Blog The Fifth

As part of the long overdue reforms for property taxes in our fair state, provisions suspending taxpayer funded pensions for elected officials convicted of corruption was part of the proposal. It now seems the legislature has stripped the provision.

A new bill to revise taxpayer-paid pension and health benefits would let elected officials convicted of corruption keep their pensions.A provision that would have required such officials to forfeit public retirement benefits and receive mandatory jail time was stripped from a property-tax reform measure scheduled for a vote today.

Senate President Richard J. Codey and Assemblywoman Nellie Pou, the bill sponsors, said there was support among legislators for cracking down on corrupt elected officials, but the question was whether all public workers convicted of corruption should face the same penalties.

YES, YES THEY SHOULD! You’re going to tell me we should have to pay pensions for Sharpe James or Wayne Bryant when/if they’re convicted? This is a large part of the reason we pay so much in taxes across the board. It’s single bid contracts, it’s selling public property for below market rates, it’s no-show jobs at taxpayer funded institutions, etc.

One of the reasons we’re stuck in this ridiculous mess is because nobody votes in Assembly elections. I don’t mean to say nobody votes out the crooks, it’s that nobody votes. In the last Assembly election without a Governor’s race involved (2003), 40% of voters in my legislative district showed up. However, a closer look at the numbers shows many towns hovering around the 30% mark.

As a State only 34% of voters showed up. So not only do those serving in the legislature not have to worry about losing their pensions if they’re corrupt, those who are protecting their corrupt legislative colleagues probably don’t have to be worried about getting kicked out of office.

As voters, we do have a say in what goes on so long as we show up and hold elected officials accountable. If you’re looking for a New Year’s Resolution you can keep, promise to get informed and vote next November. It is the only chance we have to put an end to corruption if our officials refuse to hold themselves accountable.

Of the bills that passed in the flurry that ended the least productive Congress in our nation’s history, two votes by Representative Garrett really stood out. He voted against both the Pool and Spa Safety Act and the Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act.

During the campaign, I probably would have put something cheeky like Garrett’s “Pro-Drowning” in the Bad Garrett section of the website. But in all seriousness, I would love to know what he and those who voted against this were thinking. Proper drain filters are kind of like seat belts, they’re intended to prevent accidental death and were made mandatory by similar legislation. We spend money as tax payers for commercials (which are educational expenses) for seat belts, why he’d be opposed to preventing accidental drownings is beyond me. Because of Garrett and others, this bill failed and will not be enacted.

The second vote is easier to understand. The Dietary Supplement bill closes the loopholes that led to the Ephedra nightmare of a decade ago by firmly placing the burden of proof of safety on the manufacturers of dietary supplements and nonprescription drugs. This is in diametric opposition to Garrett’s co-sponsorship of HR 4282 (added as co-sponsor later). As I discussed here, 4282 would have been a massive misuse of taxpayers’ funds with potentially fatal effects. Fortunately, this bill was passed in both the House and Senate and sent to the President. Hopefully, he’ll sign it.

Preventing accidental drownings or “death by snake-oil” is something I would expect people serving the public to support. However, Garrett’s voting record has rarely lived up to expectations.

The Record today carried the story of Marine Cpl. Visnu Gonzalez. This is how it started:

Marine Cpl. Visnu Gonzalez was manning a machine gun in battle-torn Fallujah, Iraq, three years ago when a sniper shot him in the neck, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Now, from his wheelchair, the highly decorated Purple Heart recipient is fighting another battle: to get a home of his own in the Pascack Valley.

A U.S. citizen who grew up in the Dominican Republic, Gonzalez feels at home in Hillsdale, where he spent summers with his uncle and worked as a clerk at the local ShopRite. “My family is all there,” said Gonzalez, whose aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and grandmother live near Hillsdale. “I can’t wait to have a place of my own and go back to school to study computers. That’s all I ever wanted to do.”

Until recently, the 23-year-old was receiving treatment at the James Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Fla. But his mother, Maria Baez, a native New Yorker, took him back to the Dominican Republic two weeks ago because they have nowhere else to go.

This is one of those stories that makes you wonder what is wrong with Washington that they can allow this to happen. This comes on the heels of a conversation with a friend of mine who has first hand knowledge of how the VA functions, and Cpl. Gonzalez’s experience is not unique.

