The sale of $1.15 billion in bonds to fund the remaining construction of the American Dream Meadowlands shopping and entertainment complex will not take place as scheduled on Friday, a state official said Wednesday.
But Wayne Hasenbalg, the president of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which owns the land where the $5.2 billion project is being built, added that he does not foresee any impediments to a closing taking place within the next 30 days.
Media Pile-On Tries to Discredit, Unseat NJ Republican by Smearing Oath Keepers as The Democrats and their media amplifiers get their cover from a New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness “analysis,” claiming: The militia movement is decentralized, but it has two large followings—the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters. Both have members who justify the use of violence to counter perceived threats or violations to the US Constitution.
Media Pile-On Tries to Discredit, Unseat NJ Republican by Smearing Oath Keepers as Terrorists
“The truth?” a political attack ad for Democrat New Jersey Congressional challenger and former Bill Clinton speechwriter Josh Gottheimer against incumbent Republican Scott Garrett asks. “Newspapers just caught Garrett at a fund-raiser with the leader of a home-grown terrorist militia group.”
A Clinton-backer promising truth should be all the red flags we need.
The “terrorist militia group”? That would be Oath Keepers, assuming you can believe those newspapers, which appear to be doing everything they can to sway the electorate into accepting a political narrative that folds under minimal scrutiny. Witness recent headlines:
“Republican Chairman of Wall Street Committee Held Fundraiser with Official from ‘Domestic Terrorist’ Group,” Joshua Green of Bloomberg Business Week “reports.” (Yes, that Bloomberg.)
“Garrett event promoter tied to extremists,” NorthJersey.com weighs in. “Forget Wall Street banksters. Scott Garrett has new friends, on a terror list,” NJ.com echoes and embellishes.
Sensing political opportunity and more headlines, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg has called on Gov. Chris Christie to “denounce Garrett for his ties to the domestic terror organization” and on New Jersey’s attorney general to investigate if “Garrett violated New Jersey law, adding “In the wake of homegrown terror attacks – like the ones in Elizabeth, New York, and Seaside Park – the citizens of New Jersey deserve to know the full extent of Congressman Garrett’s connections to this terrorist organization.”
Yes, that’s Loretta Weinberg of “Confiscate, confiscate, confiscate” notoriety.
As an aside, it’s curious that Weinberg was referring to Islamist “domestic terror” acts with the principle suspect being one of those “refugees” Democrats are bound and determined to seed and embed throughout the Republic. Any connection to Oath Keepers was left (purposely) unstated, because there is none, and because the agenda here is to destroy them.
Which makes it fair to ask what the Democrat politicians and their “news media” publicists are talking about, and what else they’ve gotten wrong in their ceaseless, agenda-driven mission to conflate, smear, misinform and confuse. The answer is pretty much everything.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – State election officials said Tuesday they have seen no evidence of voter fraud and are not concerned the system is compromised despite unsubstantiated claims by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that balloting in the U.S. is rigged.
“I am a Republican, and I have 1,000 percent faith in the New Jersey election system,” Hunterdon County Clerk Mary Melfi said.
Phyllis Pearl, the Camden County superintendent of elections for nearly 15 years, said she has “never had problems with voter fraud.”
“As an election official, I take it personally. I’m here to maintain integrity of elections for voters and for all candidates regardless of party,” said Pearl, who was appointed by former Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.
By Alyana Alfaro • 10/12/16 4:50pm
Manuel Alfonso is running for sheriff in Bergen County. (Photo: Manuel Alfonso)
Manny Alfonso, the Republican challenger in the Bergen County sheriff race, on Wednesday accused incumbent Mike Saudino of what he termed “grant deception.” According to Alfonso, Saudino “will never make good on his promise to reduce department spending by $200 million.”
In his statement, Alfonso went on to say that Democrats’ claims that they can save “up to $200 million in Bergen County by disbanding the county police force” are false. Alfonso also said that “the sheriff has increased spending year after year.”
Saudino’s campaign spokesperson Matt Bonasia issued the following response to Alfonso’s claims: “Manny Alfonso is entitled to have his own opinions but he is not entitled to create his own facts. These claims are outright fabrications from a desperate candidate who knows he is going to lose in November. If Manny Alfonso stuck with the facts he would be forced to admit that Sheriff Saudino has saved the taxpayers of Bergen County over $4 million through the realignment while improving public safety and that he has reduced overtime by 40% and saved $5 million since 2011 by cutting unnecessary spending.”
