John Bencivengo

Two Republican mayors joined former President Bill Clinton at a fundraiser for Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer's new non-profit organization, Trenton First - an event that turned out to be a virtual love fest for Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign.  John Bencivengo of Hamilton and David Fried of Robbinsville, both supporters of Republican Christopher Christie, attended the $150-per-person fundraiser in support of Palmer.  Fried came within four votes of ousting Mercer County GOP Chairman Roy Wesley in 2008, and has been a frequent critic of Wesley's leadership this year.

Mercer County Democratic Chairman Rich McClellan said today that Republicans' criticism of one party rule cuts both ways.  

If Mercer County Republican Chairman Roy Wesley is going to complain that unilateral Democratic control of Mercer has led to bloated, inefficient and corrupt government, he said, then Wesley should acknowledge as much for Hamilton, a large municipality with a Republican mayor and all-Republican council.  

“Roy Wesley has been trying to tell anyone that will listen that one party leadership at the County level is a bad thing.” said McClellan.  “All I’m asking him to do is to show some ethical honesty and oppose one party rule by Republicans in Hamilton Township also.  That seems reasonable to me.”

Former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has won endorsements from nine of thirteen Republican municipal chairmen in Mercer County, as well as the backing of GOP County Chairman Roy Wesley and all four of the county's Republican mayors.

Christie was also endorsed by former Mercer County Executive Robert Prunetti.  As U.S. Attorney, Christie prosecuted Prunetti's Chief of Staff, Harry Parkin.  Parkin's 7 ½ year prison sentence was the longest of any of the more than 100 public officials Christie sent to jail.

Other Mercer County Republican leaders supporting Christie include: U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton), State Sen. Bill Baroni (R-Hamilton), Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo, Ewing Mayor Jack Ball, Robbinsville Mayor David Fried, and Hightstown Mayor Robert Patten.

"Chris Christie and I share a commitment to protecting the most vulnerable in society including victims of human trafficking, pornography, forced labor and other crimes and horrific human rights abuses," said Smith.  He is a strong and innovative leader and as Governor, Chris Christie will fight for what is just and right for the people of New Jersey."

HAMILTON – Mayor John Bencivengo said he does not have the ability to rescind the appointment of Jack Lacy to the Township Library Board of Trustees and the Redevelopment Agency. 

In any case, the mayor said he is satisfied by Lacy’s apology for broadcasting an e-mail comparing the inauguration of President Barack Obama to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which local Democrats have denounced as racist.  

After reading Lacy’s Jan. 30th email, Hamilton Township Democratic Chair John F. Kroschwitz called on Bencivengo and the Town Council to ditch Lacy, a former Republican councilman.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie, left, is greeted in the Golden Dawn by owner Chris Kurnellas.

HAMILTON – The floorboards of the Golden Dawn Diner are worn with the scuffling soles of many a politician on the move in Mercer County, and some of them are here today as a black bus with the words “Strong Leadership Now” emblazoned on its side, pulls into the parking lot and GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie descends to street level amid a wave of cheers. 

“He’s the right man at the right time,” Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo says in the glass-enclosed entranceway. “He’s tough, and he knows government.” 

Christie has his family with him as he plunges into a hoard of cameras and reporters intermingled with well-wishers and he drags them all with him as he trots up the diner’s front steps hearing the other cries come louder now from the sign-shaking Laborers International Union of North America protesters on Mercerville-Whitehorse Road: “Christie equals Bush! Christie equals Bush! Christie equals Bush!”

HAMILTON- On the night of a GOP fundraiser for Mayor John John Bencivengo: Politicker file photoBencivengo attended by 300 people, Bencivengo expressed incredulity that Hamilton Democratic Party Chair John Kroschwitz wants to file a criminal complaint against him for holding the event on township property.

"This is a deliberate violation of a township ordinance passed back in April of 2000 that prohibits any political fundraising in all township buildings," Kroschwitz complained Thursday night.

Bencivengo said the ordinance was not designed to encompass the Sayen House and Sayen Gardens, which are home to events of all kinds.

"The Friends of Sayen (a not-for-profit 501c3 corporation) run the house, and we paid $400 to have our event there," Bencivengo said of his fundraiser, where the mayor and his allies charged $50 a head.

State Sen. Joe Pennacchio has released the names of three Mercer County supporters for his U.S. Senate bid. 

Pennacchio is backed by Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo, Robbinsville Mayor David Fried and Hightstown Mayor Bob Patten. 

Hamilton Mayor John BencivengoStrengthened by what he described as a "shared vision with my people, a cause to be accomplished and a dream come true," John Bencivengo officially became mayor of Hamilton today as he was sworn in by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith in the ballroom of the Nottingham Firehouse in front of a crowd of 350 people.

"I wish that I could have given a more cheerful address today," said Bencivengo in a nod to the town’s $10 million budget deficit. "But even if our fiscal circumstances had been better, even if we had ample surplus, I’d be saying the same things. It should be our goal, no matter the circumstances, to do more with less."

The former Republican Party municipal chairman and fired government worker ran and won on a platform of restoring common sense and accountability to government. Today Bencivengo swore always to remember that working families fund the town, and promised to present the 2009 budget on time in July.

He made the second of these vows in defiance of the record of his predecessor, Glen Gilmore, who sat on the document last year until a judge ruled he had to release it to the Township Council prior to the November election. The release of the 2008 budget, which initially showed a $5 million shortfall, helped propel the Republican Bencivengo to victory over Gilmore by fewer than 500 votes.

Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore today said he was disappointed but not shocked by the results of an election he lost earlier this month by 51 to 49%, and wouldn't speculate on the details of a comeback.

Asked about rumors that he would challenge Rep. Christopher Smith in 2008, Gilmore left the door open.

Slapped on Election Day with a front page headline notifying voters in Hamilton Township that there is a $5 million shortfall in the budget, Mayor Glen Gilmore said he is confident Hamiltonians will judge him on his full body of work as mayor.

"They came in at the last minute but we have laid the foundation to withstand that," said Gilmore in the Colonial Firehouse, addressing the Republican Township Council's successful efforts yesterday to release the town's financial assessment in the hours before Election Day.