Anybody else remember Troopergate? We do!

Apparently, the memories of former Assemblyman Matt Milam and former Assemblyman Nelson Albano aren’t as long as our memories.

Last evening, shortly after dinner, Bob and I began receiving messages with a screenshot from Milam’s Facebook account.

The post was innocent enough, two friends and former runningmates posing with an old campaign sign, but the message “2021 – Stay Tuned” at the very least makes it appear they were sending a message. The message appears to be either they are running for something or they want to relive Troopergate.

I waited until I got the screenshot from someone I actually know before deciding it is real (maybe I wouldn’t get messages from folks I don’t know if I wasn’t so free with my cell phone number).

Are these guys seriously considering running together again? Do Albano and Milam honestly believe they can take out state Senator Michael Testa, Assemblyman Erik Simonsen or Assemblyman Antwan McClellan?

Perhaps Albano and Milam were trying to be cute and floated a trial balloon with the Facebook post. Guess what? The trial balloon failed.

Troopergate is hard to forget. Mr. Albano came close to destroying the career of a State Trooper. It’s especially hard to forget that Albano was the first state lawmaker in 35 years to be fined by the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards. It’s almost laughable that even after being fined Albano claimed he was the one suffering “emotional trauma.” From NJ.com:

An attorney for Albano, William Harla of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole, said the lawmaker could not appear at the hearing today because of health issues. Harla said Albano accepted the penalty and would not challenge it.

"He deeply regrets and apologizes for the incident which is the subject of this hearing," Harla said. "He paid a price for his conduct, he was vilified in the last election campaign, he did lose his seat, and he continues to suffer emotional trauma."

I suspect that if Albano and Milam are considering running for office together again that Mr. Albano will end up suffering more emotional trauma because many people still remember Troopergate and all the lies that came with it.

Maybe “lies” is a strong word, so take a look at what NJ.com said and you decide if he lied:

The video, combined with statements Albano made when the newspaper first inquired about the stop, showed many of the allegations he leveled against the trooper were either false or unfounded. Albano has since withdrawn his complaint against the trooper, apologized and paid the speeding fine.

Sounds like he lied to me! 2021 is shaping up to be a fun year.

The Republican candidates in LD1, Mike Testa for state Senate and Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen for Assembly hit back at a mailer sent by a Democratic PAC. Their press release follows:

September 16, 2019, First Legislative District – Republicans slammed a negative attack mailer against GOP Assembly candidate and Ocean City Councilman Antwan McClellan today, alleging the shadowy Super PAC funded by allies of George Norcross darkened and distorted McClellan’s photo, placed it inside a yellow circle reminiscent of Aunt Jemima syrup branding and used racially-charged language in a desperate attempt to hang on to a district that is slipping away.

The Republicans demanded Democrat incumbents Bob Andrzejczak, Bruce Land, Matt Milam, and Cape May County Democrat Chairman Brendan Sciarra to immediately disavow the mailing, and call on the Norcross-linked General Majority PAC to cease and desist from spending in support of their candidacies.

“The Democratic party claims to be the party of inclusion; however, the moment a person of color like me disagrees with their narrative, they launch an ad hominem attack, whip out their best ‘Aunt Jemima’ photograph and purposefully darken my complexion in order to suppress dissent,” said McClellan. “This attack ad launched against me isn’t just tone deaf, it’s totally deaf to the economic struggles that faced all the people of South Jersey in the recent trying economic times. I am a Republican because we support job creation and real opportunity not just giveaway programs. I know about that struggle firsthand and promise to diligently represent South Jersey to increase economic opportunities.”

“The Cape May County GOP has worked hard to reach out to the African-American community and Antwan is without a doubt one of our brightest stars. To see him subjected to these kinds of racist attacks is extremely distressing,” said Cape GOP Chairman Marcus Karavan. “Unfortunately, these are the kinds of attacks you would expect from District 1 Democrats, who, to my recollection, have never run a woman or a person of color for the state legislature.”

“People that buy into this race-baiting narrative being advanced by the Democrats are just asking for more of the same lackluster representation and cronyism,” said Erik Simonsen. “I suggest that everyone, not just people of color, look closely into the thinking that spawned this attack ad and ask themselves if this is the representation they want.

“It’s no surprise that the very first mailer sent out by the Democrats was a negative attack. They can’t defend their party’s radical liberal agenda and the insane policies of Phil Murphy, so they turn to personal smears,” said Senate candidate Mike Testa, Jr. “But to see Antwan depicted in this way is beyond offensive. We are not going to sit by and let the Democrats hide from this one. The days of Bob Andrzejczak and running mates dutifully staying silent, while George Norcross’ shady PAC – funded by companies who got suspect tax breaks – does their dirty work, are over.”