Cantor out in Tea Party Landslide shocker
June 10, 2014, 08:05 pm
By Russell Berman
Brat defeated Cantor, a six-term incumbent, despite having no experience in elected office and being outspent by nearly 20-to-1. The Associated Press called the race for Brat shortly after 8 p.m., an hour after polls closed in Virginia’s 7th District. Brat was leading Cantor, 56 percent to 44 percent, with 98 percent of precincts reporting.
For Cantor, the loss guillotines his fast rise through the House leadership, which many had expected would make him the first Jewish Speaker in history.
It is perhaps the most significant jolt to the Republican establishment since the emergence of the Tea Party in 2009. While conservative activists have ousted veteran Republicans such as Sens. Bob Bennett (Utah) and Richard Lugar (Ind.), a sitting majority leader has never been defeated in a primary election.
As recently as Friday, Cantor and his team projected confidence.
“I’m just not worried,” Cantor’s Richmond-based political adviser, Ray Allen, told The Hill. Cantor’s own polling showed him with a comfortable lead.
Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/208922-cantor-goes-down-to-tea-party-upset#ixzz34JqOhChZ
Tag: Election Day
So Who is Jeff Bell
So Who is Jeff Bell
Jeff Bell has worked at the highest levels of American politics and public policy for over forty years. In 1978, at age 34, he became the New Jersey Republican Party nominee for U.S. Senate when he defeated four-term incumbent Clifford Case. As the first major candidate to win on the theme of tax cuts, he produced television ads for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign using the same message. He later worked as an advocate for the bipartisan Tax Reform Act of 1986 with Jack Kemp and Bill Bradley, the man who defeated him in the 1978 general election.
A graduate of Columbia University, Jeff went on to serve in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, where he was an intelligence advisor to the South Vietnamese infantry during the Tet offensive. Upon returning home, he joined the national presidential campaign staff of Richard Nixon in 1968 and later went to work for Ronald Reagan in 1974. He developed Governor Reagan’s first proposals for federal tax and spending reduction when Reagan ran for president in 1976. During the 1980 campaign, Jeff was elected from New Jersey as a Reagan delegate to the Republican national convention.
From 1988-2000, Jeff served as president of Lehrman Bell Mueller Cannon Inc., an economic forecasting and consulting firm. From 2000-2010, he was a principal of Capital City Partners, where he worked on promoting comprehensive immigration reform, the Bush Administration’s faith-based initiatives, and combating human trafficking, among other issues. In 2009, he was among the co-founders of the American Principles Project, a public policy organization dedicated to advancing conservative ideas derived from the principles of the American founding. As Policy Director, he headed its monetary reform initiative aimed at renewing sound money by restoring the dollar’s value in gold. He resigned from that position in February 2014 to run for U.S. Senate.
Jeff is the author of two books, The Case for Polarized Politics: Why America Needs Social Conservatism (2012), for which he was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal and Rush Limbaugh, and Populism and Elitism: Politics in the Age of Equality (1992). His articles have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Weekly Standard, National Review, and various other outlets. He has served as a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy Institute of Politics, visiting professor at the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University, the DeWitt Wallace Fellow in Communications at the American Enterprise Institute, and as a board member of the American Conservative Union and Campaign Finance Institute. From 1978 to 1980, he served as the president of the Manhattan Institute.
Jeff and his wife Rosalie have been married since 1983 and have three sons and one daughter ranging in ages from 19 to 28 as well as a one-year-old granddaughter.
Booker campaign ready for another battle; challenger Bell says right issue can spur an upset
Booker campaign ready for another battle; challenger Bell says right issue can spur an upset
JUNE 4, 2014, 2:18 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2014, 11:19 PM
BY HERB JACKSON AND MICHAEL PHILLIS
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD
Democrat Cory Booker made a strategic decision before last year’s special U.S. Senate election not to engage his Republican opponent Steve Lonegan, and the conservative firebrand savaged the carefully polished image Booker had built during two terms as Newark’s mayor.
Though Booker won by 11 percentage points, the margin was seen as a disappointment.
This year will be different, Booker’s campaign manager, Brendan Gill, said Wednesday.
“We don’t want to just win, want to win decisively,” Gill said. “We want to make sure, as we have been, that Cory is paying close attention to issues in the state and spending lots of time in |the state.”
