Tax Increase And Audit Demonstrate Need For New Leadership In Mercer County
The need to end single-party rule in Mercer County
HAMILTON TWP – Republican candidate for Mercer County Executive, Lisa Richford, said today that passage of a tax-increasing county budget last week and the expected release of an audit of county finances this evening demonstrate the need for new leadership in Mercer County government.
“Last week the County Board of Commissioners voted to raise our taxes and announced they will be releasing details of an audit of the county’s finances this evening.” Mercer County Executive candidate Lisa Richford said, “The thing is we should not be raising taxes on residents who are already among the highest taxed, 16th as a percentage of median income, in the nation.”
Richford continued, “Families are tightening their belts, our government should be doing the same. Instead they choose to point the finger of blame at the county’s former Chief Financial Officer. That’s not leadership!”
“Mercer County’s next Executive needs to understand that we cannot tax our way out of our problems, especially living in the era of Bidenomics.” Richford added, “Real leadership and transparency in the government’s budget process along with innovative ideas to solve our problems are what will win the day for the people of Mercer County.”
“The mere fact that we are looking forward to this evening’s release of an audit of county finances demonstrates the need to end single-party rule in Mercer County,” Richford said. “Mercer County’s column B team will end single-party rule and bring innovative leadership to Mercer County.”
Please see below for some of the trending topics and messaging suggestions in the Garden State from NJGOP for your use. - Alex
NJ DEMOCRATS & YOU: UNAFFORDABLE TOGETHER
Top Line: New Jerseyans are already struggling with the state’s high cost of living, and Murphy’s electric vehicle mandate is set to become yet another financial albatross on the backs of taxpayers.
NJBIA, saying EV mandate will hurt economy and perpetuate income inequality, launches campaign to stop Murphy mandate
ROI-NJ
“While we can all work to reduce carbon emissions, the ban of gas-powered cars in such an expedited time frame will put a heavy strain on the limited resources of families, businesses, government and our utilities,” Cantor said. “Electric vehicles and hybrids are much more expensive than gas-powered cars up front, without even mentioning the added costs of home charging stations and volatile electricity prices. Federal and state subsidies don’t make up for those added costs, and they will not be around forever. These increases unfairly target our most vulnerable residents who need reliable transportation. “This mandate cannot and should not cripple our communities and businesses, exacerbate income inequality in our state and remove our basic freedoms of choice for a proposal where the disadvantages outweigh any potential or perceived benefits.”
MURPHY’S TWISTED PRIORITIES IN EDUCATION
Top Line: For Democrats who are apparently so “concerned” with the latest vote from the Board of Education or otherwise silent on Murphy suing school districts, a special session in Trenton is their last opportunity to stand up for parents and kids before the November elections.
Assemblyman DiMaio calls for special session to protect parental rights
WRNJ Radio
“This is nothing less than state-sanctioned lying by omission. If schools can withhold information about some students from their parents, they can withhold information about all students,” DiMaio (R-Warren) said…“The aggressive stance the Murphy administration has taken on keeping information from parents about their own children should concern everyone,” DiMaio said. “Fathers, mothers and guardians must be protected from this gross government overreach and be free to do what is best for their own children. Except in the worst of circumstances where true harm may occur and proper investigations have been completed, no government bureaucrat should be making such decisions on behalf of any child.”
DEMOCRATS CONTINUE TO WHITEWASH WHALES WASHING ASHORE
Top Line: As long as Orsted keeps greasing the palms of Trenton Democrats, our pristine shoreline will become a thing of the past. Only a Republican check on one-party rule this November can stop them.
Revealed! This is what the NJ windfarms may look like from the beach
NJ 101.5
The windfarm developer and advocates of the renewable energy plan say such a sight will be minimal and rare. But officials representing residents along the the Jersey Shore, many of whom are fighting the proposed developments in the courts of law and public opinion, say proponents are downplaying how the massive project might mar one of the most beautiful sights of the Garden State.