“This article is desperate and ridiculous at best. Rather than attack Scott Garrett for attending a meet and great with constituents at a diner in River Edge why won’t my democratic colleagues condemn and demand the return of tens of millions of dollars received by the Clinton Foundation from countries which promote awful human rights violations against women and gay people such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates.” Assemblywomen Holly Schepisi 39th District
Weinberg Calls on AG to Investigate Garrett’s Ties to Domestic Terror Organization
By Max Pizarro • 10/11/16 1:36pm
Democrats smell blood in the 5th Congressional district, where GOP discombobulation has incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage) blowing the whistle on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and seeking to harden his own brand.
That’s a troublesome brand in its own right, according to Senate Majority leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), who today demanded that Governor Chris Christie denounce Garrett for his ties to the domestic terror organization, the Oath Keepers.
Weinberg, moreover, also called on New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino to conduct an investigation into whether Garrett violated New Jersey law.
Ridgewood NJ, the press is finally starting to recognize that Josh Gottheimer is a political insider trying to use his Clinton connections to buy a congressional seat. New media reports blast him as a “Clinton lackey” whose resume is merely a “revolving door with the Clintons.”It seems for all his bravado Josh Gottheimer is nothing more than a cog in the Clinton machine and only in Bergen to execute on Clinton business.
Clinton Foundation. Josh Gottheimer has filed no public registrations about the clients he represented during the four years he served as Executive Vice President for Burson-Marsteller. (Josh Gottheimer, LinkedIn, Accessed 8/29/16)
Clinton Connections. “[T]he collection of Clinton associates aiding Mr. Gottheimer is striking in its breadth.” (Alexander Burns, “Protégé of Clintons Takes On Congressman in New Jersey,” The New York Times, 12/26/15)
Clinton Cash. “A review of his filings found that about one dollar in six came directly from fellow alumni of the Clinton White House and campaigns — many of whom are scattered across powerful companies like Time Warner Inc., Bloomberg L.P. and Goldman Sachs — or from major donors and employees of consulting firms tied closely to the Clintons.” (Alexander Burns, “Protégé of Clintons Takes On Congressman in New Jersey,” The New York Times, 12/26/15)
Ford job, courtesy of the Clintons. From Bill Clinton’s White House and Hillary’s Clinton’s campaign, Gottheimer then went to Ford Motor Company, a client of Clinton confidant Mark Penn. (Josh Gottheimer, LinkedIn, Accessed 8/29/16)
Gottheimer’s Ford Failure Resulted in the Loss of At Least 34,000 Jobs And the Closing of 14 Manufacturing Facilities. “‘It’s not a time when everything is rosy,’ says Josh Gottheimer, director of strategic communications.” (Theresa Howard, “Bill Ford Takes Chamois To Namesake Automaker’s Image,” USA Today, 4/17/06)
Burson-Marsteller job, courtesy of the Clintons. After failing spectacularly at Ford, Gottheimer jumped ship to Burson-Marstellar, thanks to Penn’s new role as CEO.(David Shepardson, “Top Ford Political And PR Strategist Departs,” The Detroit News, 11/6/06)
Black Hole: Josh Gottheimer has filed no public registrations about the clients he represented during the four years he served as Executive Vice President for Burson-Marsteller.
FCC job, courtesy of the Clintons. Gottheimer coincidentally joined the FCC right as Penn/Burson client LightSquared petitioned the agency for a waiver. Both the media and Members of Congress noted Gottheimer’s lack of credentials for this job, and the US Senate ultimately investigated Gottheimer for impropriety.
