Elements within the GOP conspire for Democrat Perez

New York City lawyer Dan Perez was introduced into Sussex County politics through the mess that is Vernon Township governance.  Perez was brought in by fellow lawyer Kevin Kelly, to overturn the Republican establishment in Vernon, then led by allies of former Freeholder Glenn Vetrano. 

The means of that overthrow was classic Bill Kunstler.  Yes, Marxist lawyer William Kunstler.  Perez trained under Kunstler, an avowed Marxist, and was an associate in his law firm.  After Kunstler's death, Perez managed the firm in partnership with Kunstler's law partner, Ron Kuby.

The Kunstler law firm defended members of the Catonsville Nine, Black Panther Party, Weather Underground Organization, the Attica Prison rioters, and the American Indian Movement.  But  Kunstler refused to defend groups like the Tea Party, on the grounds that: "I only defend those whose goals I share. I'm not a lawyer for hire. I only defend those I love."

Kunstler defended Joanne Chesimard (AKA Assata Shakur) who was convicted of murdering a New Jersey State Trooper and who escaped from prison with the help of fellow terrorists.  She is now on the FBI's MOST WANTED list. 

In collaboration with Dan Perez' law partner Ron Kuby, Kunstler defended Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, head of the terrorist group Gama'a al-Islamiyah, responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; Colin Ferguson, the man responsible for the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting; Glenn Harris, a New York City public school teacher who absconded with a fifteen-year-old girl; Nico Minardos, indicted by Rudy Giuliani for conspiracy to ship arms to Iran; and associates of the Gambino organized crime family.

Kunstler trained Perez in hysteria-driven, media-centered political lawyering and Perez learned well.  First, Perez teamed up with Kevin Kelly -- the lawyer for the New Jersey Herald -- to make sure the media coverage lurched his way.  Then, he threw a legal hail-Mary and filed a RICO suit against the GOP leaders in Vernon.  It got plenty of press, made for salacious reading, but was -- so far as the law is concerned -- ridiculous.  But with the right media coverage, it successfully smeared the Vernon GOP and set the stage for a change of government.

Behind it all was a very special interest -- big money, deep pockets -- in the form of the late, great Mr. Mulvihill.  He underwrote the campaign to change the form of government and, through the Herald's Kevin Kelly, hired some of the county's best political consultants to do polling and strategy.  Mulvihill got behind a new team called "Vernon First" which included a gentleman by the name of Joe Tadrick, who ran for Vernon council as a member of that team.  Most of the team got elected too -- but it didn't turn out quite as planned because the new Mayor had a streak of independence that could not be broken.  Bully for him!

Dan Perez went on to represent Republican Kelly and his Democrat colleague in their lawsuit against the Sparta Police Department.  Kelly went on to do pro bono work for a local veterans group active in Vernon.  Favors were given and favors expected. 

Perez conducted a personal jihad against former Freeholder Vetrano -- and used his allies on the all-Republican Freeholder Board to land him a coveted position on the Sussex County Community College board.  Perez held that post long enough to gain a bit more publicity (courtesy of the ever-willing Herald) and to ruin the careers (or, at least, attempt to) of a few more Republicans.

Perez became involved in the 2015 Republican primary as the lawyer and political advisor to Assembly candidate Gail Phoebus and to what became known as the "George Graham ticket" of Freeholder candidates Carl Lazzaro and Jonathan Rose.  All were successful, and one of the first acts of the new majority on the Freeholder Board was to appoint Dan Perez to yet another coveted political patronage position -- Commissioner of the SCMUA Board. 

In just a few years, New York City lawyer Dan Perez has risen through the ranks of Sussex County Republicans without the need to be a Republican.  His career has been sustained and promoted by Republicans -- with a huge assist from the New Jersey Herald.  This is remarkable, given his associations with a Marxist like Bill Kunstler.  But this is, after all, Sussex County -- where being a "goodfella" is what matters most.

This will be a very interesting election, so stay tuned...

The Far-Left makes its move on Sussex County

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: 

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.

Suswikileaks: Lawyer does other lawyer dirty

This is the first in a series of email dumps.

SCMUA Commissioner Dan Perez is a politically connected Sussex County lawyer who counts Freeholder George Graham, Assemblyperson Gail Phoebus, New Jersey Herald attorney Kevin Kelly, and New Jersey Herald reporter Eric Obernauer among his confederates. 

Obernauer has a very close relationship with Phoebus, and during her 2015 legislative campaign he wrote some very damaging pieces against her opponents, including Marie Bilik, Richard Vohden, and a number of career civil servants working for Sussex County. 

In June of 2015, John Williams was in the process of being appointed to fill the vacancy left after the retirement of longtime Sussex County Attorney Dennis McConnell.  Phoebus, then a county Freeholder, just days before had won the Republican primary for Assembly over Marie Bilik and Nathan Orr. 

Phoebus was urged to oppose Williams by Perez, who dug up the dirt to do it, as this email shows:

Perez had wanted Phoebus to openly oppose Williams, but a friend of Phoebus had been dating Williams, so they used Obernauer to put out a rumor about Williams and who some of his clients had been.  They even came up with a nasty name to mock Williams by:  "Juice Bar Johnny."  It was expected that the rumors against Williams, spread by Obernauer, would do their work and eventually undermine the County Attorney and force him out. 

Subsequently, the inside joke they shared with Herald reporter Obernauer became such that they became reckless and Obernauer included someone on an email to Phoebus that he shouldn't have.  The "Juice Bar Johnny" reference was questioned and brought to the attention of the Herald's management, resulting in a reprimand of some sort for reporter Obernauer but no ramifications for politician Phoebus or lawyer Perez.

This is the power of rumors and "whisper" campaigns.  It is how politics is sometimes conducted in close-knit communities -- when smiles are lies and honesty is at a premium.  It almost destroyed the career of County Attorney John Williams as well as those of several county employees.