Detail from a piece circulating in the 22nd District.
Plainfielders can hardly be surprised to learn of last minute 'dirty tricks' in political campaigns.
Remember the phony 'endorsement letter' mailer in which then-Senator Jon Corzine supposedly supported Sharon Robinson-Briggs for mayor in 2005?
Corzine's signature was misappropriated by Assemblyman Jerry Green & Co. and pasted onto a letter jerry-rigged to look like official U.S. Senate stationery. When contacted by the McWilliams campaign, Corzine's staff was astonished and said that Corzine had not authorized any such letter.
Whatever words were exchanged between Corzine and Jerry Green, Corzine never publicly repudiated the letter. Robinson-Briggs was elected and Corzine subsequently didn't show his face in Plainfield for years.
(It was, for Plainfielders, a first glimpse at Corzine's style under pressure, and entirely indicative of why he is in such a tight race for re-election.)
Now, it seems, payback time is here.
An anonymous postcard-type piece, in stark black-and-white except for the word 'CLOSED' in bright red, targets Assemblyman Jerry Green for the closure of Muhlenberg Hospital.
The piece surfaced this past weekend, stuck under windshield wipers throughout Plainfield, North Plainfield, Fanwood and Dunellen, according to readers, one of whom snagged me a copy. I don't know if it appeared in other District 22 communities, but it seems likely thousands were spread around in the Muhlenberg service area.
It shows a young woman of color, apparently reading a pregnancy test result, adding 'now she'll have to take the bus to have her baby' -- a reference to the fact that Plainfield mothers-to-be who would normally have delivered at Muhlenberg must now go to Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth.
(Readers may recall that a baby was recently delivered in the back seat of a cab at the North Avenue train station, after the mother had to wait for the cab to come from Metuchen -- the ONLY cab company authorized by Solaris Health System to transport delivering women to Trinitas. Yes, with FIVE cab companies in Plainfield, Solaris approved one from Metuchen.)
Republicans have denied having anything to do with the piece, as have Muhlenberg supporters.
Whoever is behind the piece, it is clearly designed to tap into voter resentment over Assemblyman Green's role in the closure of Muhlenberg.
Here is a scan of the piece --
Jerry Sold Us Out
While we are on the subject of 'dirty tricks', the Democratic State Committee has been identified as being behind the pro-Daggett robocalls reported in the media (see here) -- despite an initial flat-out denial by Dem state chairman Joe Cryan.
At least we have the comfort of knowing it will all be over at 8:00 PM tonight.
Whatever else you do today, don't forget to vote -- for the best person by your lights.
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3 comments:
I am impressed! Who ever printed and distributed the piece about Jerry SELLING YOU OUT --- KUDOS !! So nice to see Mayor Jerry being called out for his lack of involvement and leadership in the community. Jerry did sell us all out and so nice to see it was put in print -- FINALLY.
Per the NJ Democrats paying for the robo calls for the Dagget Plant..I mean Dagget Campaign..I am not surprised they would stoop so low as they KNOW there was no way Corzine could run on his record of reducing state government, ending corruption, reducing taxes and restoring ethics and integrity to NJ Government. All his campaign promises were broken. Not some, not a few..but all..truly sad to see someone so powerful in private industry fold like a cheap suit when faced with Norcross and the rest of the filthy State Legislature.
These are the reasons people hate politicians. Unfortunately we have to contend with them. The only hope is the citizenry understand their tactics and not be swayed by them. Let's hope for a change in our administration. Then there will the new "dirty" tricks. Politicians can't help themselves it's in their DNA.
This is just the sort of slime I'd expect from the pols who sat on their hands when we needed them.
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