We have to take care of our Vets. While groups like Homes For Our Troops and Hope For The Warriors have been created for individuals like Cpl. Gonzalez, the void they are filling is an unconscionable one to begin with. With over 63,500 U.S. military amputeed, wounded, severely injured, injured, mentally ill, all now out of Iraq, the non-profit and church based efforts cannot possibly piece together all of the lives impacted by this war.

The housing of Cpl. Gonzalez should have been worked out by the VA while he was in treatment, once his needs were known. And yes, taxpayers should foot the bill for the necessary renovations to the homes of the family members who would have taken him in. If it takes a massive revamping and corresponding increase of funding to the VA to honor the service provided by these men and women we have to do it. Regardless of how people felt about the war, most people I spoke with during the campaign agreed playing politics and balancing the budget on the backs of our wounded is completely immoral.

So, the final totals appear to be in. There’s a minor discrepancy between the State’s numbers for Bergen and Bergen’s numbers for Bergen. For the purposes of this blog I’ll use the State’s numbers. This is a rough chart of things, but you should get the idea.

Scott Garrett - 112,142 votes - $1,050,722 spent - $9.37 per vote
Paul Aronsohn - 89,503 votes - $535,448 spent - $5.98 per vote
Me - 2,597 votes - $1,879 spent* - $0.72 per vote

I’m very happy with the way things turned out and how efficient we were with our donor’s dollars. Thanks again to everyone for their help.

*We didn’t raise/spend enough to have to file with the FEC, which is why I don’t have a page.

If you’re interested in reading the report you can get it here. I’ll probably get through it over the next few days on the train (still where I get most of my reading done). I’ll comment after I get to look through it.

You can read Garrett’s comments on it here.

Well, I want to thank everyone for coming.  I just got off the phone with Scott and congratulated him on winning the election.  This has been a great few months, and although I am sure over the next few days I’ll get to reflect further upon what we accomplished, I can tell you right now we did a pretty amazing thing.

While the final total won’t be known for a few days, there are thousands of people who heard our message and many felt strongly enough about it to vote for us.  This campaign has been about principles since the beginning, and today our principles were embraced by those who hold hope for the future.

I say our, because without your help I never would have made the ballot.  Without your support I never would have had the money for these snazzy shirts, the lawn signs, or our homemade fliers.  Without your strength my frustrations with the system and vision for how it can be changed would have been just that, my own frustrations.  My own vision. 

Because of you, I was not alone but more importantly voters of our District found out they were not alone either.  Our nation is the greatest nation in the world because we are the boss.  Over the last few years that fact seems to have been forgotten by the party politics as usual types.  This year we reminded thousands of our neighbors who was in charge, and today they expressed their support for that message.

We may not have won this election, but we definitely have started something.  None of us know what the future holds, or where this can go.  While I don’t know what role I will have, I am not going to stop fighting for the system our forefathers envisioned and Veterans like my grandfathers and friends have fought to protect.

A government for the people and by the people requires each of us to do our part, whatever part that may be.  As you go back into your communities, stay involved.  Keep fighting to fix the things you don’t like.  Whether they are under the thumb of the Party Bosses or the lobbyists, make sure you remind your local to Federal representatives you’re really in charge.  It may take a while, but we’ll get this thing fixed.

Change has started, and it is up to us to finish the job.

Before I conclude I have a few thank yous to say.

First off my family.  Mom, Dad, Dave and Chris I know I’ve been driving you nuts the last few months.  Thanks for embracing this decision, running with it and not throwing me out of the house or putting a pillow over my head while I was sleeping.  I love you guys.

My friends and co-workers.  You were the backbone of this effort, and your enthusiasm and efforts kept me going throughout this thing.  Whether it was pounding the pavement or the constant support and sage advice, you kept this ball rolling.

My donors, without you we never could have spread the word so far and so wide.  Thank you for embracing our vision and giving us your support.  Your donations to our effort have served as a kind of seed money to the great promise our future now holds.

And last, but definitely not least our interns.  These students have ridiculously more difficult schedules than I remember having in high school, and yet they found time to help us get the message out.  They’re smart, funny and very creative problem solvers.  They had to give us ten hours, but each gave more and it definitely made a difference.  If they’re the future of our community I would say we’re in good hands.

