SCCC Trustee Burrell (D) running for Mayor of Vernon

So now we know what tonight’s circus is in aid of…

Politics.  Real scumbag politics.  The kind that masquerades as self-righteousness when it is really only about self-dealing.

It turns out that for some time now, SCCC Trustee Howard Burrell has been discussing and planning a comeback political career.  Trustee Burrell was a Democrat Freeholder until he was defeated for re-election in 2002 by 4,000 votes.  Sussex County Democrat Committee Chairwoman Katie Rotondi and Murphy county coordinator Leslie Huhn are both Burrell backers.  

We understood why Democrats like Dan Perez and Lorraine Parker wanted to hold an anti-Trump rally disguised as a special public meeting of the SCCC trustees, but we couldn’t figure out why SCCC Board Chairman Bill Curcio went along with it.  Now we know. 

SCCC Trustee Howard Burrell managed Democrat Dan Perez’ 2017 Freeholder race against Republican Freeholder Director Herb Yardley.  Perez lost by 7,000 votes.  Now Perez is returning the favor and supporting Burrell.

The SCCC Board of Trustees dumped a Sussex County firm as its attorney and hired the Union County Democrat machine firm of former State Senator Ray Lesniak.  So it is official.  The facts surrounding this appointment are shocking and will be dealt with in length but suffice to say that Ray Lesniak was a big defender of the corrupt practice of pay-to-play.

So now we know why some players on the SCCC Board of Trustees have dragged their colleague of seven years through the dirt for something he’s apologized for again and again…

Politics.  Dirtbag politics.  The kind of politics that sacrifices human decency, forgiveness, and pity for self-advancement. 

Sussex County Community College isn’t supposed to be about politics.  The SCCC Board of Trustees aren’t supposed to create venues by which to hang one trustee so that another can launch his political comeback campaign.

In fact, using SCCC facilities for partisan political purposes is explicitly against the rules of the Internal Revenue Service.  The process by which an executive session of the Board was called (a trustee is not “personnel” and no lawsuit has been filed by any party) and a public meeting held could pose legal hurdles for the SCCC.

Curiously, Howard Burrell launched his original political career 30 years ago in the midst of the same rhetoric being used by some Democrats today… accusing anyone they don’t like of “racism” and “bigotry” while they push legislation that even most Democrats say is anti-Semitic.  It seems some Democrats have learned nothing in 30 years.

Also worth noting are the assurances made by Trustee Burrell to the Freeholder Board at the time of his appointment just last year.  Burrell’s appointment had been held up by an earlier Freeholder Board over concerns that he would use his position on the SCCC Board of Trustees as a springboard to political office.  The current Freeholder Board appointed him after being assured that politics would not be part of it.  This has obviously turned out not to be the case and Trustee Burrell will have some explaining to do.

It looks like former Freeholder Carl Lazzaro was right about Howard Burrell and Watchdog was wrong to have advocated for Burrell’s appointment to the SCCC Board of Trustees.  We admit our mistake.

LD38: Did Tim Eustace ever clear up his bail bond debt?

Legislative District 38 should be a competitive district.  Democrat Assemblyman Tim Eustace is looking pretty dashing these days, especially for a guy who should be worried about holding on to his 35 vote majority.  He doesn't appear to be, and it is a measure of just how vigorous an opposition he has faced this year that he has the extra resources to send his legislative aide (a young gent with frosted hair) to assist the Democrat legislative candidates in Sussex County.

Yep, instead of engaging in door-to-door combat in Hawthorne, Assemblyman Eustace's aide was at a debate in Sussex County, cheering on the Democrat team that has become affectionately known as the ANTIFA twins and their big sister, Jennifer "Boom Boom" Hamilton.  That right, it's no accident that "Kate & Gina" rhymes with ANTIFA.

On Saturday, while the volunteer firefighters of Sussex County gathered with their families in Newton for the annual firefighters' parade, Kate & Gina's ANTIFA allies where holding an anti-Trump rally on Newton Green, demanding that all restrictions on immigration from Muslim nations on the terror watch list be ended.  Yeah, right, let them in even though there is no reliable government to vouch for who they actually are.  Brilliant idea!

Later, "Boom Boom" Hamilton tried working the crowd of firefighters arm in arm with the neo-Marxist organizer of the anti-Trump rally.  Hey, somebody should tell "Boom Boom" that the American Democrat Party was traditionally anti-Marxist in the form of Presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Baines Johnson -- and that Democrat Jimmy Carter slapped the first ban on travel from a Muslim terrorist nation.

But now back to the Democrat aide with the frosted hair.  His presence at the debate got us thinking about his boss, and we recalled that there was still a question left unresolved from his last campaign, when an issue was raised regarding two "active" judgments against a Timothy J. Eustace.  These were found on the New Jersey Court's public ACMS website.

A search of the details reveals that two civil cases filed in Bergen County are connected with these judgments.  They are dockets DC-624821-89 and DC-625025-89.  These cases refer to civil actions taken by the Leonard Shaw Bail Bond Agency against Timothy J. Eustace of 453 Golf Ave., Maywood, NJ 07607. 

