If you missed any of our August radio shows live on WVLT Cruisin' 92.1 here they are. Each episode is also on the radio shows page. Bob DelVecchio filled in for Steve in episode 162. Tom Crone filled in for Steve in episode 163. For those who prefer to listen live and live outside our broadcast area you can listen on TuneIn or at wvlt.com Saturday mornings from 8:00-10:00.
As always, you can listen to any of our past shows on the Radio Shows page.
Jack Ciattarelli and his Lieutenant Governor running mate Diane Allen, by way of press release, have announced they “launched a website and the first in a series of ads targeting the mistreatment of women under Governor Murphy, starting with the Governor, First Lady, and Murphy's inner circle of powerful men who willfully ignored Katie Brennan's pleas for help at every turn as she sought to report her rape allegations and seek justice resulting from her harrowing experience on the Murphy campaign.”
This morning’s press release is below:
The Ciattarelli-Allen ticket today launched a website and the first in a series of ads targeting the mistreatment of women under Governor Murphy, starting with the Governor, First Lady, and Murphy's inner circle of powerful men who willfully ignored Katie Brennan's pleas for help at every turn as she sought to report her rape allegations and seek justice resulting from her harrowing experience on the Murphy campaign.
"Governor Murphy has continually covered up for powerful men throughout his career in government, politics and business at the expense of women who have stood up as victims of abuse, discrimination, misogyny and sexual assault," said Senator Diane Allen. "From his time at Goldman Sachs, to his tenure as Ambassador to Germany, to the women's soccer team he owns, to his campaign, and right through his administration, victims have been ignored and their pleas for help swept under the rug. Governor Murphy only acts when his career or his reputation are threatened. It's always about him, and never about the women who have been so badly mistreated, or worse."
The Ciattarelli-Allen campaign launched a website for New Jerseyans to learn more about the Murphy Administration's bad record when it comes to responding to women's abuse.
"No young woman should be forced to endure what Katie Brennan went through. Her courage in speaking out against the Murphy campaign's toxic culture took great strength and is rightfully admired by young women regardless of party affiliation," said Stami Williams, campaign spokeswoman. "Governor Murphy, on the other hand, should be ashamed of his behavior. At best, he is guilty of a stunning lack of leadership and empathy about what is happening within his own campaign after receiving Ms. Brennan's email, and at worst, a willingness to sweep sexual assault under the rug to get elected governor."
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View the Ciattarelli campaign’s digital ad:
Gloucester County GOP Chair Jacci Vigilante
I’m still catching up from my 10-day working road trip.
One big item I missed while I was away is that Gloucester County GOP Chair Jacci Vigilante, along with Gloucester County Board of Elections Commissioners Carmen DiNovi and George Shivery and Gloucester county Commissioner candidate Chris Konawel filed court papers on August 18 demanding a bipartisan county Board of Elections.
According to the New Jersey Globe a bipartisan Board of Elections is required by state law:
Gloucester County Republicans have filed a lawsuit alleging that the county is denying them a bipartisan county Board of Elections required by state law.
At issue is that for many years, Gloucester County had a shared service agreement between the Board of Elections, the County Clerk's Office and the Superintendent of Elections. This agreement expired in December 2020 and was extended through June 30, 2021. The two Republican Commissioners, DiNovi and Shivery, on the Board of Elections refused to vote to extend the agreement.
The issue with the shared services agreement is that it allowed County government to avoid the hiring of staff dedicated to the Board of Elections. Other counties, Camden County Board of Elections for example, hire an equal number of Democrat and Republican employees, making the Board of Elections truly bipartisan. In other words, Gloucester County Republicans are not seeking anything out of the ordinary.
The problem with the old shared services agreement in Gloucester County is that the agreement allowed the highly partisan County Clerk’s office and Superintendent of Elections to decide who works at the Board of Elections, meaning nearly every single person who handled voted ballots was a Democrat.
The problem with a highly partisan Superintendent of Elections office is that the state legislature clearly intended the office to be bipartisan. In counties of the Second Class, as Gloucester is, Title 19 states:
NJSA 19:32-26.1 Office of deputy superintendent of elections, certain; appointment; term; vacancies; salary
1. The governing body of a county of the second class in which the office of superintendent of elections for the county has been established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1947, c.167 (C.19:32-26) may establish, by ordinance or resolution, as appropriate, the office of deputy superintendent of elections. The office of deputy superintendent of elections in each such county shall be filled by a suitable person who shall be nominated by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall not be from the same political party as the superintendent of elections, and who shall hold office for a term of five years, running concurrently with the term of the superintendent and until the deputy superintendent's successor is appointed and has qualified. The initial appointment to the office of deputy superintendent of elections may be for a partial term, as appropriate. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment but shall be for the unexpired term only. The annual salary of a deputy superintendent of elections shall be 90% of the salary received by the superintendent of elections of the same county for performing the duties of superintendent of elections and commissioner of registration. The office of the deputy superintendent of elections shall be located in the county making the appointment.
“Who shall not be from the same part as the superintendent of elections,” is an important phrase.
Perhaps the reason why Gloucester County has never moved to appoint a deputy superintendent of elections is the Democrats simply do not want bipartisanship in an office that has anything to do with counting ballots or the way elections are run in the county.
Who knows? Last year’s Gloucester County Freeholder/Commissioner election was as close as 0.37%, maybe it would have been different if the Gloucester County Board of Elections were a truly bipartisan office.
Here’s hoping this lawsuit brings bipartisanship to Gloucester County’s Board of Elections.
“Politics without the BS”
Bob Greco is a former chairman of the Cumberland County GOP and Steve Kush is a Republican political consultant. Together we'll deliver political news and opinion in our own unique way via a weekly radio show on Crusin' 92.1 FM every Saturday morning at 7:00 A.M. and here on this website.