Thank you again for coming.  Thanks to the New York Steakhouse for having us.  Tip your bartenders and waitresses.  Have a great night.  Drive safe.  And May God Bless America.

You can read it on their website as well. 

In ” ‘Give us a leader,’ and non-voters will vote” (Page L-6, Nov. 2), the letter writer apparently believes his only options on Election Day are Mickey Mouse or not voting at all. This is as much the fault of the current party power structure as it is old media outlets like The Record.

People yearn for real change and real representation, yet The Record and other mainstream media outlets give the independent candidates zero coverage. Instead of marginalizing such candidates with “also running” sentences, The Record should give its readers the benefit of knowing the views of everyone on the ballot. The partisan blood sport that helps The Record sell papers would still exist. However, voters wouldn’t feel there is no hope for the future. Maybe, just maybe, if the main parties had to try and win votes from issue-oriented independents, we’d see less mud and more substance in their campaigns.

Like me, the majority of readers don’t identify themselves with one party or the other. Open discussion and options are good for our democracy. It is hoped The Record will serve as a conduit of information to help foster actual discussion and work to strengthen our democracy in future elections.

Robert Matthew Fretz

Upper Saddle River, Nov. 2

The writer is An Independent Voice candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th District.

What a great campus.  It actually reminded me a lot of where I went to college.  I had the opportunity to talk with a class about why I’m in the race, how things work being an independent, and a wide range of issues including Garrett’s vote against the Voting Rights Act, ethics and the impending reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.  It was early and I appreciated the students’ questions, interest, and their ability to stay awake.

I still hold the belief Garrett’s vote against the Voting Rights Act is the most deplorable action he’s taken as our Representative.  Too many people fought and died for the equal rights and protections afforded in the Voting Rights Act, and Garrett’s regressive vote on our behalf is very troubling.  I will never support a candidate who would seek to impede a person’s right to vote or flat out take it away, as was the case with Aronsohn being agreeable to skipping the Democratic primary.  Voting is one of the bedrock principles our nation is founded upon, and a right that should never be infringed upon.

Ethics was a large part of the conversation.  We covered my belief that both parties, when given the chance, are corruptible.  We spoke about the Abramoff scandal, as well as the banner year for corruption charges we’re having at the State level.  I reiterated that I believe it can be cleaned up, but that it will take the voters holding politicians accountable to do it.

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is up for reauthorization next year, and you hear exactly nothing about it in any campaign ads I’ve seen.  Very little mention is even given in my opponents’ press.  This is a massive issue before the next session of Congress, and no one is talking about it.  I stated that it needs to be fixed before reauthorization, that the funding and penalty model needs to be reformed, and that I believe forcing teachers to teach to the test hurts kids.

Overall, I’d say it was a great presentation.

So with only two weekends left (now one) I was out the entire weekend in different spots.  Grocery stores, gas stations, bars and bus stops made up the bulk of the weekend activity.  Many folks had not heard of me, which was to be expected, but they took the fliers and some promised to check out the website. 

Some folks recognized me (hello Wendy’s crew), which is largely due to my picture being in both the Star Ledger and the New Jersey Sunday Herald over the last few weeks.  I probably handed out 250-300 fliers my interns diligently cut for us, as well as placed some more lawn signs.  The weather was awful, but the people’s reaction was great.  I continued to receive largely positive feedback and a need for real change was constantly restated.

It’s important for us to keep pressing, despite the odds, because people have to hear the message that they are the boss when it comes to politics.  It is not the lobbyist, the think tanker or the party boss.  One thing people do talk with me about often is Medicare Plan D.  This is a prime example of the influence peddling going on. 

To his credit, Garrett voted against this bill which I would have done also.  His reasoning:  It would cost too much.  My reasoning:  Who in their right mind would create a program to help seniors on fixed incomes that includes a gaping hole where seniors would have to pay full freight for their drugs?  It’s insurance/phamaceutical lobbyist written policy at its worst.

This country will start moving forward again when the politicians remember who they really work for, and that would be us.  However, we need to hold up our end of the bargain and hold them accountable in the voting booth.

Dear Media Members,

In the interest of fairness, I am sending the exchange between myself, Paul Aronsohn and Parisa Sabeti in response to my charge.

Regards,

R. Matthew Fretz
Independent Candidate, 5th District

Read the rest of this entry »