BLOSCHAK: ARREST OF TUCKER DEMONSTRATES NEED FOR CHANGE IN URBAN NEW JERSEY

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Daniel Beckelman

(201)-446-9889

October 27, 2009 

Bloschak: Arrest of Tucker Aide Demonstrates Need for Change in Urban New Jersey

Democrats Bankrupt in Governing Our Cities

Newark-The arrest of Eknow Ykney, a former drug dealer who serves as community outreach director for Assemblyman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Newark), for money laundering and illegal firearms possession shows that the political system is increasingly broken and that fresh blood is needed in Trenton and Newark to solve the short and long-term problems we face.

         “Isn’t there a point where we have to say ‘enough’ to the complete corruption within the Democratic Party and its associates? Cleopatra Tucker is a nice woman and I had tremendous respect for her late husband, but how could she not know that Mr. Ykney had a significant criminal record with a conviction for distribution of drugs before she hired him to do ‘outreach’ to our economically and socially challenged district? This kind of reminds me of the Senator from the other Newark district who didn’t know how her workers were illegally tampering with absentee ballots. How come Democrats never seem to know when their associates have serious ethical and criminal issues? It's time we break the monopoly of the Democratic Party in urban New Jersey so leaders are once again accountable to the people” Bloschak said.

         Bloschak says tighter background checks are needed for state employees. “People deserve second chances indeed, but we need to put the right people in place to foster strength in our communities. We cannot risk more situations like the one Assemblywoman Tucker has unfortunately found herself in with Mr. Ykney,” Bloschak concluded.

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