POLITICO: “The FCC will announce today that Josh Gottheimer, executive VP at PR firm Burson-Marstellar, will become senior counselor to Julius Genachowski. Gottheimer…doesn’t have a Capitol Hill background.” (Kim Hart And Tony Romm, “A Big New FCC Hire: Gottheimer To Become Senior Counselor To Genachowski,” Politico, 6/23/10)
Sen. Chuck Grassley: “On June 23, 2010, you announced that Mr. Joshua Gottheimer would be appointed as your Senior Counselor with a special responsibility towards implementing President Obama’s National Broadband Plan. Given the complicated technical issues at play, I was surprised that Mr. Gottheimer’s published qualifications did not include any telecommunications or broadband experience.”(Senator Chuck Grassley, “Letter To FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski,” United States Senate, 1/30/11)
Microsoft job, courtesy of the Clintons. After ascandal-plagued tenure at the FCC, Gottheimer once again followed Clinton confidant Mark Penn, this time to Microsoft. (Nick Wingfield And Claire Cain Miller, “A Political Brawler, Now Battling for Microsoft,” The New York Times, 12/15/12)
Ridgewood NJ, Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld recent behaviors seems out of step with the The Faulkner Act, the municipal charter the Village of Ridgewood is organized around .
According to Wikipedia , The Faulkner Act, or Optional Municipal Charter Law, provides for New Jersey municipalities to adopt a mayor–council government.
This form of government provides for election of a mayor and five, seven, or nine council members. All council members may be elected at large, or some may be elected by wards; they may be partisan or nonpartisan, and serve four-year concurrent or staggered terms. There may be up to ten administrative departments.
As in all Faulkner Act municipalities, citizens in the mayor–council system enjoy the right of initiative and referendum, meaning that proposed ordinances can be introduced directly by the people without action by the local governing body. This right is exercised by preparing a conforming petition signed by 10% of the registered voters who turned out in the last general election in an odd-numbered year. Once the petition is submitted, the local governing body can vote to pass the requested ordinance, and if it refuses, it is then submitted directly to the voters. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faulkner_Act_mayor%E2%80%93council)
While Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld was introduced with much over the top hype reader quickly concluded that she was more of a partisan hack than a Village Manager .
Readers say Honeymoon Over for the New Village manager
I knew someone would get around to blaming Gabbert. Its not the council fault when something goes wrong. They only take the credit when something goes right and that is far and few.
This is the same Roberta Sonenfeld who was getting such praise when she was appointed.Looks like the “partisan hack” criticism was all true .
So what your saying is that are new hand pick Village Manager didn’t notify the Council because the past Village Manager had an arranged it that way. Really. A Village Manage with any background on that intersection should have brought it to the Council especially when they live on the West Side and should be familiar with that route. This is not on the job training. Next you are going to tell us that our mayor is going to use a page from our president book. “I only found out about this when he watched the news.” Pleasehttps://theridgewoodblog.net/readers-say-honey-moonover-for-the-new-village-manager/
This election cycle seems to have brought out everyone’s worst fears bordering on out and out interference with the electoral process.
Whether its disrupting petition drives or making nasty comments on Facebook Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld has been to many acting out of step with the previous nonpartisan nature of the Village government .
Reader , “Roberta has been ‘liking’ nasty posts on Facebook. Looks like gloves are completely off with her and she is fully in campaign mode. This is the lowest point in village history that I have seen in over 15 years. Village Managers have never been so much active in politics and elections.”
A judge on Tuesday shot down former Bergen County Democratic Party leader Joseph A. Ferriero’s bid to remain free while he appeals his federal corruption conviction, setting the stage for his surrender on Thursday to begin serving a nearly three-year prison sentence. Peter J. Sampson, The Record Read more
file photo by Boyd Loving , Council majority ie the 3 Amigos
Good morning-
Here is the Letter to the Editor Jim wrote that wasn’t printed this past wknd.
February 17, 2016
Letter to the Editor
What is really going on?
The Town Council voted 3-2 on February 10th to fund the Hudson Street Garage with the Bergen County Improvement Authority. Councilmembers Aronsohn, Pucciarelli and Hauck voted to turn the project over to the county.
Some questions to ponder:
If the goal is a functional, non-partisan government, WHY has our Mayor been off “forming a partnership” with the BCIA for 3 years?
If financial stewardship is important, WHY are we paying more to finance through the BCIA versus funding it ourselves?
If we are going to incur an obligation to the county of more than $10 million, WHY isn’t there a payment plan in place to pay off this obligation?
If we truly care about the look and feel of our historic downtown, WHY haven’t designs/renderings been shown to the taxpayers of Ridgewood?
If all 5 members of our Town Council are independent thinking stewards of our village, WHY haven’t Councilmembers Sedon and Knudsen been privy to all discussions and reports in a timely fashion?