Instead of facing the hard-charging Lonegan, Booker will square off for a full six-year term against the more policy-focused Jeff Bell, who won Tuesday’s primary without the support of any of the county Republican organizations, just as he did in 1978 when he defeated Sen. Clifford Case, a moderate, in that year’s primary.
Bell, 70, moved back to New Jersey in February after 30 years in Virginia, where he worked for think tanks and advocacy groups, because he couldn’t persuade policymakers to take up what he sees as the solution to the nation’s economic problems: a return to the gold standard in setting the value of the dollar.
“The congressmen I was talking to and federal candidates were afraid and unwilling to take up the issue, so I felt that there was a chance that even with limited resources, that I could communicate the issue to average voters,” Bell said Wednesday.
Unofficial results showed Bell won 30 percent of the total vote against three opponents who also struggled to get attention.
“It is possible, if you have the right issue in the right year, to upset the incumbent U.S. senator of New Jersey,” he said at a news conference in Freehold, where he was endorsed by second-place finisher Richard Pezzullo.
“In order to get this fight going, I’m going to throw all of my support behind Jeff Bell,” said Pezzullo, who had refused to concede Tuesday night as unofficial tallies showed him with about 35,000 votes to Bell’s 42,000.
Brian D. Goldberg and Murray Sabrin, who finished third and fourth, respectively, also called Wednesday for the party to unite.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/second-place-finisher-endorses-bell-in-senate-race-against-booker-1.1028840#sthash.XCDNAAV0.dpuf
Three Lessons From Primary Night
Three Lessons From Primary Night
Jun. 04 Election 2014, Uncategorized no comments
By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
A few thoughts as the dust settles from Tuesday night:
(1) #NJSen: All other things being equal, targeting matters most…
Jeff Bell
We’re going to spend some time in the days ahead analyzing Jeff Bell‘s surprising U.S. Senate primary victory, Save Jerseyans, having defied conventional wisdom and won a plurality of the vote despite shunning the county convention circuit and carrying not a single line. Residual name recognition? Maybe a little. Benefiting from opponents’ mistakes? Sure, to a degree.
The most obvious explanation: solid targeting.
It’s all anecdotal, but I’ve heard from numerous reliable GOP primary voters living in different counties who reported hearing from only one candidate in their mailboxes over the past couple of weeks: Mr. Bell, a former Senate candidate and speech writer for Ronald Reagan who hasn’t resided in New Jersey for three decades prior to this instant contest but who is determined to make an issue out of monetary policy and, specifically, reviving the gold standard.
Notwithstanding institutional disadvantages (and a less-than-orthodox messaging strategy), Bell’s relatively modestly-priced targeted mail campaign apparently allowed him to win populous counties like Bergen and Morris where there wasn’t an awarded line and place a respectable second place in places like Atlantic where someone else had the line. The end result: a sub-30% win in a crowded field.
The Bell strategy likely would’ve come up short in a higher-turnout model or if any of Bell’s opponents had had real resources at their disposal but they didn’t, did they? So there you have it…
(2) #CD12: Bridgegate – or at least Chris Christie – is a winning issue among Democrats…
Bonnie Watson Coleman
This one’s pretty simple. New FDU poll results released Primary Day found Governor Chris Christie rocking a weak but “stabilized” 44% job approval rating in New Jersey. Reading deeper, however, leads to the discovery that Democrats continue to slip away from the Governor. Only about one quarters of Democrats approve of his performance; over 60% have adopted the opposite opinion, representing a major reversal from one year ago in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
Newly-minted CD12 nominee Bonnie Watson Coleman didn’t exactly anticipate this trend when she was forced to quit the SCI after baselessly and inappropriately calling for Chris Christie to resign. It worked for her all the same.
Oh, and that time that her major adversary told Mercer Democrats that they were her enemy? And then Mercer took her at her word and turned out 17,000 voters to defeat her? That also played a role (h/t Olivia Nuzzi).
– See more at: https://savejersey.com/2014/06/lonegan-macarthur-primary-new-jersey/#sthash.wsZrKVKG.dpuf
Bids for U.S. Senate, Congressional Seats Top Today’s Primary Ballot
Bids for U.S. Senate, Congressional Seats Top Today’s Primary Ballot
The U.S. Senate seat former Newark Mayor Cory Booker won last October tops today’s primary election, which will also determine which major party candidates will vie for all of New Jersey’s 12 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in November.
