Rick Perr

"Bill’s decision to leave the Burlington County GOP is in line with the values, principles and ethics he risked his life to defend and today’s scurrilous attack is an affront to every veteran, taxpayer and resident of Burlington County.”

"If the Burlington GOP wants to cut taxes, honor the $25 million dollar spending cuts that Donnelly promised, enact pay-to-play and ethics reform so their 'Paulsen's 20' friends don't pocket $30 million in taxpayer dollars or institute real ethics reform at the Bridge Commission so their cronies don't steal $2.7 million out of the taxpayers wallets then they can do it.  They could have done it last year or the year before that or the year before that or the year before that....."

Brown and Reinhart led the fight to save jobs for 52 hard-working men and women of Burlington County.  52 families, dedicated to our shared vision for making Burlington County better, can sleep easier tonight thanks to the tireless efforts of Chris Brown and Mary Anne Reinhart.

Mount Laurel Councilwoman Tracy Riley resigned from the Burlington County Democratic Committee today because her law practice put her in a politically sensitive position.

"After long conversations with the leaders of the Burlington County Democratic Party, it has become apparent we have irreconcilable differences regarding my private work," said Riley in a statement released this morning.  "I do not want my private legal work to become a distraction in this party's pursuit of government reform. Simultaneously, I am dedicated to honoring the oath I have taken as a lawyer and will continue to provide a zealous defense as the Constitution requires. Therefore, I am resigning my position within the Burlington County Democratic Committee."

Riley's statement did not cite any specific conflicts, but two Democratic sources said the problem stemmed from her work on a high profile case involving illegal immigrants. 

Riley is the court-appointed defense lawyer for Lucio Garcia-Sanchez, a 19-year-old immigrant from Mexico who is in the United States illegally.  Garcia-Sanchez was a passenger in a car driven by his brother, Jose Luis Galindo-Sanchez - also an undocumented immigrant -- that killed popular 27-year-old middle school teacher Amy Voorhees.  According to newspaper reports, Galindo-Sanchez caused the accident by running a red light.

DEMOCRATS BLAST GOP ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES AS NOTHING MORE THAN LIMBAUGH DITTOHEADS

Burlington County Democrats have picked a councilwoman and a labor leader to run for freeholder in what is expected to be a hotly contested race.

Democrats have picked Mount Holly Councilwoman Kimberly Kersey, who has served on that body for less than a year, and IBEW Local 98 Leader Jim Bernard, a telecommunications technician from Cinnaminson, to run against for the seats currently held by Republicans Bill Haines and Jim Wujcik, who are both considering retiring when their terms are up.

Democrats are confident going into this year’s race, as they rode a wave last year to pick up two freeholder seats.  This year, Republicans are defending their 3-2 majority on the board. 

Burlington County Republican Chairman Bill Layton doubts his party will have to defend two open freeholder seats this year, when control of the board hanging in the balance.  But even if they do, Layton said it won't make a difference.

"It doesn't matter if there are two vacancies or not. Last year we lost an election because of Barack Obama, and this year that dynamic has changed.  We have Chris Christie at the top of the ticket," he said.

Both Jim Wujcik and Bill Haines - the only freeholders up for reelection -- are mulling retirement.

While Layton was less certain about Wujcik, he was confident that Haines would decide to give it another go.

"Bill Haines has been a great freeholder, and he's contemplated running for reelection a few times during the last couple elections he's run," Layton said.  "I think he indicated pretty clearly that he's interested in running and a lot of things changed when Aubrey [Fenton] and Stacey [Jordan] lost."

State Democratic Party Chair Joe Cryan, right, on the campaign trail with Elizabeth Councilman Nelson Gonzalez.

When State Democratic Chairman Joseph Cryan focused his players in the middle of the Obama presidential campaign, he told them to get ready for a long game, a two-year operation, in fact.

Despite all temptation to treat Obama’s victory like the ultimate end-zone rush and champagne romp, Election Night on Nov. 4th should be handled more the way a geared-up squad treats a 15-point lead in their favor in the locker room come half-time.

Everyone’s first job was to elect Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il.) president.  In comfortably accomplishing that, the campaign made up of 45 field organizers coordinated over a million volunteer calls, pounded on 750,000 door knocks, and built a volunteer base of more than 10,000 bodies.

Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr

MT. LAUREL -- Burlington County Democratic Chairman Rick Perr inherited a perennial minority party. Tonight, it became relevant.

It was a lower-profile victory than Congressional candidate John Adler’s, which Burlington County played an integral role in. But now the Burlington Democrats have ridden a wave to take two freeholder seats and the county clerk’s office.

“We had the better message, and the better messengers. Burlington County was ripe for a change. It was something we’ve been talking about for the last two and a half years,” said Perr. “We knew that Democrats in Burlington County could win at the top of the ballot. The only reason we didn’t win down ballot is because we didn’t get the message out.”

Democrats stormed Burlington County Republican headquarters in Mount Holly earlier today, demanding to know how Freeholder Director Aubrey Fenton and Freeholder Stacey Jordan are funding their campaign with one week to go before Election Day.

Evesham Deputy Mayor Chris Brown and Shamong Committeewoman Mary Anne Reinhart wonder how Fenton and Jordan can pay for a barrage of Philadelphia network television advertising when the GOP candidates reported just $44,000 in the bank in their latest ELEC report.