Phil Murphy’s First Campaign Ad Of The Season Is A Bunch Of Bull

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Lots of folks were writing about Governor Phil Murphy’s first TV ad of the fall yesterday (read here, here, here or here).

Today it’s my turn. I’ll sum it up in simple terms: Phil Murphy’s first campaign ad is a bunch of crap!

The Democrats who listen to the show, read this blog and send us hate mail are all thinking I’m a partisan, obviously I’m going to think the ad is a bunch of crap.

Let’s take a look. The ad features Murphy walking through a park with a diverse group of men, women and children, though some may “identify” as something other than what they appear to be, and speaks directly into the camera:

“My job? Moving New Jersey forward.  And making New Jersey work for all of us. That means the best public schools. A stronger economy.  A cleaner environment. That justice works for all. Working to make healthcare, childcare and college more affordable. It’s building opportunity.  And protecting our right to vote and our right to choose. And always keeping us safe and healthy. That’s my job. And, with your help, I’ll keep working at it. We’re not going back.”

What a bunch of bull!

Making New Jersey work for all of us? How? Was New Jersey working for all of us when Murphy took $2 million away from veterans to give to illegal immigrants for legal defense?

A stronger economy? Shut up! One-third of New Jersey’s businesses closed down thanks to Murphy’s COVID policies.

Justice works for all? I’m wondering if the families of the men allegedly shot and killed by Ronny Paden, Jr. feel like Murphy is providing “justice for all?” In case you forgot here’s a snippet about Paden from NJ.com:

“EDGEWATER PARK — Two men slain here in January were the unintended victims of a gunman at a birthday party, authorities say.

The alleged shooter, 27-year-old Ronny Paden Jr. of Delran, did not target James Gist III, 29, of Westampton and Marcus Thompson, 29, of Willingboro, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.

Paden, who's accused of killing the men on Jan. 24, was released early from prison in November 2020 under a policy meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 among inmates, the prosecutor's office said.

Paden had been serving a five-year term in connection with a September 2016 shooting that wounded a man in Willingboro.”

Great job Phil!

Protecting our right to vote? Really? Wrong! Murphy only cares about protecting the Democrats’ right to vote. That’s why Gloucester County GOP Chair Jacci Vigilante had to go to court to stop ballot drop box locations from being placed only in Democratic-leaning towns.

Right to choose? Choose what? My doctor and I decided that I should not get vaccinated and all Murphy does is complain that everyone should be vaccinated. I will continue to listen to my doctor, she’s much smarter than Murphy.

Always keeping us safe and healthy? Letting guys who are in jail for 5 years for shooting someone out of jail because of COVID makes no one safe. And, keeping me healthy is my doctor’s job, not Murphy’s.

These are just some of the reasons Murphy’s first ad of the season is bull. Here’s the ad, decide for yourself:

ICYMI: Gloucester County GOP Suing To Get A Bipartisan Board of Elections

Gloucester County GOP Chair Jacci Vigilante

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.

Vigilantism; Gloucester County Style

Jacci Vigilante with Jack Ciattarelli

Jacci Vigilante with Jack Ciattarelli

I’m getting old, which means I’ve been around for a long time and seen a lot of things.

Last night, I witnessed something – I saw the largest number of Republicans I’ve seen in a room in Gloucester County in a very long time – it reminded me of an election season rally that was held for former state Senator George Geist and his Assembly running mates way back in the 2003 election cycle (which was so long ago Ed Waters was still running campaigns).

The event was the Gloucester County GOP reorganization meeting held at the Broadway Theater in Pitman.

The reason for the crowd? Chairwoman Jacci Vigilante. There is no other explanation. It was vigilantism Gloucester County GOP style!

There was a rumor there might be a challenge to Vigilante’s leadership. It didn’t happen. County committee is united behind Vigilante. She was re-elected unanimously, as was her executive committee.

If you told me back in 2018 that a theater would be packed full of Vigilante supporters I would have laughed in your face.

I remember when Vigilante was elected – I called the state party screaming, I screamed so loud, using much of the colorful language I’m know for, that former state party Chairman Doug Steinhardt dispatched his executive director, Theresa Winegar, to broker peace. I’m glad that happened!

Vigilante, it turned out, was willing to put in the work to do what was (and is) necessary to build a party. She wisely started by building camaraderie among the rank-and-file launching monthly GOP breakfasts and happy hours for those of us who hate mornings. She launched a new and improved website and grew the party’s social media.

Vigilante then worked hard to rebuild bridges with municipal committees that had been burned by previous leaders.

After getting Republicans in the county to start talking to each other again, Vigilante set out to growing the county committee by filling seats with folks who actually do the work. Today, there are elected – not appointed – members of county committee in every town with the exception of Paulsboro.

Vigilante is spending money on municipal and county races, something that hasn’t happened in a long time. It’s paying off, county Republicans are getting closer and winning at the municipal level. Last year’s shocker was a win in Monroe Township. At the county level Republicans were within a half a percent. In five municipalities Republicans were within 1.5% or less.

Vigilante is not afraid to pick a fight with the Democrats at the state or local level. She called out the Democratic State Committee for being hypocrites and she’s dragged the Democrats into court to fight for fair elections.

Gloucester County Republicans are taking the fight to the Democrats and it shows. In this cycle the Democrats had two legislative candidates removed from the ballot through petition challenges, Vigilante went with a direct mail and text messaging campaign to get candidates on the ballot for November. It worked, no Democrat legislator will go unchallenged. She does what it takes to ensure Democrats are challenged and forced to fight.

It’s not often that I am wrong, but I am glad I was wrong back in 2018. Congratulations on your re-election Chairwoman Vigilante, for once, I don’t mind eating a little humble pie.