This year’s primary is more notable than most because a quarter of the state’s members of Congress are retiring — in the case of the 1st District, Rob Andrews has already left — and in most districts, the winner of the Democratic or Republican primary winds up winning the general election. New Jersey’s districts are currently split, with half “red” and half “blue.”
Given that, probably the most watched race is for the right to represent the Democratic party on the general election ballot in Central Jersey’s 12th District. Three current state legislators are running, as well as a physicist, but the race is expected to boil down to two: Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) and Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Middlesex).
The only nonpartisan poll, a mid-May Monmouth University Poll, had Greenstein leading Watson Coleman among likely voters by just 1 percentage point, but a third of voters were still undecided. In a blog post yesterday, Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, gave Watson Coleman a two-point edge, but added, “I won’t be the least bit surprised if this forecast turns out to be wrong.” (O’Dea/NJSpotlight)
Primary election day in New Jersey
Primary election day in New Jersey
June 3, 2014
the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is a primary among four Republican candidates who are seeking the U.S. Senate nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Cory Booker in November.
Booker preparing for fight to keep his Senate seat
file photo by Boyd Loving
Booker preparing for fight to keep his Senate seat
MAY 25, 2014, 10:45 PM LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MAY 25, 2014, 10:46 PM
BY HERB JACKSON
RECORD COLUMNIST
THE RECORD
Maybe it’s the positive thoughts he pushes out at least daily on Facebook and Twitter, but Sen. Cory Booker says he’s more optimistic about finding bipartisan solutions in Washington than he was when he arrived seven months ago.
“I came down here with low expectations and my experience is better and better and better,” Booker said in an interview last week, ticking off bipartisan bills to expand apprenticeships and study year-round schools, and touting his solo plan that could lead to other states’ contributing toward future New Jersey highway projects.
But while Booker’s enthusiasm grew for his new job, the rock-star image he built in his previous job as the mayor who turned Newark around is taking a hit.
This month’s intensely competitive campaign to choose his replacement as Newark mayor highlighted a $30 million shortfall in the city budget Booker left. The winner of that campaign, Ras Baraka, was a city councilman and public school principal who frequently criticized the Booker school reform plan that attracted a $100 million donation from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, but produced questionable results.
Booker also touted his ability to bring down crime in the city, and in 2008, the city murder rate had dropped to 67. But budget cuts after that then reduced the size of the police force to 1,038 from 1,317 last year. And there were 111 murders last year, the most in 23 years.
The state comptroller also issued a damning report in March saying that the city government was inattentive to corruption and patronage at the independent Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp., which had managed the city’s water delivery and reservoirs in Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties.
Among the findings referred to state prosecutors were that a Booker ally serving as the agency’s director wrote herself unauthorized payroll checks, handed out no-bid contracts to close personal associates, and made surreptitious risky investments that lost $500,000.
“I don’t think my legacy needs defending,” Booker said when asked about the bashing he has been taking. He said that he got Baraka’s endorsement for senator in the October election to fill the remainder of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s term, and won 90 percent of the votes cast in Newark against Republican Steve Lonegan.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/jackson-booker-preparing-for-fight-to-keep-his-senate-seat-1.1023305#sthash.Jcg0Iits.dpuf
CD3 CANDIATE TOM MACARTHUR’S YORK INSURANCE : FAR MORE THAN THREE ISOLATED
CD3 CANDIATE TOM MACARTHUR’S YORK INSURANCE : FAR MORE THAN THREE ISOLATED INCIDENTS
Wednesday, May 21st, 2014 @ 5:29PM in News, Press Releases
May 21, 2014
LAVALLETTE, NJ – In a very clear contrast this morning on Dom Giordano’s radio program, former mayor Steve Lonegan proved to voters that he’s the only conservative in this race.
As predicted, liberal Tom MacArthur repeatedly distorted his own record, misrepresented Steve Lonegan’s record, and provided very little substance to which conservatives can identify.
Most disappointing is MacArthur’s continual denial of any wrongdoing in relation to the hundreds of families across the country left victimized by his York claims adjustment company.
“We handled over a million claims when I was running York and the best Steve can do is come out with three that he says prove some terrible thing. There are some lawsuits in insurance. But three out of over a million?” (Dom Giordano Debate, 5/21/2014)
Let’s pump the brakes, Tom. You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.
Tom MacArthur’s company has been hit with far more lawsuits over delayed claims or unfair payouts on claims than just the three egregious acts documented time after time.