Orsted’s offshore wind farm plans in New Jersey still moving forward despite financial tumble
KYW Newsradio
Orsted officials noted, however, that they have not paused or delayed any of their plans in New Jersey. Construction on Ocean Wind 1 is still set to ramp up early next year.
Bucco: State should pause Murphy’s Energy Master Plan projects
ROI-NJ
“Ørsted’s recent announcement makes it abundantly clear that the offshore wind projects were rushed, based on political talking points,” Bucco (R-Denville) said. “Not only did Gov. Murphy disregard concerns about the environmental impact of offshore wind surveys, but he also showed no concern about the practical costs of implementing the project long-term.
Alex Wilkes
alex@njgop.org
Communications Director, NJGOP
Alex Wilkes | Communications Director
New Jersey Republican State Committee
By Ricky Suta, August 21 2023 11:48 am
The Republicans in the 14th legislative district unveiled their “StayNJ Today” plan, which would move the existing StayNJ plan’s start date from 2026 to 2024.
A 2026 start isn’t soon enough for State Senate candidate Patricia Johnson and Assembly candidates Adam Elias and Skye Gilmartin.
The plan, approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in June with bipartisan support, provides a 50% property tax credit for qualifying seniors, with accommodations to renters. Until StayNJ kicks in, the $250 tax rebate under the ANCHOR program remains in effect.
“The voters need representatives committed to taking action now while we have a $10 billion surplus, rather than making promises for a day that may never come,” Johnson said.
Although all but two Republicans in the legislature voted to pass the StayNJ plan, the delay in the program’s start date has been a concern among Republicans in the legislature since the legislation was first introduced.
“Republicans in both the Senate and Assembly moved to amend the bill to take effect now, and the Democrats rejected the amendment because they were never serious about helping our seniors in the first place,” said Elias.
State Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) and Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) voted for the StayNJ plan and will headline a town hall on the tax relief program this Wednesday in Monroe.
Elias, Gilmartin overcome off-the-line challenge from Shah
By Joey Fox, June 06 2023 9:26 pm
The Republican organizational candidates for two Assembly seats in the 14th legislative district, Adam Elias and former Hightstown Councilwoman Skye Gilmartin, have won their Republican primary against challenger Bina Shah, the New Jersey Globe projects.
As of 9:25 p.m. and with only mail-in ballots reported, Elias and Gilmartin have 46% and 45% of the vote, respectively, while Shah has just 8%.
Shah, who was one of the district’s Republican Assembly nominees in both 2019 and 2021, attempted to get the county line this year but was rebuffed. Undeterred, she filed to run off-the-line anyways, but she never raised much money or drew attention to her campaign.
Elias and Gilmartin, alongside Senate candidate Patricia Johnson, will now confront a difficult general election in the Democratic-leaning district. Though Republicans began the cycle with hopes of competing in tough districts like the 14th, the district’s Democratic slate – State Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro), Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton), and Tennille McCoy – appears to be in a strong position to win.
Tricks of the Trade: The Trenton Tax Trap | Elias
July 8, 2023 Adam J. Elias Taxes 0
From its inception, the senior tax credit plan introduced earlier this month by Democrats in the Legislature has been called several things, from reverse robin hood, to smoke and mirrors, election year politics at its worst, or simply nothing more than a trick to give Trenton lawmakers a victory lap in their districts as they recess for summer and campaign for reelection in November.
Reasonable minds can differ on whether the plan is good policy, but here is a question worth asking our representatives: is the plan even enforceable? Not at all.
The New Jersey Constitution limits the powers of the Governor and State Legislature to spend our tax dollars in two ways: The Appropriations Clause and the Debt Limitation Clause. The Appropriations Clause allows the Legislature to submit an appropriations bill to the Governor reflecting a “negotiated” budget for the upcoming fiscal year, with a balance of enough revenue to cover the wish list of expenses outlined in the bill. Our government cannot set aside a specific dollar amount for future budget years and tie the hands of future legislators who may find themselves dealing with unanticipated economic setbacks like a recession, or a pandemic.
