Bergen County Republican Organization’s Back Room Deal a “corrupt and outdated practice worthy of an episode from Boardwalk Empire.”

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

MAHWAH NJ,  Frank Pallotta, Republican Candidate for New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District, made the following statement in response to Bergen County Republican Organization (“BCRO”) Chairman Jack Zisa’s unilateral decision to award the line to perennial loser and indebted candidate John McCann:

“I am appalled that Jack Zisa would exploit a global crisis to unceremoniously award his buddy John McCann the Republican line. Under the circumstances, there is no reason why this matter could not have been decided fairly in an open primary, allowing all Bergen Republicans to have a voice. Our campaign has the resources and the grassroots energy on its side, which is why this shady, backroom deal was done.”

He continued: “We will be marshaling our energy to creating our own slate because we think New Jersey’s Fifth District Republicans deserve more than just another suicide mission from a failed candidate who failed to meaningfully campaign or raise any money.”

Center For Garden State Families also chimed in  , “the Chairman of the failed Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) took a backwards step, an apparent attempt to ensure that Democrat Nancy Pelosi will remain Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, by giving his county’s “line” to John McCann, a failed GOP candidate from 2018. Make no mistake about it, McCann had the poorest showing of any Republican candidate in the history of the 5th district. He is also a half million dollars in debt from his 2018 campaign. And his campaign team from 2018 has been convicted in federal court and packed off to prison.

While people can behave irrationally, the action of the Chairman of the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) appears to be a clear attempt to deliver the 5^th congressional district to the Democrats once again. This is a district that was won by Donald Trump in 2016 and Bob Hugin in 2018.

A candidate as weak as McCann is, with no money, and debt on top of that, will be an assist to every Democrat congressional candidate in the state, as the money necessary for a Democrat to hold this Republican seat can now flow freely to Districts 02, 03, 04, 07, and 11. It simply isn’t rational.

It is time for the Republican Party in New Jersey to seriously consider the ramifications of allowing party bosses to put their thumbs on the scales of democracy through the use of the county “line”. We urge you to establish a commission to study and review this plainly corrupt and outdated practice worthy of an episode from Boardwalk Empire.”