ANOTHER KEN SHORT LIE!

In what has to be his biggest and most egregious LIE to date, Mayor Ken Short allowed the Morris County Republican Committee to send out this mailer claiming he held "average tax increases to less than 2% per year."

Nothing could be further from the truth as listed below are the exact municipal tax increases Ken Short voted in favor of during his 9 years in office, based on tax rates provided by the Morris County Board of Taxation.  In addition, the accuracy of these percentages and the overall 2001-2009 average tax increase has been confirmed by Township CFO Kevin Lifer.



2009 - 3.85%
2008 - 2.34%
2007 - 3.51%
2006 - 4.43%
2005 - 11.1%
2004 - 0.86%
2003 - 2.66%
2002 - -0.22%
2001 - 2.96%

It doesn't take rocket science to sum these percentages, divide by nine and realize the average is 3.50% or 75% higher than the 2% average stated in the mailer.

These figures do not include the municipal open space tax which has its own unique tax rate.  If municipal open space taxes are taken into account, the average annual combined municipal tax increase is 3.4%.

I have sent Mayor Ken Short copies of the CERTIFICATION SCHEDULE OF THE GENERAL TAX RATE via his township email address for the years 2001 to 2008. I have also sent him a copy of a MS Excel spreadsheet containing the tax rates. This way Short can’t make his usual “I don’t have the figures in front of me" excuse.  Mayor Short has all the information he needs before him to come clean on this false "average tax increases to less than 2% per year" claim.

WSJ takes Christie to task on property taxes.

Even the conservative leaning Wall Street Journal doesn't think Christe has the "right stuff" when it comes to dealing with property taxes. Not a good sign.

Been there...done that!

Here is a gem of a story on part time elected public officials using taxpayer money for their health benefits. Up until 2007, we had the same problem in Washington Township where some local elected Republican officials, including current Mayor Ken Short took full health benefits paid for by taxpayers. In Short's case his benefits cost taxpayers over $50,000 before I put a stop to it by moving us out of the State Health Plan to a commercial plan, which at the time was cheaper. Unlike the State Plan, the commercial plan required an opt-in vote by ordinance for Short to continue receiving benefits. He didn't have the political guts to formally call for a vote to use taxpayer money for his personal healthcare.

Last year, the township returned to the State Plan for cost savings. Thank goodness the threat of a voter backlash has kept Short from again digging into the our pockets for his healthcare even though by law he could do what the Freeloaders, I mean Freeholders are doing without a formal vote.

Liz Cheney, have you no shame?

The video below is the clearest and most insulting example of Republican hypocrisy I have come across in quite some time.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

As a veteran, and in memory of my late father, a 20 year USAF retiree, my advice to Liz Cheney is to simply shut up and be thankful to those of us who served even though our names weren’t called.

Washington Township GOP sinks to a new low...

You would think a 5 to 2 voter registration edge would be enough for Washington Township GOP operatives to feel good about their chances next week.  Obviously this isn't the case as they recently sent the following message to Democratic Township Committee Candidate Harlin Parker.

"Long Valley is going to get a wakeup call next week in the mail. Seems like Nedd puppet H. Parker had a brutal divorce in his past that he doesn't like to talk about..."

Unfortunately, this is just another example of how low Ken Short's supporters will go to ensure he is re-elected. Shame on Ken Short for allowing them to reach this new low in our town.

Why we need health care reform.

According the OT, in a year where the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is negative, our local township officials are patting themselves on the back for holding the growth of health care costs for 2010 to only 8%. This is a perfect example of why we so desperately need health care reform…with a public option. By the way, for 2009, health care costs for the township increased only 0.8% over 2008.

Corzine vs. Christie

Here is a great side-by-side comparison of Corzine and Christie from the NYT. Notice how Christie is already backing away from his campaign promises. 

Having honored every one of my campaign pledges, I can tell you Christie doesn't have the right stuff.

A logical case for Parker/Price.

Since 2001, Ken Short and Bill Roehrich have served our township as elected officials. Short on the Township Committee, and until recently, Roehrich on the K-8 WTBOE. While I may not agree with many of their fiscal decisions, as a former elected official, I appreciate their willingness to stand up and publicly serve our township. One thing I learned during my tenure is how your record follows you. Good, bad, or ugly it’s your record and for Short and Roehrich the record is quite clear. They voted 15 times to increase the total property tax levy by a combined $12.7 million. This is not a criticism, just a verifiable statement of fact.

Looking ahead, the question before voters is what will Short and Roehrich do in the future? Based on what we learned in the fable about the scorpion and frog, let’s assume Short and Roehrich are what their record says they are, which most likely means a vote for them will result in a municipal tax increase in 2010.

Harlin Parker and Jody Price offer a simple alternative to a Short/Roehrich municipal tax increase in 2010. In response to the recently announced 0% Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment, Parker and Price have stated unequivocally they will vote “NO” on the 2010 municipal budget if it contains a tax increase of any kind. This means no municipal tax increase, no municipal open space tax increase, no new usage fees (field or otherwise); period. In other words, a vote for Parker/Price won’t cost you an additional dime in municipal taxes in 2010, over what you paid in 2009.

