors have produced Olympic medals. Competitors coming into NJ would be forbidden from using their own firearms, or from using fellow competitors' firearms, unless they have NJ credentials (most do not). Competitions would be severely impacted.
* Prevents non-residents from participating in popular, lawful NJ shooting sports and activities unless they have NJ credentials (most do not). Cuts off significant revenue and commerce coming into NJ, from which the state benefits. Dramatically harms ranges throughout the state.
* Military, Police & Agency range activities. As presently written, the legislation prevents anyone without an FID card, pistol purchase permit, or handgun carry permit from using their own firearms, or temporary transfer of others' firearms, on ranges. Active law enforcement in New Jersey rarely have these credentials, and many retired members of law enforcement do not obtain these credentials. Additionally, a whole host of military, agency, and other personnel are specifically exempted under NJ law from needing firearms credentials in the first place, and those personnel would also be impacted.
* Overwhelms an already overburdened and dysfunctional permitting system. The legislation could result in a deluge of applications for FID cards or other credentials. ANJRPC's Permitting Strike Force has already painstakingly documented permitting abuses rampant throughout New Jersey's 565 municipalities. Many applicants have waited more than a year to receive permits that are required by law to be granted or denied within 30 days. The legislation could stimulate tens of thousands of new applications, which would overwhelm the existing dysfunctional system and slow it even further, significantly burdening Second Amendment rights.
* Toy guns included. Believe it or not, the use of BB guns and airguns would also be prohibited at shooting ranges in the absence of firearms credentials. That's because New Jersey law treats them as "firearms" even though they are considered toys everywhere else, and the legislation fails to exempt them from its overreach. Absurd!
* Youth exempted, but not adults??? Bizarrely, A4179 preserves specific exemptions for target practice, instruction and training by minors who don't have credentials, yet provides no similar exemptions for adults. Do legislators actually believe that adults pose a suicide risk, yet minors do not?"
Hats off to the ANJRPC, NRA, and 2AS for their great work in getting these bills pulled from consideration on Monday. But we must remain vigilant, so stay tuned...
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
Sussex County Watchdog