Stirring
the partisan pot.
NA
Republicans continue to seek Democratic help to mask their own support of
higher taxes , EnCap and low income housing.
NORTH ARLINGTON - An
unidentified GOP source today told the political web site www.insidebergen.com that North Arlington Democrats are "attacking" a neighboring mayor
and the district's state senator in wake of an upset victory in last fall's
council races.
Local Republicans Joe
Bianchi & Rich Hughes were swept into office on the heels of a 33% tax hike
caused by decades of GOP mismanagement under the old Kaiser regime which
squandered nearly $50 million dollars in temporary host fees while tripling the
size of local government. Republican control of North Arlington set into motion
the failed EnCap scheme and the lack of planning under previous GOP
leadership has left North Arlington as well as Rutherford and Lyndhurst in a
financial bind as it pertains to the flawed plan now teetering on default.
Democrats were quick to
respond to the latest GOP rhetoric.
"Here you have Pete
Massa welcoming the new Republicans to the governing body and actively
seeking cooperation while some unnamed GOP hack is practicing the old
"divide & conquer" routine. Can the Republicans please raise
enough money to have an online presence instead of pushing phony stories on
slow news days?" chuckled one North Arlington Democrat.
Reports confirm that on
the Kearny Observer web site, www.theobserver.com, Mayor Pete Massa
calling for unity among the local mayors in their opposition to EnCap.
In the video, Massa
congratulates both Bianchi & Hughes while calling for bipartisan
cooperation and the end to political bickering such as the accusation made
by the unknown source to InsideBergen.
"Mayor Massa
is on streaming video calling for bipartisan cooperation between the
mayors. What frustrated county bureaucrat in the GOP is stirring the pot?
The source is fairly obvious," said one Democrat with a grin.
And what about these
charges that Democrats are attacking Lyndhurst Mayor Rich DiLascio?
"It's pretty
comical. It was Rich and his political consultant who ran the 2006
Republican mayoral campaign against Pete Massa. Even though Democrats won
easily, Massa holds no grudges or hard feelings," said one
longtime political pollster familiar with that race.
"I like Rich. We're
neighboring communities. What Rich does politically has little to do with North
Arlington and my objectives as mayor. It's a shame someone would work so hard
to create some impression we don't get along," said the first-term
Democrat.
Given the fact Mr. DiLascio
runs under commission form of government. Partisan labels play no role in local
elections which are held in May every four years versus annual November
contests.
"Rich has never run
as a Democrat and never won a partisan election. He's run as a GOP challenger
for state senate in the primary (1997) and the GOP nominee for the
general assembly (2003). His victories have come in non-partisan elections as a
school trustee and commission candidate. He wasn't elected mayor, he was chosen
by his four other peers on the township commission. Our form of government is
very different. Political labels play no role in Lyndhurst politics," said
one longtime Lyndhurst operative.
Mayor Massa dismissed
the whole story as "sad and quite frankly, trivial."
What's even more ironic
is the claim that Democrats were somehow upset with the $500,000 they received
in Extraordinary State Aid.
"Again, another
lie. North Arlington requested $1.5 million and Rutherford requested more than
$2 million. Extraordinary Aid in the district is decreasing and the overall
program is being phased out by state government. Lyndhurst didn't receive any
state aid this year from this fund. Why would NA seek help from Lyndhurst? The
issue of aid is a state issue. All three communities have the same
deal that gives 40% of all future revenues back to the developer. All
three communities are now on record opposing EnCap. Just who is this phantom
source?" said Councilman Al Granell.
What about the accusation
that NA Democrats were supporting former Democrat turned Republican Mike
Guarino against the incumbent senator, Paul Sarlo?
"Pete Massa
endorsed Paul Sarlo three times for re-election. Senator Sarlo accepted Massa's
endorsement in December of 2006 at a Sarlo fundraiser in Hackensack. Senator
Sarlo drove to North Arlington to have his picture taken with Mayor Massa in
May of 2007 which included a press release authored by his campaign in the Leader Newspapers. The Sarlo for senate campaign paid for a mailing
being endorsed by Mayor Massa and the 2007 Democratic council ticket of Phil
Spanola and Mark Yampaglia. Paul Sarlo actively sought and received Massa's
endorsement which resulted in Sarlo carrying the community despite his
support of EnCap. Again, let's not let the facts get in the way of
reality," said one source who helped manage the 2007 council race for NA
Democrats.
Mayor Massa found the
whole episode "a house of cards by someone with too much time on their
hands."
"In 2006 I ran off
the line for mayor. Paul supported Russ Pitman for re-election. I'm a Democrat
for the better part of four decades. I've run for mayor twice and the council
once. I've served the people of North Arlington for nine years a public
official. My conscience is clear. I have always supported the Democratic ticket
and the numbers bear that out. We delivered for the Democratic Party and for
the 36th legislative ticket in a very close race. This particular Republican
who is making these claims seems to have a problem with the truth and the
disgraceful record his party compiled during some 22 years of uninterrupted
political control of this municipality," observed the retired NAPD police
sergeant.
And what about
predictions of the demise of Democrats in 2008?
"We have a great
incumbent in Councilman Steve Tanelli. He has a real record of success and
leadership. The Republicans would love to have a candidate like Tanelli.
Instead, we'll probably see two more retreads from the Kaiser era place their
names in nomination. Democrats are quite willing to solve the problems caused
during the Kaiser regime. Democrats, unlike the Republicans are prepared to
make the necessary decisions to put the borough on strong financial footing.
The Republican plan is simple. Hope we fail. Pray we can't succeed. It's about
as cynical as it gets. They lack the ability, knowledge or experience to
successfully manage this municipality and the voters understand that," observed one Massa confidante on his opinion of the 2008 race.
And what about the
comment that Mayor DiLascio is one of the two most powerful Democrats in South
Bergen?
"It's a bit foolish
to make these kinds of assessments. The guy has been a Democrat for about
60 days. I'm sure Freeholder McPherson of Rutherford or Assemblyman Schaer
of Passaic or Mayor Wargacki of Wallington might want to be included in such a
list. They too represent South Bergen and have so for many years. This
kind of talk really denigrates the process of cooperation. Those who have long
careers in politics and elective office would distance themselves from such
nonsense. These are the comments of a clown," said one South Bergen
politico upon reading the story on InsideBergen.