453 Golf Ave., Maywood, NJ 07607, is the same address used by Assembly candidate Timothy J. Eustace.  Could the Timothy J. Eustace with the two outstanding judgments be Assemblyman Timothy J. Eustace?

Who is the other party in the case?  Who or what is the Leonard Shaw Bail Bond Agency?  Well, they are now known as Kirk Shaw Bail Bonds.  The company website advertises that they are "directly across from the Bergen County Jail" and have "24-hour service."  Here is a look at their website:

http://www.kirkshawbailbonds.com/

Who uses a bail bond company?  To explain that, here is a video by a well-known New Jersey attorney:

So what we have here are two outstanding judgments against a Timothy J. Eustace, by a bail bond company.  These relate back to two civil cases in which, apparently, Timothy J. Eustace owed something to the bail bond company.  This could relate back to a criminal case, for which the bail was needed.

Now it is important to understand that these court records are maintained by the same allies of the Democrats who have taken it upon themselves to dictate the education funding formula in New Jersey.  These people are idiots, so there is every possibility that the Court's records -- just like the Court's judgments -- are full of crap.  In a phrase, these people suck large, so this might be just another of the Court's balls-ups.

Of course, Assemblyman Timothy J. Eustace of 453 Golf Ave., Maywood, NJ 07607, can probably set the record straight.  So, Brother Eustace, if you would like to, we'd be happy to.

What's up with Gail Phoebus?

We've all seen these characters before -- shoulder angels or devils, depending on your point of view.  For Assemblyperson Gail Phoebus, her shoulder conservative was Bill Winkler, and her shoulder liberal -- Dan Perez.

It was Winkler, along with Ginnie Littell, who recruited Phoebus to run for Sussex County Freeholder -- her first countywide office -- in January 2012.  They met with the future Assemblyperson at her country club/golf course and convinced her to take the plunge.  And it was Winkler who charted Phoebus' early course as a conservative "reformer" -- word for word.

Meanwhile, Dan Perez was gaining notoriety in Sussex County as the wingman of then Skylands Victory SuperPAC founder Kevin Kelly.  The two lawyers were involved in the lawsuit that broke Republican Party hegemony in Vernon Township.  And Perez was instrumental in ending the careers of a couple Republican members of the Board of Sussex County Community College.

Both Perez and Winkler are outsiders to Sussex County, although Perez has taken up residence here in recent years.  Where they differ most is in their ideological perspective:  Winkler is a conservative and a 1980 delegate for Ronald Reagan for President, while Perez is a liberal who contributed to Barack Obama.

There they sat on Phoebus' shoulders, Winkler on the right and Perez on the left, each trying to sway the ever swayable Phoebus.  One issue in particular was a point of contention:  Abortion.  When Winkler pushed Phoebus to take a tough stand on funding for Planned Parenthood, Perez called Roe v. Wade a great legal decision. 

So it was no great surprise when Phoebus ally George Graham (Sussex County's Freeholder Director) and two Phoebus committeemen from Andover Township angrily approached Winkler at a recent GOP event where he was handing out information packets on the 20/20 Vision Project  -- an ecumenical Pro-Life effort organized by the Roman Catholic archdiocese.  The goal of the 20/20 Project is to pass legislation to address the scientific fact that unborn babies are pain-sensitive at 20 weeks.  Every other country on earth recognizes this fact except North Korea, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada, and the Netherlands.  Senator Steve Oroho is the prime sponsor of 20/20 legislation in the State Senate.  Similar legislation has been passed in 15 states and 2017 has been designated as the year of the big push to bring our laws into line with the rest of the civilized world.

With the patronage of Phoebus and Graham, Perez has been moving up the political ladder in Sussex County.  He recently landed a plum political appointment as a Sussex County Municipal Utilities Authority (SCMUA) commissioner and he has made it known that he has his eyes set on an appointment as a Superior Court Judge. 

Of course, as a conservative, Winkler would oppose elevating such a liberal to a high court.  For that reason, Winkler had to go.  And it could also explain why Phoebus, after less than six months in office, began making moves to oust conservative incumbent State Senator Steve Oroho -- who had backed Phoebus when she ran for Freeholder and for Assembly.  Even by New Jersey standards, the short time between Phoebus' taking Oroho's support and then screwing her benefactor was remarkable.  It was real Hudson County Democrat stuff.

When Phoebus summarily fired longtime conservative staffer Lou Crescitelli as her chief of staff, the die was cast.  Crescitelli, a career civil servant and lifetime Pro-Life and Pro-Second Amendment activist, was popular across party and ideological divides for his kindness and gentlemanly behavior.  Unfortunately, he was just too conservative for the new Team Phoebus.  They only want people around them who think like them. 

Back in the Reagan Administration, they had a saying: "Personnel is policy."  What that means, of course, is that to advance a conservative agenda it is necessary to hire staff who supported conservative policies, and who work to achieve conservative objectives rather than to undermine them.  It is clear that Gail Phoebus has chosen a different course.