Think about this for a moment. How often do you have the chance to vote against a municipal tax increase? Mind you, this is not a repeat of the unattainable promise of “lower taxes now”, but instead a common sense approach that will force meaningful spending cuts in a year when many of our seniors will see no increase in their fixed incomes.

So when you go to the polls next Tuesday, don’t think of a vote for Parker/Price in terms of partisan politics; but instead think of it as a vote against another municipal tax increase our seniors can’t afford.

US Economy Expands for the First Time in a Year.

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy grew in the third quarter for the first time in more than a year, propelled by stimulus-driven gains in consumer spending and home building.

Bottom line: While there is still plenty of work to do on the economy, we are a lot better off than we were on the day GWB left office.

Get your tickets!

Tickets for this Sunday's Corzine/Obama rally at the Rock (Prudential Center) in Newark are now available.

Tickets are for general admission and do not guarantee you entrance. The event is first-come first serve. Once the venue reaches capacity, you will not be permitted to enter, so the campaign urges you to arrive early. Doors will open at 11:30AM.

Corzine up by 5!

A new Quinnipiac University poll has Corzine pulling away from Christie in the final week of the campaign by 5 points with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent.  Here is what Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, had to say about the race.

"You could see it coming. Gov. Jon Corzine's numbers crept steadily up and Christopher Christie's steadily shrank and now, for the first time, we have Corzine ahead," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

The timing could not be better for Corzine as he has extended his lead at RCP as well.

In there anything Ken Short won't say?

Last week's OT article "Committee race affected by Nedd, Short feuding" contains a new Ken Short low, when he claims I "spent down the entire surplus".

To set the record straight, on January 1, 2006, my first day as a committeeman, the township surplus stood at $4.0 million. On December 31, 2008, my last day as a committeeman, the surplus stood at $2.6 million. It's all here in black & white (page 2). How Ken Short can make such a bogus claim, which his own budget data debunks, defies common sense.

Bottom line: After presiding over 2005's 11.1% municipal tax increase, the largest in township history, Mayor Ken Short will say anything to get re-elected.

Caught in a Big Fat Lie!

Here's what New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidate Chris Christie had to say on "Fox & Friend's" this morning:



Here is what Rafael Vasquez, the Elizabeth Police Officer who responded to the scene of the accident, wrote in his offical report:

Veh #1 [Christie] states he was traveling west on Murray St. and was lost. He reached Chilton St. The light was red so he inched forward attempting to make a right on red but never saw the one-way traffic sign. He then stopped upon observing oncoming traffic, Veh #2 [Mendonca] also braked. The motorcycle fell on its side and slid into his vehicle. Veh #2 states he was traveling on Chilton St. when Veh #1 turned in front of him.

Looks to me like Republican Chris Christie has been caught in a big fat lie (no pun intended).

A remarkable story comes to the big screen...

In a break from politics, here's a trailer for a new movie, "The Blind Side". Based on the book by Michael Lewis, the movie depicts the remarkable true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential and become an All-American offensive left tackle and a first round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, selected by the Baltimore Ravens.

I remember reading about Michael in a NYT Magazine article back in 2006.



The movie opens on November 20th.

Rush get's punked!

Here's the buzz on how Rush Limbaugh got punked on the air.

It doesn't get any better than this!

Corzine up by nine?

A new Suffolk University (Boston) poll has Governor Corzine leading Chris Christie by 9 points?  This could be an early indication of a rout. The margin of error on the study of 400 is +/- 5 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.

The case for Corzine.

With the election about a week away, perhaps it time to put all the campaign spin aside and look at the facts. For many voters, the number one issue in this election is property taxes, as it probably should be. So let’s look at Corzine's record on property taxes which have increased statewide from $13.0 billion in 1998 to $23.2 billion in 2008. 2009 numbers are not yet available.

These sound like big numbers, and they are. But in terms of Corzine's performance it is only fair to judge him on the change occurring on his watch. In 2005 the year prior to Corzine assuming office, municipalities across the state collected $19.5 billion in property taxes.  Last year they collected $23.2 billion.  How has this increase compared to what's occured in the past? Are property tax increases growing faster than before or are they declining? To answer this question we need to examine the following chart showing the growth of property taxes on an annual basis.

Source: New Jersey Division of Local Services

With Corzine assuming the governorship in 2006 and though his enactment of tax levy caps, which took effect in 2007, it is clear he has done more to reign in property tax growth than any governor in the last eight years. Chances are 2009 figures will prove this point even further.

Bottom line: For all the talk about what Corzine hasn't done...he's actually done more to assist school districts, counties, and municipalities reign in the growth of property taxes than any NJ governor to date.

Big "O" is coming back!

More proof  a certain local GOP operative has no clue what he's talking about - the Corzine campaign today announced two November 1, 2009 New Jersey campaign visits by President Barack Obama on behalf of Governor Jon Corzine.

Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, New Jersey

Prudential Center - Newark, New Jersey

This of course raises a question? Where are all the top dog national Republican visits to New Jersey?  Has Christie's slide in the polls made him a liabilty?

RCP Poll Average has Corzine ahead!

After what seems like an endless campaign, for the first time, Real Clear Politics has Governor Corzine ahead of Chris Christie in its RCP Poll Average.



The trend does not bode well for Christie who seems to be fading.

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