If we want real informed input from our fellow residents, WHY was the Maser study, which showed the 12 feet encroachment into Hudson St., thereby narrowing Hudson to 18 feet, not made public until after the November referendum, when the Village Manager had it on her desk in October?
If the upcoming election isn’t a factor, WHY are Councilmembers Aronsohn, Pucciarelli and Hauck in such a rush to fund this with Bergen County?
Too many unanswered questions.
Lets make sure we have answers before it’s too late.
Ridgewood Nj, If you read the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce’s ad in TRN, one of the big bullet points is that the bond would not count against Ridgewood’s bond rating. This is horrible for several reasons: 1) It’s similar to a child using their parent’s credit card. That lets the child run up more credit on their own. 2) The BCIA has a position of power over the Village’s decisions 3) The bonding through the BCIA is a political nod to Aronsohn’s Democrat buddies for future personal political advancement. 4) The actual cost to own the building outright is significantly higher. This deal stinks to the high heavens. Mr. Vagianos, please go back to being a restaurateur and serve all the people – not just the ones who’ll build you a garage a block from your business.
I am new to Ridgewood, so here comes a newbie question –
Were previous village managers also as politically active as the current one? i.e. supporting and promoting specific council members and their agenda, and withholding information from other council members? Shouldn’t that be a politically neutral position?
I have wondered why the village manager ,Roberta Sonenfeld has been such a vocal supporter for the council.
In the past is was a low key position, the managers just did their job.
Schoenfield was a member of the self proclaimed “Tiger Team” that worked as a self-important financial advisory committee. Now we have a permanent financial advisory committee that also is active in promoting the council projects. They are intertwined and hardly objective.
FEBRUARY 7, 2016 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016, 12:18 PM
BY JEAN RIMBACH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
It’s been a year since federal prosecutors quietly dropped a bombshell in the corruption trial of Joseph Ferriero, one that raised troubling questions about the justice system in Bergen County.
Without offering details, they alleged that a decade ago the onetime Democratic Party leader, since convicted on racketeering and fraud charges, had secretly received nearly $500,000 to influence the case of a Teaneck dermatologist accused of sexually assaulting two women patients. In a prosecution that still is surrounded by many questions, the doctor, Gangaram Ragi, was allowed to enter a program that spared him a trial on charges that could have yielded a prison sentence and lifetime registration as a sex offender. And while fining him and barring him from treating women, state licensing officials allowed him to continue his practice.
Since news broke of the government’s assertion — contained in court filings and court transcripts — and in the wake of a series of articles by The Record, the state has toughened its disciplinary process for doctors accused of sexual misconduct with patients.
JANUARY 29, 2016, 12:18 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016, 12:33 PM
BY PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Joseph A. Ferriero, the former leader of the Bergen County Democratic Organization, has been given another two weeks of freedom as a judge considers whether to grant him bail pending appeal of his racketeering conviction.
The 58-year-old Hackensack lawyer had been scheduled to report to prison authorities next Tuesday to begin serving a nearly three-year sentence imposed last month by U.S. District Judge Esther Salas.
But Salas on Thursday pushed back Ferriero’s surrender date to Feb. 16 as she continues to review his motion to remain free on bail while he challenges his conviction for racketeering and fraud.
Eight Bergen County employees have filed a federal lawsuit claiming they have been targeted for layoffs because of their previous support of former Republican County Executive Kathleen Donovan. John C. Ensslin, The Record Read more
DECEMBER 4, 2015, 11:47 AM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015, 6:16 PM
BY PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Sobbing as he pleaded for mercy and insisted he did nothing wrong, Joseph A. Ferriero, the once powerful leader of the Bergen County Democratic Party, was sentenced Friday to nearly three years in prison for using his political clout to profit from a kickback scheme involving government contracts.
“I understand the court has to accept the verdict,” Ferriero said, adding, “Not for a nanosecond did I think I was doing anything wrong.”
In retrospect, he said, he should have done things differently, but he insisted he never solicited bribes or accepted kickbacks.
U.S. District Judge Esther B. Salas imposed a 35-month prison term on the 58-year-old Hackensack lawyer during a two-hour hearing in federal court in Newark. She said he can self-surrender to prison authorities within 60 days.
Ferriero, who earlier this week lost a bid to set aside his conviction, is planning an appeal.
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