BCRO debuts "Corruption Tax" ad

The Bergen County Republicans promised to raise the specter of indicted Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero a campaign issue, and they’ve done so, tying alleged corruption within the party to higher taxes in a new campaign commercial called “Corruption Tax.”

The advertisement, which was produced by the Bergen County Republican Organization, shows someone wearing an FBI jacket in front of a giant Bergen Record headline about Ferriero’s indictment on eight corruption counts last month.

In front of a pile of cash are pictures of Democratic incumbents Bernadette McPherson, David Ganz and Vernon Walton.

“Party boss Joe Ferriero gave them millions. They did what he told them. The Democrats raised spending $133 million,” says the narrator. “Waste. Abuse. Patronage. Now Ferriero is indicted for corruption. Higher taxes plus corrupt government equals corruption taxes. You pay.”

The commercial ends with an appeal to vote for freeholder candidates Chris Calabrese, Jeffrey Heller and Paul Duggan, along with County Clerk Kathe Donovan.

Bergen County Republican Chairman wouldn’t indicate how much air time the party had purchased, saying only that it’s in the “thousands” and that it would air on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, ESPN and News 12 New Jersey.

One source put the amount of the Republican buy at approximately $20,000, and said that Democrats plan an $80,000 ad blitz, primarily on the radio, in the coming weeks. 

Democratic spokesman Bill Maer said that the incumbents have actually streamlined county government.

“The Democratic freeholders have done an excellent job of cutting the cost of Bergen County government, have reduced the amount of employees over 10%, have either reduced or kept the property taxes stable and have also created other efficiencies," he said. “No matter what the desperate Republican candidates say, we are confident that there will be a complete Democratic victory in Bergen County this November.”