Myers continues to needle Adler on slush fund

On Friday, Republican Medford Mayor Chris Myers asked his Democratic 3rd District Congressional opponent, State Sen. John Adler, whether he ever received funds from a controversial legislative slush fund.

Frustrated at what he saw as a non-answer, Myers reiterated the question today.

“I called on John Adler to come clean on his potential involvement in this scam last week, and the silence was deafening,” said Myers in a press release today. “Adler owes the taxpayers of New Jersey – and in particular the 3rd Congressional District – an answer as to whether or not he was involved in this massive abuse of taxpayer dollars. A list of individual legislators – Democrat and Republican – who were involved in this scam, and the pet projects they funded should be released for public review immediately. The way politicians in Trenton abuse their power and our tax dollars is despicable and the ones involved should all be held to account immediately.”

The Property Tax Assistance and Community Development grant program reemerged as a controversial issue last week, after Senate budget aide George LeBlanc testified at former State Sen. Wayne Bryant’s corruption trial that Bryant got $4 million from the $40 million fund to give to projects of his choice.

That led Myers to ask Adler whether he was ever given anything from the account. Adler, in turn, responded that the attack was “erroneous” and “desperate,” and that Adler "has always conducted himself in an ethical, honest and appropriate way."

That response, however, did not directly address the question of whether Adler ever received any of the funds. Adler’s campaign did not immediately comment on today’s challenge by Myers.