Lawsuit upon lawsuit arose on Tom MacArthur’s watch. Some were settled after he claims to have left the company, but each and every incident listed below was set in to motion while he was at the helm of York.
A FEW OF THE MANY AB– USES SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF TOM MACARTHUR’S INSURANCE COMPANY
York Was Cited for Over 100 Violations for Mishandling Claims in the 2008 Sayre Fire in Sylmar, California
Victim Gary Rivera was given a lowball value by York, then illegally stalled through reassignment to multiple adjusters; hundreds of others had the same problems. (SC Public Radio, 12/23/2009)
The State of California took enforcement action but York paid only a $285,000 settlement. (Law360.com, 9/26/2012)
Watch this ad featuring Sylmar fire victims Jodene and Doug Finch.
York Refused to Pay Claims Following 2008 Hurricane Ike
York Did Not Handle Houston Baptist University’s Claims in good faith. (The Collegian, 9/8/2010) Only after being sued, York paid a large settlement and required a confidentiality agreement. (The Collegian, 2/24/2011)
Tom MacArthur’s company has been sued repeatedly for slow walking claims of victims of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Hurricane Ike in Texas, and Hurricane Ivan in Florida.
The following chronological list of suits contain but a few of the most egregious summaries of the lawsuits filed against MacArthur and York:
– On November 18, 2002, York and their client Providence Co. were successfully sued in federal court for failing to pay out an insurance policy in a timely manner. The Court concluded that Providence and York “adopts an excessively narrow interpretation” of their insurance policy so as not to have to pay out. (CAT Internet, et al v. Providence Co., et al).
– On June 20, 2003, York Insurance Company successfully exploited a technicality to avoid paying out a bodily injury claim filed against by Houston Well Center, Inc. (York Insurance Company v. Houston Wellness Center, Inc.)
– On February 7, 2005, The Bearington Collection sued York and its client, Providence Washington Insurance Company for breach of contract and failure to pay out. York and its client, Providence Washington Insurance Company, quickly settled.
– In 2005, York sued for slow walking payments to Hurricane Ivan victims in Florida, something that they were later accused with Hurricane Ike victims in Texas. Their client, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, faced a “bad faith” lawsuit due to the way it handled hurricane payment claims in 2004.
– In 2005, York Claims Services and their client, Lloyd’s of London, was sued by Ken Shaw, president of the Red River Warehouse in Monroe, Louisiana. Red River Warehouse had flooded and a representative of York Claims Service repeatedly low-balled on the costs of the damage. York settled with Red River in 2007.
– In 2006, Timothy Nicholes was badly injured when he was hit by an under insured motorist. He sued York Claim Services and their client, New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG subsidiary, after they ignored his injury claim for months. York and New Hampshire settled out of court just three months later.
– In 2007, Jeffrey Trauth, a property and business owner in New Orleans, Louisiana, had his principal place of business and rental properties flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and filed suit against York for repeatedly slow walking his hurricane damage claims. The money to pay for the damage done came out of Trauth’s pockets. York Claims Service and its client, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation “deliberately and in bad faith underadjusted [Trauth’s] claims, and paid them less than [Trauth] was owed under their policy, employing many illegal and captious tactics along the way,” according to a complaint filed against York. York settled out of court after two years of litigation.
– In 2008, York Insurance Services Group was sued by The Sportman’s Company of Hattiesburg, Inc for slow-walking on property damage claims. In 2011, Jerry and Kris Chernik sued York Risk Services Group and their client Lexington Insurance Company for breach of contract. Again, in 2011, Stephen McGue sued York Risk Services Group and their client New Hampshire Insurance Company for slow walking claims.
– In September 2009, Dollar Rent-A-Car settled in a lawsuit with York Claims Services for slow-walking payment for a customer who had gotten into an accident in Las Vegas. (Travelers Indemnity Company of America v. Dollar Rent-A-Car)
– In December 2009, Houston Baptist University sued York, and their client ACE American Insurance Company, an AIG subsidiary, for slow walking and delaying payment of hurricane damage sustained to one of their buildings. York was forced to settle, according to the Daily Mail.
