Freeholder Graham's anonymous blog

After spending much of the last few years complaining about anonymous blogs that persisted in calling him out on his less than savory activities, Freeholder George Graham decided to start one of his own -- and it is a real doozy. 

We all knew that George Graham was the master of "whisper" campaigns, those under-handed attempts to spread unsubstantiated rumors and outright lies about people, but give this guy a computer and he really goes ape!  And he had some help too.  A reporter from the Herald, a big-shot member of the Tea Party, and whoever else he could scam. 

The Tea Partier allowed Graham to use the group's name for his blog.  This was done within memory of a stormy lawsuit that the Tea Party had to go through in which they lost the use of their original name.  Why place the group in jeopardy again?  Normally it is older women who fall for George's sweet-talk, but this time it appears to have worked on a guy. 

This blog -- which is trying to corrupt a Tea Party group by using its name -- has spread rumors that Gail Phoebus had an inappropriate relationship with her consultant, Bill Winkler, and that other elected officials had taken bribes.  The blog was publicly admonished by the State of New Jersey for claiming that the Office of Legislative Services was conducting a criminal investigation in Sussex County.  It simply wasn't true.  They totally made it up.

Now they are trying to claim that someone who did the right thing, did the wrong thing.  Freeholder George Graham is trying to claim that simply by following Ethics rules to the letter that makes someone a suspect.  This is one of his whisper campaigns, converted to social media. 

And who is pulling Graham's string?  After all, he is a political consultant.  That is his only source of income... or is it?  His LinkedIn page provides connections to vendors and contractors that do not appear on his Ethics filing: 

Freeholder

Sussex County

April 2013 – Present (3 years 5 months) | Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders

Construction Project Manager

LaRocca Construction

1991 – Present (25 years) | Jersey City, NJ

Various positions from project timeline oversight, customer relations to complete supervision of multi-

million dollar public bid construction. Work on a project by project basis.

Owner

York Strategies

2003 – Present (13 years) | Jersey City, NJ

York Strategies is a Strategic Planning and Public Relations with experience in government and

corporate marketing.

I have also produced media for private companies and organizations including direct mail, radio and

television, newspaper, magazine and internet ads.

Owner

Skylands Business Services

1987 – Present (29 years)

Small business support for bookkeeping & marketing.

Secretary/Treasurer

Sussex County League of Municipalities

January 2012 – Present (4 years 8 months) | Newton, NJ

Former President and Vice President 2009 -2010

But his Personal Financial Disclosure is another thing entirely:

 

Why the discrepancy?

The taxpayers of Sussex County should demand to know who George Graham's clients are?  Who does York Strategies take money from?  Besides Hudson County Democrats, of course.

We all should know the Graham story by now.  A local yokel Democrat political consultant gets pushed out of Hudson County by the bigger fish.  Does odd jobs for some of the politically-connected construction firms out that way.   Moves on the Sussex County market.  Says he's in the "paper business" and a few local businesses get taped and screwed.  Gets elected in Stanhope as a Democrat, switches to Republican, back to Democrat to vote for Barack or Hillary, then back to Republican again. 

Takes over the Sussex County League of Municipalities (which almost immediately experiences "financial irregularities"), one of nature's "ham and eggers" so he needs to play underhanded, he lies and spreads over-the-top rumors in an attempt to push out incumbent Republican political consultant in order to get his business, when that fails, becomes a candidate and wins a Freeholder seat, promptly turns on those who helped him and destroys them (just ask Freeholder Dennis Mudrick). 

As a Freeholder, he is always on the lookout for a dime.  Gets others to pay his bills, fund his campaigns.  Suckers, he calls them.  He participates in every vote to make the solar project worse and then, turns on the board, points the finger, and blames them.  Wrecks any attempt to rationally work a way out of the solar mess by heavily politicizing the issue BUT he does elect his cronies and takes control over the Board.  Promptly hires NYC leftist and forces out long-time, local Republican.  Hires politically-connected NYC law firm to handle solar review -- which goes from a money recovery operation to a therapy session costing half a million dollars.  Gives a no-bid contract to the very lawyers he said were to blame for the solar mess. 

Moves on to state politics.  Sows seeds of discontent between District 24 legislators.  Targets Gail Phoebus, the unstable one, and gets her to spread outrageous rumors about BOTH her running mates and their families.  Horrible, low as dirt stuff they spread, but hey, this is George.  Is there to undo every attempt at reconciliation.  Meanwhile, he is using his political consulting business to cash in.  Claims to be working in other races around the state, claims to be working for a gubernatorial campaign... is he working for some of the firms that do business in Sussex County?  We would need a more detailed ethics filing to find out. 

This is who is running your county government.

This is why Sussex County needs an Ethics Committee.

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?

Dirtbag behavior: Sad to report, it's not only the Left

From our friends at jerseyconservative.org

Last week, we all witnessed some of the more ridiculous antics of the Left, and there has been a lot of commentary about how certain people allowed their emotions to get the better of them.  Madonna made her threats, while others went in for displays of very bad taste.

Jersey Conservative reported on this, and we were quickly reminded that such poor behavior doesn't begin or end with the ideological Left.  Those reminding us were none other than those denizens of the new ideological "Right" -- the Tea Party.  Not everyone in the Tea Party behaves like a 15-year-old who got into his parents' liquor cabinet, but enough do to give the movement a bad name. 

Last week, an  innocent family had an aerial view of their family home placed on a public Facebook page with the words "target acquired" posted underneath and the statement, "got to love drones LOL," posted under that.

