THE YAEDE DELUSION & ILLUSION ON HAMILTON TAXES

Kelly Yaede is suffering from something when it comes to her representations regarding Hamilton Township Taxes. Hopefully, she is just unable to remember that she along with Mr. Pone and Mr. Kenny voted for the LARGEST TAX INCREASE in the history of Hamilton.  Ms Yaede continually refers to taxes over the past 5 years. Perhaps her memory only runs to 2009.  More likely, however, she is intentionally creating the illusion for voters that her tax record is that of a councilwoman that never voted for a tax increase.

In point of fact Yaede has supported 3 tax increases during the past 6 years. Granted the increases for 2012 (1.87%) and 2013 (.7%) were minimal. But, that is only because the 2008 Tax Increase was such a whopper – a 46.29% increase.  The 2008 increase yielded $13,324,000 in additional revenue for the township (see page 11 of the 2008 Budget that is conveniently not online at your Township website). Since 2008 Hamilton has accrued an additional $104,349,231 in tax revenues, on the back of Hamilton residents because it never returned the tax rate to 2007 levels.

Mr. Joe Zannoni submitted a letter to the editor recently pointing out the Hamilton Republican hypocrisy on taxes. Low and behold the Zannoni letter elicited a response from 2 Yaede administration officials. No response from our appointed Mayor, but from 2 of her attack dogs; former Councilman and Director of Economic Development, Mike Angarone, and current Councilman Dennis Pone. Both of Ms Yaede’s mouth pieces continue the effort to confuse the taxpayers. The fictional story continues! Now, according to Pone and Angarone, even though the all republican Council passed the 46% tax increase, it wasn’t their fault!  I have not seen them give it back, have you?

Well, is Ms. Yaede delusional when it comes to taxes? Is she purposely pulling the wool over Hamiltonians eyes to create her illusion? Is she just unable to form an intelligent thought on this issue without fibbing; thus her continued silence. Or, is Yaede perpetuating the big lie to benefit her election and 2 of her running mates, which also voted to raise your taxes and slam your pocketbook in 2008; the 1^st year after the GOP gained control of Hamilton’s government?

By the way, Yaede’s own projections for 2014 and 2015 call for an additional $5.8 Million in tax revenue (see numbered page 1 in the Mayor's Proposed 2013 Budget in the link to the right).  I wonder where she proposes to get that money.  I hope all of your backs can bear even more of the tax burden if the republicans continue to run Hamilton!

 

YAEDE"S SILENCE on HAMILTON CRIME - SHAMEFUL

Hamilton has had a well publicized rash of crime in recent months. Over 30 home invasions in the Golden Crest section; Ms. Yaede's response - NONE!  A string of armed robberies on  South Broad St.; the un-elected Mayor's response... NOTHING!! A tragic murder in the Deutzville area; Yaede's response - SILENCE!!! 13 shootings in Hamilton since Yaede was appointed Mayor; the Yaede rsponse..."crime is down in Hamilton"; "Hamilton only has a gang presence not a gang problem".  Really Ms. Yaede??????

 I know you are up for election and this time of year is often called the "silly season", but Hamilton residents do not think this is a comedy!  What in the world is a "GANG PRESENCE”?  If you really think that there is a difference between a GANG PRESENCE and a GANG PROBLEM, that alone causes me to question your competence to lead.  A gang presence in Hamilton is ok with you?  You have got to be kidding? 

Neither Yaede nor her administration even notified the residents of Golden Crest that there were a rash of break ins in Golden Crest until more than 30 had occurred. Golden Crest residents were justifiably outraged!!  Why weren't flyers distributed in the neighborhood? Why wasn't the reverse 911 system used to notify residents of the crime and the impending danger?  A murder and 13 shootings since Yaede was appointed Mayor.  Her response has been predictable...just more SILENCE.  Shameful.

Hamiltonians are understandably outraged by the interim Mayors lack of comment and response to the crime in Hamilton.  An effective leader stands up and is heard in good times and bad. A leader inspires. A leader does not run and hide during critical moments. Kelly Yaede, you are no leader!!!  Perhaps if you spent more time fighting the crime instead of hiding the numerous non functional Police SUV's , behind the Police Station, all of us would be better off.

 

YAEDE'S POLICE EQUIPPED SUV

Most Hamilton residents probably expect that their Mayor would be driving a township vehicle when on official township business. Would they be surprised, however, if their Mayor drove a police car? No not a marked Hamilton Township black and white, but how about a new SUV fully equipped with a police package. That’s right our newly appointed Mayor has a vehicle with a police radio and some.