– In October 2010, Kynto Ventures, LLC, sued Chubb Custom Insurance and York Risk Service Group. Again, York was accused of slow-walking claims. https://dockets.justia.com/docket/texas/txsdce/4:2010cv03803/813237
– In 2013, York Risk Services was again successfully sued by Kent State University Board of Trustees for slow walking payment for $2.1 million in damages from an early 2009 construction project when MacArthur was CEO. https://www.courtlistener.com/ca6/5btE/kent-state-university-board-of-trustees-v-lexingto/
According to PACER, Several Additional Lawsuits Have Been Filed Against MacArthur’s York Company:
Robin Zahran and Karen Zahran vs. York Insurance Company
CAT Internet Services, INC; Internet Supply, INC. vs. York Insurance Company
Robin Zahran, Karen Zahran vs. York Insurance Company
Houston Wellness Center, INC. vs. York Insurance Company
Bearington Collection, INC. vs. York Insurance Company
Elmer Amendt vs. York Insurance Company
Desimone Aviles vs. York Claims Service
Houston Baptist University vs. York Claims Service
William Johnson vs. York Claims Service
Red River Warehouse vs. York Claim Service
Timothy Nicholes vs. York Claims Services
Jeffrey Trauth, Trauth Design Management LLC. vs. York Claims Service
Jeffrey Trauth, Trauth Design Management LLC. vs. York Claims Service
Jerald M. Alexander vs. York Claims Service
Martin Sokoloff vs. York Claims Service
Lynn K. Bailey vs. York Claims Service
Guadalupe Magally Escobar vs. York Claims Service
Calofe Enterprises, LLC vs. York Claims Service
Leisure Life Senior Apartment Housing vs. York Claims Services
Councilwoman-elect Susan Knudsen thanks supporters
Councilwoman-elect Susan Knudsen thanks supporters
To the editor:
On Tuesday, Ridgewood residents chose the two candidates for Village Council who they believed would best guide the future of the village, partly because we care about Ridgewood as deeply as they do.
In deciding to support Mike Sedon and me, residents recognized our shared belief in the importance of maintaining the unique charm and character of Ridgewood, attaining a balance of healthy growth and providing responsible, efficient government.
Since picking up a candidate packet in January, I have been touched by the support, time, energy and effort of so many willing to work toward our mutual goal of preserving the aspects of village life that make Ridgewood a special place to live, work and visit.
I’m writing to express my thanks to those who signed my nominating petitions, made campaign contributions, delivered signs, displayed “Vote Knudsen” lawn signs, wrote letters of endorsement, helped create campaign literature, hosted coffees, parties and rallies, made phone calls, sent emails, donated office space and telephone use, offered words of support and more.
Village grassroots organizations, thank you for your unequivocal support. The Preserve Graydon Coalition, Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, Citizens for a Better Ridgewood and Ridgewood Eastside Development exemplify what’s fine about our community, raising our level of awareness to protect Ridgewood’s future.
Thank you to my wonderful family and dear friends for their unwavering support.
Finally, thank you, to the 2,723 fellow residents (plus myself!) who entered a voting booth and placed an “x” next to my name, and to all those who took the time to exercise their right to vote.
Susan Knudsen, Councilwoman-Elect
Ridgewood
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/opinion/opinion-letters-to-the-editor/letter-councilwoman-elect-susan-knudsen-thanks-supporters-1.1019111#sthash.NVHQd8HY.dpuf
Obama Grapples With Growing Dissent From Democrats on Capitol Hill
Obama Grapples With Growing Dissent From Democrats on Capitol Hill
Disunity Grows in Run-Up to Midterm Elections
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama is encountering an increasingly resistant Democratic caucus on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers in his party break with him on a series of issues in the run-up to the November elections.
On issues such as judicial nominees, the Keystone XL pipeline, taxes and trade, the fraying party unity is a sign that individual Democrats have reached a point where their own re-election needs take precedence over Mr. Obama’s goals.
It is a common election-year posture for lawmakers from the same party as the sitting president, especially one whose popularity has waned, as Mr. Obama’s has. But Democrats’ recent moves to demonstrate their independence are forcing Mr. Obama to compromise on an agenda already largely opposed by Republicans. And it comes at a point in his presidency when time is running short to accomplish his goals.
In the past week, Democrats have diverged from the White House over its insistence that the cost of extending certain tax breaks due to expire should be offset with tax increases and other measures, so as not to add to the deficit.
https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304908304579566281371120624?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304908304579566281371120624.html
Knudsen, Sedon win Ridgewood Council seats
Knudsen, Sedon win Ridgewood Council seats
MAY 13, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014, 9:28 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
Knudsen and Sedon received 2,723 and 2,588 votes, respectively. Jim Albano received 1,021 votes.
