Littell asks state GOP for ban on outside work

By Wally Edge

Formr Republican State Chairman Virginia Littell, the wife of State Senator Robert Littell and the mother of Assemblywoman Alison McHose, wants the state GOP to "ban employees of the NJGOP from seeking outside campaign consulting contracts with candidates or committees active in Republican primaries."

During this cycle, the Republican State Committee Communications and Research Director, Todd Riffle, was also a consultant to Guy Gregg's campaign for State Senate. At the time Riffle was first paid, Gregg's opponent was Littell, a legislator since 1967.

Dear Republican Leader:

As a former Republican State Chairman, I read with interest the recent e-mail sent out regarding consultant Kevin Collins and his actions in the 40th district race for State Senate. Many have described the campaign Collins ran as racist, and there have been calls for him to be sanctioned by the New Jersey Republican State Committee (NJGOP).

I would like to draw your attention to another controversy that took place earlier this year. You might not have heard about it at the time.

My husband, Senator Bob Littell, is a 40 year veteran of the Legislature and a respected member of Republican leadership. In December of last year, Assemblyman Guy Gregg paid Todd Riffle, an employee at the NJGOP, to conduct opposition research on my husband, an incumbent legislator seeking re-election.

The campaign waged against my husband at the time focused on his age and health -- particularly his hearing loss. We read about it on the blogs and the opposition used code words in public to make its attacks. I thought there was too much emphasis on my husband's hearing disability, too much on his age. I believe ageism and racism are both discriminatory.

In light of this incident, I would like the NJGOP to consider passing a resolution that would ban employees of the NJGOP from seeking outside campaign consulting contracts with candidates or committees active in Republican primaries. I think that this would remove a clear conflict of interest from our primary process, and would allow the NJGOP to remain focused on its goal of electing Republicans across the state.