The Debt Limitation Clause requires any newly proposed state debt amounting to more than 1% of the year’s budget to be submitted directly to the voters by referendum. By applying both of these principles to the Democrat StayNJ plan, specifically how the plan is supposed to be funded with annual increasing sums of hundreds of millions of dollars set aside in a “lockbox,” it is clear that the tax relief plan is nothing more than a pinky promise to set aside money “subject to” the State Treasurer’s approval and can be broken as early as next year’s budget season, well before the delayed start date of January 2026 as the next Governor is getting settled in at Drumthwacket.
This is the same reason why many state workers will never see their pensions, or at least as much of it as anticipated. In 1997, Governor Whitman suspended the State’s contribution to the pension funds in exchange for granting public employees a “non-forfeitable” right to their pensions, which was meaningless.
After Democrat Governors McGreevey, Codey and Corzine continued to suspend these payments with the blessing of a Democrat-controlled Legislature, Chapter 78 was enacted in 2011, phasing in the State’s obligation to fund the pensions for the first time in 15 years. While beach bum Chris Christie is often blamed for “screwing public workers” and taking more out of their pockets, voters should remember that it was the Democrat-controlled Legislature—the same folks promising senior tax relief—that voted to increase employee contributions in exchange for a “contractual right” to the State funding their pensions.
The New Jersey Supreme Court later ruled in 2015 that any such contract would violate both the Appropriations Clause and the Debt Limitation Clause and likewise amounts to another pinky promise by Democrats.
Herein lies the Trenton tax trap. Governor Murphy has followed through on that promise for the past six years. But for how long (if ever) can the State deliver on promises to our public employees AND our seniors? It is unsustainable, that is, without breaking another promise to the rest of New Jersey: more taxes.
It may be worthwhile to start considering whether the “Next New Jersey” needs the next New Jersey Constitutional Convention to overhaul the status quo. A Constitution that lays out protections for public employee pension benefits and/or senior property tax cuts, both of which can already be found in other states. A Constitution that restructures our State obligations and ties school funding to alternative, more equitable revenue sources like income taxes, as proposed every year for the past five years by Republican lawmakers. Most importantly, a Constitution that provides for a full-time legislature subject to reasonable term limits, spending its time wisely solving our State’s ever worsening problems rather than staving off retirement until the next pay raise.
In the meantime, with just four months left to go for an election with all 120 seats in the Legislature on the ballot, voters must give major consideration to a desperately needed overhaul of the Statehouse roster.
Testa obliterates Ørsted bailout on ‘Fox & Friends’ (savejersey.com)
A $2 billion wind farm bailout cleared the New Jersey legislature last week, one which isn’t only corrupt but guaranteed to increase energy costs rather than lower them.
On Wednesday, State Senator Mike Testa Jr. (R-1) joined Fox & Friends to explain why throwing billions at a foreign company is an indefensibly stupid idea.
Pappas Says Zwicker Overreaches on
State Control of Local Libraries
Urges Age-appropriate Books
Decided Locally with Parental Involvement
May 22, 2023
Branchburg – Mike Pappas, candidate for New Jersey State Senate, today offered comments regarding Sen. Andrew Zwicker’s sponsorship of legislation that would directly connect State funding for public libraries and School District libraries to traditionally local decision making.
“Andrew Zwicker wants to sensationalize this into a conversation about book banning. I am not advocating banning books. However, there should be age-appropriate standards that are decided locally with the vital input from parents. The legitimate concerns of many parents, local educators and librarians could be summarily dismissed if Andrew Zwicker has his way. He seems to have determined that parents and local communities are incapable of making decisions that are in the best interests of their children and students,” said Pappas.
“The public policy advocated by a national library organization has been offered as the leading authority to be followed. I am sure this group has important professional perspectives but parental responsibility and parental rights should be supported and not negated,” stated Pappas.
“Parents should be given every opportunity to be involved in the education of their children and the State government should not take the heavy-handed approach that Mr. Zwicker wants. He is trying to confuse the issue and divert attention away from his extreme position that places greater control in the hands of State government that is insulated from parents and communities,” said Pappas.
