Free-wheelin' Freeholders

I am personally and politically offended when Republicans lecture anybody, including the Democratic Party, on the issue of fiscal responsibility.

On the national, state, and local levels they continue to make fiscally unsound choices, going against [again and again] their so-called ‘core’ philosophy of ‘conservatism’.

That, as Spanky from the Little Rascals would say, is a lot of hooey.

On the national level, Bush and the Republicans in Congress squandered a surplus created in the Clinton years, and have spent billions on an endless war in Iraq.

On the state level, when Whitman and the Republicans were in charge, they grew state debt astronomically, while borrowing $2.6 billion without public approval to pay for the state pension fund.

And on the local level in my home county, the Hunterdon County Freeholders just spent more than two million dollars building a clubhouse for the County golf course. Outrageous.

Now I like golf as much as the next guy---especially if the next guy does not play golf. However, I think Hunterdon residents should be outraged that the County is getting in to the Country Club business.

What's next? Restaurants. Night Clubs, Bowling Alleys. The list of possible businesses is endless.

These are the same so-called free market Republicans who disdain when the government gets in to any kind of ‘business’ ----that is much better administered by private businesses.

“It’s a good deal for the County" they say. ‘It will increase business at the golf course,' they offer.

Perhaps it will.

However, if a clubhouse is such great deal, why can’t they find ‘private investors’ to provide the construction capital? Isn’t that the way the ‘free market’ in capitalism is supposed to work? If a business man or a business woman sees value in the construction and maintenance of a golf club house, are we not better off allowing that private investment to flourish, rather than taking property tax dollars that are better spent on actual public services? Those dollars could be used for employee salaries, road construction, bridge repair or dare I say it ---- to help offset rising taxes.

I thank Freeholders George Melick and Eric Peterson for opposing the clubhouse construction. But the other Republicans ----Ron Sworen, Matt Holt and George Muller: shame on you.

Soon your party will think you’re voting like ----dare I say it ----damn liberals!

Unless the golf course is going to draw the likes of Tiger Woods, but only if we have a great Clubhouse ----I think the Freeholders should can it.

One to a customer, please!

Trenton Democrats have finally put an end to a practice that has plagued NJ for years: Dual office holding. And sometimes, triple and qradruple office holding. Both parties have been guilty of this practice. Tom O'Neill wrote about this back in June of 2006 for New Jersey Policy Perspective.

Here is a blurb from an article from the Star-Ledger about the issue:

"After a year of political wrangling and false starts, legislation to make it illegal for public officials to land more than one elected post after next February easily cleared the Assembly yesterday. Assembly members argued for about an hour before passing the measure 69-3 with eight abstentions. The bill (A4326) is scheduled for a final vote in the Senate later this month."

In our own County of Hunterdon, Repubs will squawk that this bill does not "do enough". It is a compromise for sure, but it does address the issue just the same. Now that dual office holding will be illegal in NJ, those who do hold more than one office will be pressured come election time to make a choice. Indeed, their feet will be held to the political fire by their opponents in both the primary and the general election.

Of course, many in the Repubs Party have held dual offices themselves:

George Melick was on the Tewksbury Twp Committee very early when he was freeholder.

Marcia Karrow was a Raritan Township Committee woman, and freeholder at the same time. And then she was freeholder and Assemblywoman at the same time.

Melick and Karrow gave up their offices, and now hold just one elective office.

Ron Sworen is the mayor of Frenchtown and a freeholder --- and he is running again for Mayor. Dual office holding should most definately be an issue in his race in November.

Now it will be phased in as the law. It is a good start to handle an old problem.

Next: Those seeking office should have to pinpoint where they take money from developers on their ELEC filings, regardless of the amount.