Bob Yudin

Our national freedoms, which we cherish so much and yet so often take for granted, would soon evaporate if it were not for the brave men and women willing to put on a uniform and fight for this great nation.

The Bergen County Republican Organization has become the voice of the taxpayer and the voice of those who are truly interested in representing the people who live in Bergen County. We emerged as a respected watchdog party.

Only in New Jersey: Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin goes moose hunting in Hackensack, only to learn a Bergen County Republican freeholder candidate was once a socialist.

The humorous radio ad, produced by the Bergen County Democratic freeholder and county clerk slate, has drawn outrage from the Bergen County Republicans, who called part of it an attack on Freeholder candidate Paul Duggan’s Irish heritage.

The ad, which is interspersed with moose calls, begins with an unidentified male voice asking a Palin impersonator what she’s doing in Hackensack.

“Me and my maverick friends hear that there’s some darn good moose hunting here,” she says, before adding that she’s heard that “the Republican candidates are some pretty serious reformers.”

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 Joe Ferriero indictment has spilled over into the 5th District Congressional race.

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin today asked Democrat Dennis Shulman, who’s challenging U.S. Rep. E. Scott Garrett in the Bergen-dominated district, to call on Ferriero – who was indicted last week on eight corruption counts along with former BCDO general counsel Dennis Oury – to permanently resign from his chairmanship.

“If Mr. Shulman is to seriously demonstrate his commitment to the people of the Fifth District and to clean government, why then has he not called for the resignation of a corrupt party boss?” said Yudin. “At a time when Democratic leaders such as Gov. Jon Corzine and Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan have already asked for Ferriero to step aside, I question why Mr. Shulman has not followed suit?”

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin was so incensed by Freeholder David Ganz’s defense of indicted Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero that he called on the freeholder himself to resign this morning.

Yudin said that, while Ferriero remains innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, an indictment is cause enough to remove him from his chairmanship of the Democratic organization.

“This is a person running a political organization, and an indictment is damning enough that he should resign,’ he said. “If there is a prima facie case as there is here, it is outrageous that an elected official like Ganz says he should not resign. Not only is it outrageous, but if that’s his position, then he honestly doesn’t understand what being an elected official means. He’s betraying the voters’ trust.”

In October, 2007, Dennis Oury gave the Bergen County Democratic Organization a $25,000 interest-free loan. 

At the time, Oury was the BCDO’s general counsel.  Yesterday, he stepped down after Tuesday’s indictment charging him and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joe Ferriero with eight corruption counts. But the loan remains on the books.

Kay Nest, the party’s vice-chair who’s acting as chairwoman while Ferriero takes a leave of absence, said that she didn’t know about the loan, but it’s something that the party will be sure to address in the coming weeks, when top officials will pour over its finances.

When asked whether the BCDO should return the loan, Nest said “you just gave me a good idea. I didn’t even know about that.  I’ll definitely look into it.” 

Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin said that the indictment of his Democratic counterpart, Joe Ferriero, reiterates the need for both parties to be represented in Bergen County government.

“It’s a very sad day, and a very unfortunate day for the people of Bergen County. It shows what one-party rule leads to. The entire Democratic organization in Bergen County is corrupt,” he said. “The three freeholders running for reelection were mentored by Joe Ferriero, they’ve always supported him, and it shows why we need a return to the two-party system.”