“I urge Andrew Zwicker to step forward and join me in respecting and supporting parental responsibility. I urge him to support age-appropriate books and educational materials for school-age children. Grammar school-age children, such as first and second graders, are not taught algebra or geometry, they are taught basic arithmetic such as addition and subtraction. This should hold true for all educational materials,” concluded Pappas.
# # #
Michael Pappas
Candidate for New Jersey State Senate
P.O. Box 5016, North Branch, NJ 08876
District 16
Pappas Highlights $13 Million Impact to South Brunswick School District Due to Andrew Zwicker’s Inaction
May 15, 2023
Branchburg – Mike Pappas, candidate for New Jersey State Senate, today issued the following statement concerning impact to the South Brunswick School District:
“When Andrew Zwicker was given the chance to vote to restore full funding for school districts due to the S2 school funding formulas, he abstained from voting – twice! When given the chance to vote to use some of the State’s $10 billion budget surplus, his decisions to abstain on March 10 and 30, 2023, are prompting these scenarios in school districts throughout New Jersey.
The South Brunswick School District, his hometown, is reported to expect a $13 million shortfall,” said Pappas.
See attached article from South Brunswick Patch
south brunswick schools could be in financial jeopardy in 2024-25, saynofficials - Search (bing.com)
“When it mattered to his constituents, Andrew Zwicker was absent. He chose to ignore the needs of the people he actually represents in Trenton,” concluded Pappas.
# # #
Michael Pappas
Candidate for New Jersey State Senate
P.O. Box 5016, North Branch, NJ 08876
District 16
Governor Murphy: Do Your Damn Job and End the Rutgers Strike
April 13, 2023, 9:24 pm
New Jersey’s 14th legislative district is situated in close proximity to Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus. Consequently, the current strike by Rutgers University employees is having a disproportionate impact on many families in the district with students just a few weeks away from concluding the spring semester or graduating college.
Today, Adam J. Elias, candidate for the General Assembly in the 14th legislative district, called on Governor Murphy to take more deliberate steps to end the strike and get faculty back to work with their students.
https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/governor-murphy-do-your-damn-job-and-end-the-rutgers-strike/
March was an incredibly successful month for our campaign team. I received the nomination to be Hamilton's Republican Mayoral candidate from the Hamilton Township Republican Committee, along with my running mates Michael Chianese & Gino Melone for Council.
Our team knocked on doors along the St. Patrick's Day Parade route, secured an overwhelming amount of signatures to get on the ballot, and built out our team.
We had a wildly positive reception at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, meeting new faces and neighbors from around the town, giving out almost 3,000 stickers, and putting out dozens of lawn signs.
Our campaign had our first KICKOFF event at the Hibernians. Over 125+ supporters and friends attended our first event, kicking off our fundraising efforts in a big way.
And we are regularly attending community events in town, supporting our fellow Hamiltonians and our community.
We are just getting started - there is plenty of work to be done. Thank you to everyone for lending a hand or donating to make our efforts a success. We are very excited for all April will bring & we look forward to seeing you all on the campaign trail.
Every dollar will make the difference in this race. We need your help. Please consider making a donation HERE - Support - Friends of Marty Flynn (anedot.com)
Mike Pappas for State Senate
March 30, 2023
Branchburg – Mike Pappas, candidate for New Jersey State Senate, urges legislators to restore full funding for school districts while the State Senate is in session today.
“Ten days ago, the Senate met and considered several measures concerning State aid to school districts. Senator Declan O’Scanlon offered an amendment that would restore full funding but it failed to gain a majority vote. Andrew Zwicker could have supported it but he did not. He says he wants to help this District but when given the chance to do so he just does not,” said Pappas.
