GOP STRONG

The internal fight in the Passaic County Regular Republican Organization took an amusing turn today.

First, a splinter Republican group called GOP Strong -- which has been highly critical of Assemblyman and Passaic County Republican Chairman Scott Rumana (R-Wayne) -- issued a press release casting doubt on Rumana’s effectiveness and earnestness in his fight against Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) regulations.

Half an hour later, Rumana issued a press release announcing that he had been named “Legislator of the Year” by the Building Officials Association of New Jersey because of his opposition to the new COAH rules.

That drew a follow-up press release from GOP Strong, claiming that Rumana was touting the award as a “desperate attempt to demonstrate the he actually matters in Trenton,” and that the organization is “made up of a handful of bureaucrats who enforce onerous building codes in New Jersey.”

“Assemblyman Rumana knows he has done nothing meaningful to fight the state’s ridiculously harmful affordable housing regulations, so he gets some organization no one has ever heard of to give him an award while he is at a convention in Atlantic City. It is really a pathetic attempt to cover up his miserable record of accomplishment,” said Ramaglia

“Our party needs to reinvigorated and re-energized. We don’t need cheerleading, we need ideas that represent sound alternatives to the Democrats’ continued spending and wasting taxpayer dollars, “ said GOP Strong co -chair Michael Ramaglia.  

The political freedom we enjoy today – the right of self determination, the right to vote in elections free of government interference, the right criticize our government without repercussions are owed in large part to the men and women of the military who have fought to protect us from despots and tyrants.

If a municipality finds it needs or lacks Public Works employees or secretaries because they can’t afford to live in town or nearby, the better solution is to give that employee a housing stipend to offset mortgage or rent costs. That makes a lot more sense than allowing a developer to build hundreds of units of housing to provide a handful of So-called “affordable units.” 

If the last few months have taught us anything, it is that there are no shortcuts to homeownership – and that when government gets involved in housing decisions, the results are economically disastrous, “ said Fass 

“It has taken a national economic crisis – and a looming governor’s race -- for Gov. Corzine to recognize that New Jersey has a rotten economy and a very poor business environment. But his solution is to increase spending that will be paid for by middle class homeowners through higher taxes” said Michael Ramaglia, a co-chair of GOP Strong

Republicans need to stand up to the social engineers in Trenton and say no to a ruinous affordable housing policy that will destroy the environment and raise property taxes in Passaic County

“Corzine’s plan will take money out of the political system from the private sector leaving public employee unions with a bigger say in the outcome of elections. That will be a disaster for the taxpayers,”

“Corzine’s plan will take money out of the political system from the private sector leaving public employee unions with a bigger say in the outcome of elections. That will be a disaster for the taxpayers,”