living in a Police State ….
Bergen freeholder hopefuls debate centers on Sheriff Departments use of MRAP’s
“I don’t want them on our streets,” Candidate Bernie Walsh
SEPTEMBER 30, 2014, 7:55 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2014, 10:06 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
NORTHJERSEY.COM
The four candidates for Bergen County freeholder sparred in their first debate Tuesday over the budget, armored vehicles, and consolidation of law enforcement.
In the 90-minute forum at the Teaneck Library, Republican candidates Bernadette Walsh and Robert Avery took issue with how the Democratic-controlled freeholder board avoided a tax increase this year by dipping into county trust funds.
Avery contended the move would leave the county in the red at the beginning of 2015.
But Democratic Freeholder Chairman David Ganz said only about $1.5 million of the nearly $100 million in the trust funds was tapped as revenue this year.
Fellow Democratic Freeholder Joan Voss said those funds will be replenished next year.
The mostly civil debate came amid a campaign in which control of the freeholder board is at stake. Democrats hold a 5-2 majority.
The forum — which drew about 50 people — was held by Bergen Grassroots, a citizen activist group best know for successfully pushing the county to adopt pay-to-play reforms that limited campaign contributions by professionals with no-bid county contracts.
That issue came up only at the very end of the forum. Instead, the debate over Sheriff Michael Saudino’s plan to accept a mine-resistant military surplus armored vehicle from the federal government was a much hotter topic.
“I don’t want them on our streets,” Walsh said, to some applause.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-freeholder-hopefuls-square-off-in-debate-1.1099511#sthash.FCPUgugw.dpuf