“The decisions legislators make reflect their priorities. The State has a $10 billion surplus, yet Sen. Zwicker cannot seize the opportunity to put our school districts ahead of his commitment to his party’s leadership and their expectations of him to vote the party line. If I was a member of the State Senate, I would work overtime to ensure that full funding to our school districts is restored,” said Pappas
“Today is another opportunity for Andrew Zwicker to do the right thing. Let’s see what he does,” concluded Pappas.
Zwicker has been a member of the legislature for many years. Under his watch, Zwicker has allowed a record level of cuts in state education aid. South Brunswick cut $7.9 million; Hillsborough slashed by over $4.4 million, Hunterdon Central lost over $1.1 million. Another 16th District community impacted is Flemington-Raritan Regional.
# # #
Paid for by Mike Pappas for State Senate – James Weideli, Treasurer, 23 Forest Ave., Bridgewater, NJ 08807Michael Pappas
Candidate for New Jersey State Senate
P.O. Box 5016, North Branch, NJ 08876
An epic evening was held in Hamilton, Mercer County, New Jersey last evening where the Mercer County Republican Delegates selected their 2023 Candidates. It is my pleasure and privilege to announce the following outstanding Mercer GOP 2023 endorsed candidates for our June 2023 Primary:
Candidates for LD 16:
Michael Pappas - Senate
Ross Traphagen - Assembly
Grace Zhang - Assembly
Candidates for LD 15:
Roger Locandro - Senate
Michael Hurtado - Assembly
Candidates for LD 14:
Pat Johnson - Senate
Adam Elias - Assembly
Skye Gilmartin - Assembly
Mercer County:
Bryan "Bucky" Boccanfuso For Sheriff
Joseph Stillwell - Commissioner
Denise Turner - Commissioner
Respectfully yours,
Lisa Richford, Chair
MCRC
P.O. Box 10535
Hamilton, NJ 08650
609-954-6273
lisa@lisarichford.com
Hamilton Republicans came together on February 28 at their municipal convention to select candidates for the 2023 election. The group of over 100 Republicans were excited to select candidates that can win in November and help Hamilton.
Marty Flynn was selected as candidate for Mayor. Marty brings great experience and qualifications for the position. Marty spent seven years on the leadership team in Hamilton as Director of Economic Development and Director of Health, Recreation, Senior and Veterans Service. Marty was responsible for record economic development projects which brought Hamilton nine major projects resulting in over 4,000 jobs for Hamilton. Marty also had several leadership positions in local schools including Director of Athletics for West Windsor-Plainsboro School District as well as Nottingham High School.
Gino Melone and Mike Chianese were selected as candidates for the Hamilton Township Council.
Gino was a councilman in Trenton for 16 with a strong reputation for constituent service. Gino is retired with 35 years of service with Mercer County Government. Last Department within the County Government was with The Mercer County Division of Consumer Affairs. Gino has a strong background in public service.
Mike has been involved with local government for many years including being a fire commissioner in Hamilton and chair of the Hamilton Republican party. Mike has recently retired from a successful career at the State of New Jersey with management positions in facility operations and new construction in the Department of Information Technology, Department of Public Safety and Department of Treasury.
Come support the candidates in the upcoming elections to restore Hamilton’s community.
Your tax dollars hard at work.
The New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller has released a report revealing Mercer County paid almost $4.5 million in penalties and interest for delinquent tax filings and payments between 2018 and 2021.
According to the report, the Democratic-controlled county's Finance Department regularly failed to make adequate and timely payroll tax payments to both the Internal Revenue Service as well as the New Jersey Division of Taxation.
Read More: New report: Mercer County NJ wasted millions in taxpayer dollars | https://nj1015.com/new-report-finds-mercer-county-nj-wasted-millions-of-taxpayer-dollars/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
Completed ballots strewn across the floor at a polling facility in Mercer County on November 8, 2022. (Photo: Obtained by the New Jersey Globe).
By David Wildstein, November 10 2022 8:54 pm
The missing ballots from three voting districts in Princeton and one in Robbinsville were found today at the Mercer County Board of Elections, where they had been since Election Day, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.
