Froehlich Team Uses County Assets in Campaign

October 22, 2007

For Immediate Release

Union County Republican Committee, Westfield

Contact: Phil Morin 908-789-0200

 Union County GOP Says County Dems Seeking Reelection Should be Keel Hauled 

Froehlich Team Clearly Guilty of Using County Assets for Self Promoting Campaign Literature 

The Union County Republican Committee believes that the UCDC has crossed the line by shamelessly using taxpayers assests to promote the relelection campaign of incumbent Sheriff Ralph Froehlich, Freeholders Dan Sullivan and Bette Jane Kowalski and Freeholder Candidate, Rayland VanBlake, councilman from Plainfield.

Referring to the Democrats campaign literature featuring a photograph of the foursome on the back deck of the county’s newly commissioned Homeland Security Vessel, purchased with Federal Funds; Republican Freeholder candidate Patricia Quattrocchi said, “I was absolutely stunned when I saw the photo with the words Union County and Homeland Security clearly visiable on the watercrafts starboard side”. She went on to explain that for years the county dems have certainly abused the power of their incumbency by shamelessly promoting those up for reelection in county funded newsletters just days before the primary and general elections, and clearly using taxpayer owned equipment in campaign pictures but they have never been quite this brazen.

“This time they have gone too far”, stated Quattrocchi’s running mate John Russitano, of Westfield.  “I doubt that the Federal Government intended to provide the funding for the freeholders to stage a dramatic photo op”, he said.

“For the incumbents to plead innocence that they were not willingly and knowingly involved in the distribution of these campaign pieces just doesn’t hold water” said Quattrocchi. “Freeholder Chairwoman Kowalski hand delivered the literature herself to a candidates brunch sponsored by the UC Womens Political Caucus, which I attended as well, so she cannot say she didn’t know the picture was used”.

And as for VanBlake, “There is just no way that they can justify the presence of VanBlake on the back deck unless of course the Greenbrook now empties directly into the Kill Van Kull” added Russitano. “If they were showing off the boat and it’s capabilities to local elected officials we would think that others perhaps from Linden or Rahway  would be there rather than a councilperson from a landlocked municipality who just happens to be a freeholder candidate.”

The Republican Freeholder candidates stressed that they would pursue this misuse of county taxpayer assets for campaign purposes to the bitter end especially since their own request made to the county for equal time to be photographed on the vessel has gone ignored.

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