Apparently, Ms. Yaede fancies herself as a Hamilton Police officer. The problem with  Yaede's illusion is she is not a sworn police officer and has zero law enforcement experience. Yaede has no training whatsoever with the FBI, NJ State Police, or even a local police academy. Kelly Yaede is a civilian who is completely unqualified to play cop. She just happens to have been appointed Hamilton’s interim Mayor by her 3 running mates, Messrs Kenny, Pone and Gore, who also approved the use of her police equipped vehicle. Ironically, Kenny, Pone, Gore and Yaede provided embattled Mayor Bencivengo with a new 2012 Chevy Tahoe just weeks after he had been arrested and charged with public corruption by the FBI.

Yaede has appointed herself as Hamilton’s Public Safety Director, following in the footsteps of her former running mate, and convicted former Mayor, John Bencivengo. NJ law appears to be abundantly clear barring civilian public safety directors, like Yaede, from having her play police car. The NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police has published a “white paper” outlining Limitations of Authority under NJ Law of Civilian Police / Public Safety Directors. That document sites NJ case law; opinions of the NJ Attorney General and NJ Statutes supporting the prohibition. N.J.S.A. 52:17B-67 specifies that a police officer is “any employee of a law enforcement unit…other than civilian heads thereof.” The Attorney Generals opinion also specifically lists many prohibitions for a civilian Police director, including operating a police vehicle or a vehicle equipped with a police radio.

 How much did our unelected mayor’s perk cost the taxpayers? Why does she insist on travelling in a vehicle prohibited by law? Remember... that absolute power corrupts absolutely!

ED GORE CENSURE by STATE ETHICS COMMISSION - Part I

Ed Gore is a Republican, Hamilton Councilman seeking his 1st full term on Council.  Prior to completing an unexpired term on Council, Mr. Gore previously served on the Hamilton Board of Education. When one reads about Mr. Gore there is little mention of his BOE tenure.  I think we have figured out why.

Mr. Gore was the subject of a formal Complaint to the NJ School Ethics Commission regarding his official behavior while a member of the Board. On November 26,1996, the Ethics Commission determined that Gore while a member of the Hamilton Bd of Ed had violated NJSA 18-A:12-24b of the School Ethics Act by using his position on the Board to secure the home addresses of district employees and using that information to send employees a letter advising them that their jobs could be in jeopardy if they did not vote for the Board candidates Gore had endorsed.

The Ethics Commission recommended that Gore be censured and the NJ Commissioner of Education adopted the Commissions finding & directed that Gore be publicly Censured as a school official having violated the School Ethics Act. Rather than admitting his error and apologizing for his acts, Mr. Gore continued to deny that he had committed any impropriety and appealed the decision to the Commissioner of Education and the State School Board .  Both parties rejected Gore's analysis and affirmed the ethical failings and Ordered that Mr. Gore be Censured and that the censure be read at a Hamilton Township Board of Education meeting.

Do you think Ed Gore learned from his ethical failing?  Does the extreme nature of his abuse of his public office render him unfit to serve the citizens of Hamilton?  Tune in to Part II for the rest of the story.

Here is the link to the full body of the Gore Censure decision.
http://www.nj.gov/education/legal/sboe/1997/gore2.pdf

Birdsall's Illegal Campaign Donations to Republican Council & Committee

Birdsall is a NJ engineering firm that often sought engineering work in Hamilton Township and received contracts between 2008 and 2012 that totaled more then $275,000. Over the course of the past year the Birdsall  has become the poster child for campaign finance abuse and illegal campaign donations to New Jersey politicians. The State's investigation into Birdsall's scheme uncovered evidence that it was filtering corporate political contributions through its employees and soliciting unlawful contracts. 

Birdsall has been funneling illegal campaign donations to Hamilton Council members and the Hamilton Township Republican Committee since at least February of 2008. Birdsall continued to execute its scheme to avoid New Jersey Campaign Finance laws and the Hamilton Pay to Play ordinance each year through March 3, of 2012. throughout the 49 month period Hamilton's Council awarded Birdsall with at least 8 engineering contracts with a total value exceeding $270,000.

Council members Yaede, Kenny, Pone and Gore all voted to give Birdsall substantial contracts, and why not, each of their campaigns had been greased with illegal Birdsall donations. The Friends of Ed Gore received $250 of illegal Birdsall contributions. The committee to Re Elect Dennis Pone received $300; the Election Fund for Bencivengo Yaede received $600; Friends of Goodwin, Kenny and Pone collected $2,200; Friends of John Bencivengo accepted $3,512 and the Hamilton Township Republican Committee received over $16,000 in illegal Birdsall donations.