This is just one problem in a disastrous Election Day operation that started with every polling location in Mercer County. County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello has asked the Mercer County Prosecutor to launch an investigation.
The Robbinsville ballots were counted today and the Princeton ballots are set to be counted on Friday.
A small number of additional ballots were found inside voting machines when they were opened today. Superior Court Judge William Anklowitz signed an order this morning authorizing the machines to be opened.
Voters across the Mercer County were told to vote using paper ballots on Election Day after a programming glitch rendered the Dominion optical scanner as unusable. The ballots were dropped into the machine’s storage bin and collected by a team of one Democrat and one Republican.
Mercer County Superintendent of Elections Nathaniel Walker will keep his office open on Friday, a state holiday, and this weekend, to continue counting ballots.
Great Day in Hamilton, Bob Healey greeting large group of Young Republicans helping get the word out
Jack Ciattarelli joined the group at their lunch break.
MERCER COUNTY REPUBLICAN CAPITAL CLUB
REPUBLICAN HEADQUARTERS
P.O. Box 10535
HAMILTON, JERSEY 08650
mercernjgop.com
December 21, 2020
Subject: 2021 Mercer County Republican Capital Club Membership
Dear Fellow Republicans:
These are challenging and difficult times for our Republic. I am writing to ask that you to join the Mercer County Republican team that is energized and committed to supporting and electing Republicans to office. We are working on recruiting quality and qualified candidates for years to come. The best way for you to do that is by joining the Capital Club and also by supporting our next event.
I have been excited to see the outpouring of support from all corners of the County and the State. If you are a Mercer County Republican Committee person, I am asking that each Committee person make an additional vested minimum donation of $100.00 or whatever you are able to, to the club. By becoming vested, you will become a valuable member of the team. No amount is too small in these unique times where we are unable to gather to have traditional fundraisers and share time together with one another. As a member, you will also receive invitations to Capital Club events that will allow you to interact at this time virtually with County and State political leaders. Your membership will also help to fund County Republican operations and support campaigns throughout Mercer County.
In closing, I ask that you support the Mercer County Republican Party by joining and or renewing your membership to the Mercer County Republican Capital Club. Application attached, please make your check out to “Mercer County Republican Capital Club” and return to: Mercer County Republican Capital Club, P.O. Box 10535, Hamilton, NJ 08650.
Thank you for your time, consideration and support of the MCRC and I look forward to working with you to elect Republicans to all levels of government.
Sincerely,
Lisa Richford, Esq.
Chair, Mercer County Republican Committee
Paid for by MCRC, P.O. Box 10535, Hamilton, NJ 08650
MERCER COUNTY REPUBLICAN CAPITAL CLUB
Mailing address: P.O. Box 10535, Hamilton, NJ 08650
2021 MEMBERSHIP and RENEWAL
Membership in the Mercer County Republican Capital Club is one of the easiest and most important ways to show your support for the Republican Party. As a member you will have the opportunity to meet informally with both political and government leaders, all while building the Republican Party throughout Mercer County. The Capital Club membership entitles you to attend at no charge two events during the year sponsored by the Club.
Name: _______________________________________________________________________
Email address: ______________________@________ . ________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________
City: _________________________ State: ________ Zip: ____________________________
Phone: Work: _________________ Cell: ___________________ Home: _________________
Occupation: _____________________________ Employer: ____________________________
Employer’s address: _____________________________________________________________
Referred by: (optional) __________________________________________________________
Enclosed is my check for my 2020 membership:
Single: $175 ______ Joint: $275 _______ Sponsor: $500 ________ Director: $1000 ______
I am unable to join now, but my contribution is enclosed $__________.
YES, I would like to volunteer: ________
Paid for by MCRC, Cynthia Simon, Treasurer
P.O. Box 10535, Hamilton, NJ 08650
The Mercer County Republican Committee's mission is to promote conservative ideals of limited government, individual freedom and traditional American values by electing Republican leaders.
2020 is an important year to elect Republican leaders. Check out our site and get involved.
Mercer County Republican Committee Consitution
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