Voting results will be declared official after review by the Bergen County Board of Elections.
During her campaign, Knudsen, who serves as vice chair of the Ridgewood Board of Adjustment, displayed her knowledge of municipal concerns and issues, particularly addressing the potential of overdevelopment that might result from a hospital expansion and downtown multifamily housing projects. She was adamant when suggesting that Ridgewood consider repealing an ordinance that permits developers to apply for master plan changes.
Sedon had pledged his commitment to Ridgewood, saying he hoped to streamline local government in ways that would stabilize taxes while improving municipal services. A village resident for four years, Sedon noted that he grew fond of the municipality while an employee with The Ridgewood News.
Though Knudsen and Sedon did not formally create a ticket, several grassroots organizations linked the two through endorsements. Among the groups to support both candidates were the Citizens for a Better Ridgewood, Concerned Residents of Ridgewood, the Preserve Graydon Coalition and Ridgewood Eastside Development.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/knudsen-sedon-win-ridgewood-council-seats-1.1015227#sthash.SSg2g1Le.dpuf
Reader says Albano is the Mayors fourth potential sycophant to do his bidding
Reader says Albano is the Mayors fourth potential sycophant to do his bidding
Regarding Mike Sedon’s longevity as a resident, doesn’t anybody remember that Aronsohn had lived here for maybe a couple of years before running for council? He picked our town as a target, moved to it, and got himself elected by the innocent electorate that had never seen such politicking before. This was to be a steppingstone to higher office, but the big guys don’t seem interested, so he has stayed put.
For his next act he pulled in two bewildered residents who had never considered running for council as long as they would do his bidding. Sure enough, has had his 3-2 vote on countless important issues.
Now he has selected a fourth potential sycophant to do his bidding in a four-year term that would continue for a couple of years beyond the 2016 election, when he might personally be gone. And yes, with any luck at all he and his compadres will quit or be booted off the council two years from now and we can return to sanity in this town if they have not managed to destroy it completely.
Reader says what I really want to hear from the RBSA is how are they going to fix the IRS Issues
Reader says what I really want to hear from the RBSA is how are they going to fix the IRS Issues
The sports groups are out in full force. Just got a “Mid-Season Update from RBSA President Jim Albano” telleing me what’s been going on in RBSA-land but no discussion of their IRS issues which is what I’d really like to know about. I haven’t gotten an RBSA message in years since my kids are already in college.Also got another one from a RBSA trustee urging me to vote for Jim Albano because he is the ONLY candidate concerned about our youths (funny, my kids played ALOT of sports with the Knudsen kids and Susan has been the photog for the RHS football and Mike has young ones who will play sports). I never heard Susan or Mike say that didn’t support the recommendations of the open-space committee and I’ve been listening but I could be wrong.Disingenous, at best.
Reader says The IRS sent the RBSA a loss of tax exempt status in 2011
Reader says The IRS sent the RBSA a loss of tax exempt status in 2011
According to the IRS website, a letter went to every organization that had lost its tax-exempt status due to failure to file forms. This letter was sent in 2011. Somebody at the RBSA received it…and filed it.
When the treasurer took off some years ago, wouldn’t the president have been expected to find somebody to review the books and make sure everything was in good shape?
This didn’t happen yesterday, either.
Federal tax exemption is not the only reason a political message on the RJFA email list is unacceptable.
Federal tax exemption is not the only reason a political message on the RJFA email list is unacceptable.
Federal tax exemption is not the only reason a political message on the RJFA email list is unacceptable. The group also enjoys semi-official status through the council and Board of Ed and uses taxpayer-supported property.https://www.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/parksandrec/07FPJAN01.pdf
Village of Ridgewood and Ridgewood Board of Education Athletic Fields and Recreational Facilities Use Policy, January 1, 2007
On page 6:
Category II Permit Use
2A. Co-Sponsored Athletic Organizations
The following volunteer non-profit sports organizations are recognized by the Village Council/BOE and are considered to be co-sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department/Community School, according to the rules noted below:
Ridgewood Baseball & Softball Association
Ridgewood Biddy Basketball
Ridgewood Hoops Club
***Ridgewood Junior Football Association***
Ridgewood Junior Wrestling
Ridgewood Lacrosse Association
Ridgewood Roller Hockey Association
Ridgewood Soccer Association / Maroons Soccer Club
Ridgewood Community School
The Board of Ed, League of Women Voters, and others have been informed of this breach of trust.
