Two more county chairmen have thrown their support behind potential U.S. Senate candidate Anne Evans Estabrook. 

Newly elected Bergen County Republican Chairman Rob Ortiz and Warren County Chairman Doug Steinhardt announced today that they’re joining Estabrook’s exploratory committee.  Estabrook already has the support of the Republican Party chairs from Camden, Gloucester  Hunterdon, Monmouth, Salem and Union Counties. 

After a meeting last night between newly-elected Bergen County GOP Chairman Rob Ortiz and his party’s slate of freeholder candidates, both sides say they’ve got a strategy in place to run a shoe-string campaign.

Just what that strategy is, of course, they would not say.

www.BergenGOP.org 

Bergen County Republicans launch new website

HACKENSACK, N.J. (August 14, 2007) – In a first step toward capitalizing on communications technologies to reach constituents, the Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) today launched the new official BCRO website: www.bergengop.org. 

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DEMOCRAT DISGRACE 

Democrats continue long-running pattern of abuse of taxpayer dollars to further partisan political interests

HACKENSACK, N.J. (August 6, 2007) – In response to yet another scandal in a seemingly endless litany of Democrats’ exploitation of the public trust and public treasure, Bergen County Republican Organization (BCRO) Chairman Rob Ortiz today issued the following statement:

“Democrats in Bergen County and around the state continue to show their contempt for the people they purport to represent...

Pretend, just for a moment, that Rob Ortiz, the newly-elected Bergen County Republican Chairman, is the real thing: he raises the kind of money Joe Ferriero did when he became Democratic County Chairman in 1998 (at a time when Republicans completely dominated county and state government), and in November, he picks up three Freeholder seats and a State Senate seat.  That would make Ortiz a genuine Republican hero as he brings the GOP back to life in the state’s largest county.

State Sen. Joseph Coniglio is the target of a federal corruption investigation
The news that State Sen. Joseph Coniglio received a target letter from federal prosecutors can’t hurt Republican Robert Colletti’s chances to win a state Senate seat, but Bergen GOP leaders are responding to the news cautiously.

“It's always sobering when there are serious accusations that an elected official has violated the public trust, but we'll wait for the legal process to play out,” said Bergen County GOP Chairman Robert Ortiz, who was elected earlier this week.

Colletti is running a shoe string campaign in the 38th District, which normally leans strongly toward the Democrats. But Coniglio’s potential legal troubles may give the campaign a boost -- even if Coniglio is replaced by another candidate, according to Colletti’s campaign.

I N   C A S E   Y O U   M I S S E D   I T:

Comeback time 

A lead editorial in today’s Record outlined what it believes is necessary for Republicans to make a comeback in Bergen County – highlighting many of  the same points on which newly-elected Chairman Rob Ortiz ran his campaign.   

Rob Ortiz didn’t have much time to celebrate his victory last night. After winning the Chairmanship of the Bergen County Republican Organization, Ortiz was given his first task: lock up the headquarters building.

The grind starts immediately for Ortiz. Tonight he’ll be back at headquarters, helping run an event with special guest 14th District Assemblyman Bill Baroni. Baroni, a primary author of the state’s Clean Elections legislation, is trying to drum up small donors in support of the 37th district Republican legislative candidates – about as long shot a slate as you can get in New Jersey, since they’re running against a ticket led by the ever popular Loretta Weinberg. But it’s a race Ortiz thinks is important to mount nonetheless.

ORTIZ WINS
Rob Ortiz elected new BCRO chair

Hackensack, NJ (July 23, 2007) - Signaling their readiness to move forward in a new direction, Bergen County Republicans tonight delivered a strong mandate by electing Ridgewood attorney Rob Ortiz as their new Chairman. Ortiz garnered over 57% of the vote in a special election at BCRO headquarters in Hackensack.

Attorney Rob Ortiz was elected Bergen County Republican Chairman tonight, easily defeating two opponents to succeed Guy Talarico at the helm of a struggling party organization.

Ortiz won  263 votes, to 171 for Bergenfield GOP Chairman Ben Focarino and 24 for former New Jersey Christian Coalition President Bill Thomson.