Rick Perr

Peter Cammarano, elected Mayor of Hoboken in June by a narrow margin and gone in July after federal prosecutors arrested him for taking bribes, seemed to believe that he was on his way to political stardom.  While still a candidate for Mayor, Cammarano appeared to be planning a bid for the Democratic nomination for Governor.  The events that led to the resignation late last night of Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr were tied to Cammarano's empire building strategy.  Perr, it seems, was to be Cammarano's man in South Jersey. 

Just a week before Cammarano was arrested, he had a lunch meeting with a group of about a dozen young Democrats from different parts of the state to talk about his statewide prospects.  Perr was there.  Perr even sent out an e-mail to Democratic donors talking up Cammarano and seeking contributions to his campaign.  He did this while Republicans were outspending Democrats in Evesham by a 4-1 margin as they won back control in the May elections - a move that truly annoyed some key South Jersey Democrats.

Perr had personal political ambitions too.  He aggressively lobbied party leaders to win the Democratic nomination for Congress last year when it appeared that Rob Andrews (D-Haddon Heights) would not return to the House.  Sources say that in a Global Strategy poll paid for by the Burlington Democratic organization, Perr tested himself as a potential candidate for State Senator in District 8, where the conventional wisdom is that Philip Haines (R-Springfield) will resign later this year to become a Superior Court Judge.  The poll showed that Perr had little name ID and that the leading Republican candidate, former Medford Mayor Christopher Myers, was beating him by a huge margin.  Sources say that Perr ally Jeff Meyer, a lobbyist who quit as party Treasurer because of his ties to a PAC that was helping Cammarano, was himself eyeing a run for State Senate against Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) in two years.

Burlington County Republicans have filed a complaint with the Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) against Burlington Democratic Chairman Rick Perr and three other Democrats who were involved in the controversial New Frontier PAC.

The complaint, filed by Republican staffer Brandon Umba, requests that ELEC look into whether Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr violated the law “by knowingly running a Continuing Political Committee while serving as Chairman of Burlington County Democrats.”

It also requests that ELEC investigate whether Perr, former Burlington County Democratic Treasurer Jeff Meyer, New Frontier PAC Chairman Dean Buono and PAC Treasurer Jack Senechal violated the law by not disclosing everyone who had control of the PAC, and whether Buono “abidicated his responsibility by allowing his treasurer Jack Senechal to take orders from Rick Perr and Jeff Meyer.”  

Perr, who had denied any involvement in the PAC, resigned last night amid pressure from Democrats after the Burlington County Times published emails in which he and Meyer discussed management of the PAC with Senechal.  Meyer resigned earlier this month.  

The PAC, formed to help Democrats take over Evesham's council in 2007, was used primarily for South Jersey races, but came under scrutiny over donations made to Hudson County politicians -- including Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, who was arrested last month for allegedly taking bribes from an FBI informant.

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr has resigned.  In an e-mail sent at 10:09 PM to Alice Furia, the Vice Chair, Perr said simply: "I am resigning as Chairman of the Burlington County Democratic Committee effective 12:01 am on September 1, 2009."  Furia will become Acting Chair.

Statement of Bill Brown and Debbie Sarcone, Democratic candidates for Assembly representing the Eighth Legislative District:

"We are running for office to represent the values and concerns of the hard-working families of Burlington County. People are sick and tired of unethical leadership in politics and government.

“It is now clear that our county Democratic Party chairman is unable to lead this fight in light of the revelations involving his recent actions.

“We are calling on him to resign immediately so our party can refocus on winning this November’s election and on bringing real reform and tax relief to the residents of the Eighth Legislative District.”

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Joint Statement of Assemblymen Jack Conners & Herb Conaway, MD, regarding Chairman Rick Perr:

"We find ourselves very disappointed in the actions and long pattern of self-dealing of both Burlington County Democratic Committee Chairman Rick Perr and the former treasurer over whom he exercised authority.

"There has been disregard for party rules and values and grievous disloyalty shown to long-time party supporters.

"We believe the Burlington County Democratic Party needs new leadership. Mr. Perr should immediately step aside and allow for the election of a new chairman."

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When calling for Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr to resign today, his fellow Democrats seized on a quote from Burlington County Republican spokesman Chris Russell to distance the larger party from Perr and former treasurer Jeff Meyer.

"As we suspected from the beginning, it appears the New Frontier PAC was nothing more than a front for Rick Perr and Jeff Meyer to conduct a pay-to-play scheme," Russell told the Burlington County Times in a story published yesterday.

Pointing to the quote, Democratic Freeholder Chris Brown called the scandal “the actions of two people… not the actions of the Democratic Party.”  

The county’s Democratic vice-chairwoman, Alice Furia, said “I agree with the Republicans’ assessment of who’s to blame, and it’s two individuals: Rick Perr and Jeff Meyer.”

But Russell – who works for a party that Democrats have spent years attacking as corrupt – said that the quote was not meant to exclude other Democrats.

If Rick Perr resigns as the Burlington County Democratic Chairman, look for Chris Fifis to emerge as a leading candidate to replace him.  Fifis, the owner of Ponzio's, a well-known gathering place for South Jersey politicians, has made unsuccessful runs for Freeholder and Assemblyman.

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr, caught up in a fundraising scandal, is under intense pressure from South Jersey Democrats to quit his post and is weighing whether to resign today.

“I think Rick needs to make some hard decisions, and he needs to make them today. He needs to do what’s best for the party,” said Chris Fifis, who heads the Lumberton Democrats.  

The pressure on Perr came to a head this weekend after the Burlington County Times published emails from Perr and former Burlington County Democratic Treasurer Jeff Meyer with Jack Senechal, the treasurer of the Medford-based New Frontier Committee PAC.  The PAC drew scrutiny after it poured money into arrested Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano’s campaign earlier this year.

Burlington Democrats are furious because they feel misled by Perr, who had previously denied involvement in running the PAC.  Meyer quit earlier this month after his involvement surfaced.

“Think about it, if you were involved and somebody had said that they had nothing to do with this, wouldn’t you be upset?” said Burlington County Democratic Vice-Chair Alice Furia, who will become acting chairwoman if Perr steps down.  “But I really can’t say anything about Rick Perr stepping down, stepping up, whatever.  You’ll have to Rick Perr about that.”

Perr could not immediately be reached for comment.  

Burlington County Democratic Treasurer Jeff Meyer quit the post shortly after the county’s Republicans went after him and local Democratic Chairman Rick Perr for donating heavily to arrested former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano’s campaign.  

Republicans released press releases last week about $15,400 in donations from the Burlington-based New Frontier PAC to Cammarano.  The story was picked up by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Burlington County Times.

“Jeff Meyer being forced out as Treasurer of the Burlington County Democratic Committee is a clear indication that there are more shoes to drop in this growing scandal,” said Burlington County Republican spokesman Chris Russel.  “It’s time for County Democrat Chairman Rick Perr to answer the questions we first posed last week: What prompted him to direct tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions to corrupt public officials in Hoboken and Hudson County, and what did he and the County Democrats expect to receive in return from their newfound North Jersey friends?”