The organizer of a draft campaign committee for Gail Phoebus publicly posted those personal details, believing that they belonged to a "political consultant" who works in Sussex County.  But as with so much that comes from these people, the Phoebus campaigner -- who is also a key figure in the Skylands Tea Party of Sussex County -- got it all wrong.

 The home "targeted" by the Phoebus campaigner/ Tea Party activist is in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and it belongs to a perfectly innocent family with young children.  It is not the home of the "political consultant" that Mr. Tea Party seemed intent on injuring.

 After a Sussex County blog reported this, the Phoebus campaign "administrator" appealed to his fellow Tea Partiers.  They responded with threats of violence and personal harm:

The "political consultant" (who is, in fact, a free lance writer) has already been the  "target" of malicious and injurious acts by officials in Andover Township, where Phoebus once served as mayor.   They will have to shoulder some of the responsibility if one of their more emotional "supporters" gets a little too motivated and acts out against the consultant or even an inadvertent "target" of their hate.

If what these people post on their Facebook pages is anything to go by, they are certainly able to back up their anger with something a lot worse than words.

Instead of hate, maybe these folks should try calming down long enough to have a polite, rational, dignified policy discussion.  As the writer Isaac Asimov reminded us, "violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."

But this keeps going from bad to worse.  Earlier this week another "administrator" of the Phoebus campaign and Tea Partier decided that he wasn't going to be outdone by the Left when it came to posting tasteless images.  He took the image below and explored an even lower range of human discourse.

 

Yes, this Tea Partier photo-shopped the images of several Sussex County Republicans onto vaginas.  The images included a Republican State Senator, a Republican Assemblyman, a Republican candidate for Assembly, a Republican candidate for Freeholder, and a Republican free lance writer from Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  The photograph of the last, courtesy of Andover Township, New Jersey.

Mind you, the person photo-shopping Republicans onto vaginas isn't a member of some Left-wing organization protesting Donald Trump.   This person claims to be a Right-winger and member of the Tea Party, who had his photo taken earlier this month with Steve Rogers, the GOP candidate for Governor he says he's supporting.  Everyone involved is a Trump supporter.  This is how crazy some people act when they disagree with someone who agrees with them most of the time, imagine how nuts they'll get when it is someone on the other side?

The people trashed by this Tea Partier are among the most conservative in New Jersey, with perfect voting records on the Second Amendment and the Right-to-Life; top ratings from Americans for Prosperity and the American Conservative Union; who have consistently been there for the conservative movement and the Republican Party.  Heck, the free lance writer once worked for the National Rifle Association as a congressional district Election Volunteer Coordinator. 

Now we know people in the same Tea Party group -- the Skylands Tea Party.  They have names like Tom and Doug and Roseann and Sue.  They are grandparents and business owners and professionals.  How would they explain these images to their grandchildren?  Would they teach their grandchildren how to photo-shop the images of people who have helped them and their community onto a vagina?  Would they explain to them that this is the right way to deal with people when they fail to agree with you 100 percent of the time?  It's 100 percent or your face goes on a vagina! 

In closing, let us leave you with this image, posted at Halloween, by one of your members.  Our advice to you is to chill.  Push the restart button and begin to act like responsible adults.  End the rhetoric of hate.

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

Watchdog launches rumor hotline

ru·mor

ˈro͞omər

noun

noun: rumour; plural noun: rumours; noun: rumor; plural noun: rumors

1.    1.

a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth.

"they were investigating rumors of a criminal act"

synonyms:

gossip, hearsay, talk, tittle-tattle, speculation, word; More reports, stories, whispers, canards; informal grapevine, word on the street, buzz, dirt, scuttlebutt, loose lips "do you think the talk of her resignation is fact or just rumor?"

verb

past participle: rumoured; past participle: rumored; verb: rumour; 3rd person present: rumours; gerund or present participle: rumouring; verb: rumor; 3rd person present:rumors; gerund or present participle: rumoring

1.    1.

be circulated as an unverified account.

"it's rumored that money exchanged hands"

Rumors are dirty little things.  Here at Watchdog we receive tips, investigate them, and pass on what we learn to our readers.  If someone disputes something we write, we invite them to respond (and we will publish their response).  If we get something wrong, we'll apologize and correct it.

But rumors are deliberate lies, falsehoods deliberately spread, in order to damage another human being's reputation.

In the 2012 Freeholder primary, political consultant George Graham deliberately spread falsehoods about the political consultant of the opposing campaign. 

In Sussex County, this is called running a "whisper" campaign.  A whisper campaign isn't a debate because it's not a fair exchange.  What happens is that a lie is fabricated to damage someone.  The lie is passed on by word-of-mouth.  If confronted, the whisperer lies again and denies having said the lie.  Then she or he goes back to whispering. 

A whisper campaign cannot be conducted on the radio or cable or by using mass direct mail or email or even electronic calls.  Anything requiring a disclaimer or ownership of the words defeats whisper.  Whisper goes by word-of-mouth, from lips to ears, person to person. 

From the beginnings of Western Civilization, these whisper campaigns have been looked upon as immoral. In the Old Testament, the eighth or ninth Commandment of God (the number depends on whether you are Jewish, Roman Catholic, or Protestant) states:  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

If you hear one politician whispering some outlandish "secret" about another, demand that she or he say it to the other person's face and in front of you.  If they won't, contact Watchdog and we'll expose the whisper campaign.

You can contact us at info@sussexcountywatchdog.com.