It would be incredible for any of the recipients to suggest they were not aware of these ill begotten donations, as the primary orchestrator of the gift giving was reported to be Phil Angarone Jr.  For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Angarone let's take a moment to review his Hamilton Republican's bona fides. Mr. Angarone was the Director of marketing for the now indicted Birdsall engineering firm. He is also the nephew of former Republican Councilman, and current Hamilton Economic Development Director Michael Angarone. Phil Jr. is also the son of Phil Angarone Sr., the campaign manager for Benvivengo and Yaede's re-election campaign; and the former Deputy Chief of Staff for Gov. Whitman.  Phil Jr. also previously served as Merecer County Republican Chairman and chaired both Mayor Bencivengo's Ball and add committee. So you see Mr. Angarone was not exactly separated from Yaede, Kenny, Pone and Gore by 7 degrees of separation.  Rather, he was an intimate member of the Hamilton Republican family.

Republican Councilman Kevin Meara was quoted as saying that "he believes Township Council has awarded Birdsall with several no-bid contracts". Incidentally, it would appear that all Birdsall contracts were awarded while our fearsome foursome (Yaede, Kenny, Pone and Gore) were all seated on Council. 

Did any of our highly ethical Council members alert authorities about this illegal campaign donation scheme? Not that I've read in any media report.  Did any of our crusaders for justice return any of the donations or even donate them to charity?  Apparently not, in any event it is not apparent from reviewing their current and past ELEC reports.  Did any of our fearless leaders report the donations to NJ ELEC.  Apparently not, although Ms. Yaede did promise full disclosure of all her campaign funds, yet continues to ignore her pledge and has never disclosed the donors of some $20,000 she transferred into her campaign coffers.

Do we have a pay to play problem in Hamilton?  Why were the illegal Birdsall contributions never disclosed by our elected officials?  Why didn't our Republican elected councilpersons return the tainted funds? Why would Hamilton councilmen Pone, and Kenny both vote for a Birdsall contract the last time it came before Council, just days after Angarone Jr. plead guilty?  Even former Republican Senator Bill Schulter, a former State Ethics Chairman said "the money is an ill-gotten gain". "Maybe they did not know at the time what Birdsall was doing , but they know now and should give it back".  Apparently, not in Hamilton Republican circles!

Houston, I think we have a problem!!!!!!

Baron History Relevant to Bencivengo Scandal?

Well, the leaves are changing color and dropping daily.  The mums are in full bloom and "silly season" has clearly arrived. 

This year’s race for Mayor of New Jersey's 9th largest municipality is unlike any other. Sure the Baron AA story gently rocked the Hamilton political scene after the club was raided in 1998. After the Baron publicity mounted for months, longtime Hamilton Mayor, John "Jack Rafferty, announced that he was retiring from politics and would not seek a 7th term.  Somewhat predictably, the Democrats easily won the 1999 election and assumed control of the Hamilton Municipal Building.

Despite the magnitude of the Baron scandal, Hamilton had never seen a sitting Mayor indicted, convicted and jailed, until former Mayor, John Bencivengo, disgraced "America's Favorite Hometown" in 2012.

The Baron episode played out for well over a year during 1998 and 1999.  The news media's appetite for recounting the well known membership, gambling, and the Attorney General's investigation seemed insatiable at times.  The Bencivengo scandal also received the bright light treatment from the media.  Locally, however, there seem to be several significant differences.  One obvious difference is the involvement of the FBI in the Bencivengo matter.  A second difference is that the Bencivengo - Warney - Ljuba scandal dealt directly with political corruption and bribes rather then alleged gambling activities. The 3rd and perhaps most significant difference is that in the late 1990's Hamilton had its own local cable news outlet, WZBN, which drove and reported the story virtually on a daily basis.

So, Hamilton Mayor, John Bencivengo was arrested and charged with 5 Federal crimes on April 26, 2012.  A United States District Court Grand Jury indicted Bencivengo on 5 counts of corruption on June 21, 2012.  A jury of his peers heard riveting testimony from Ms. Marliese Ljuba and listened to dozens of surreptitious recordings of Bencivengo's discussions. Then Bencivengo was convicted on all counts of the indictment on November 20, 2012 and resigned his office the following day.  On March 13, 2013, Hamilton's former disgraced Mayor was sentenced to 38 months of imprisonment.

 Will the results of the 2013 election mirror that of the 1999 election?  Will the scandal of the prior year once again sweep out an incumbent Republican Administration?  It is interesting that the two largest scandals ever affecting the Hamilton political scene both occurred in the midst of a perceived Republican stranglehold on the Township government.

Does absolute power really corrupt absolutely?  I imagine that at 10 pm, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of this November, most of these questions will be answered by the voters of Hamilton Township.