Democrats on Council Vote to AllowTrenton to Take Over Gloucester TownshipDan Hutchison and Frank Schmidt, up for re-electionin 2009, vote to allow Trenton to take overGloucester Township due to Dems' roadblockingmillions from Nike base saleGLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP -- At a recent Council meeting, Democrats Dan Hutchison and Frank Schmidt made a colossal error of judgment by casting a vote that would allow Trenton to take over Gloucester Township and make one of New Jersey's largest municipalities a ward of the dysfunctional state government.The Democrats on Council, after years of mismanaging the township's finances and raising taxes on middle class families, have now crossed the point of no return: two of their members, up for re-election in 2009, have cast a vote that could cause Gloucester Township to lose control of its own finances and instead fall under the control of the Trenton regime.The crisis point was reached after Democrats on Council roadblocked the sale of the Nike missile base due to political concerns from Camden County party boss George E. Norcross III. Because the Democrats on Council put partisan politics before sound policy, they left the township with a gaping multimillion-dollar budget hole."I don't get it," said Councilwoman Shelley Lovett, who watched the proceedings with disbelief and dismay. "Trenton can't keep its own house in order. Why would anyone, even the Democrats on Council, want Trenton to take over Gloucester Township and remove our ability to govern ourselves?""The vote by Dan Hutchison and Frank Schmidt is simply inexplicable," Councilwoman Lovett concluded. "It is such an error of judgment on their part, the worst kind of pure political maneuvering. Fortunately they are both up for election this year, and voters will hold them accountable for voting to give away our right to self-government and home rule to Trenton bureaucrats."Mayor Cindy Rau-Hatton, who has worked with Councilwoman Lovett since her election in 2006 to rein in the excesses of the Democrats on Council, is similarly disappointed in Hutchison and Schmidt."Democrats and Republicans may not always agree on much, but here we are all residents of Gloucester Township," Mayor Rau-Hatton said. "What Dan Hutchison and Frank Schmidt did goes beyond politics and speaks to the core of the issue. They simply do not have the best interests of our town at heart.""They will stop at nothing in pursuit of self-promotion, even if it hurts our town and our neighbors," Mayor Rau-Hatton added. "They ought to be ashamed of what they did."###Paid for by EFO Mayor Rau-Hatton315 Fairview Ave  Blackwood  NJPaid for by EFO Lovett, McLaughlin & Custodio for Council742 Chatham Rd  Somerdale  NJhttp://www.gt2009.com/news/032609-1.php