District 5 Freeholder Candidates Meet in Forum

While town governments struggle to manage their budgets and address growing homeowner discontent, the Essex County Tea Party hosted a lively forum Monday night in Bloomfield where candidates offered their solutions to the problems besetting Essex county.

 “The people are going to take back their destiny,” declared Steve Rogers, a Nutley resident who is seeking the Republican nomination for District 5 freeholder in the primary elections next month.  “We’re going to replace the wants of the few with the needs of the many.  The many are in this room tonight and their needs are wrapped up in two words: tax relief.”

 The upstairs room at the Essex Bar and Grill in Bloomfield was filled with several dozen people who came to hear Rogers and Carmen Bucco, a Belleville resident also seeking the freeholder nomination in the June 7 primary.  The guest speaker was Tea Party activist Katie O’Malley.

 Bucco, branding himself “A Republican with the common touch,” read out a statement listing his qualifications for freeholder, notably his experience as a businessman and a former school board trustee.  He said he would apply the same rules of well-run business to county government.

 “I would be more than pleased to spend a million dollars to save five million,” he said.  “I approach everything like a businessman.”

 In general, Bucco’s soft-spoken answers to audience queries tended to be non-specific and once he admitted he didn’t know the answer to a question.  “I am not going to b.s. you, I don’t know the answer to that,” he said.  “But I will find out and get back to you.”

 In contrast, Rogers, who described himself as a “visionary,” emphasized tax cuts and pension reform as the answers to the county’s economic ills.

One audience member commented, “It’s almost a joke to say the middle class is still middle class.  Our wages have decreased and our benefits have decreased.  Someone who’s making 30, 40, $50,000 a year shouldn’t have to pay someone else’s pension who’s making $100,000.”

 Rogers replied, “I hate to say it but politicians have, for the almighty vote, given away the store.  In a democracy there’s a saying that ‘people deserve the politicians they get.’  As Lincoln said, ‘Rise up and think anew and act anew’.”

 Another audience member expressed fear about the long-term outlook for homeowners. “What can we do to cut back so that people can sit back a little and not be frightened by their future?  What will you do to lower tax burdens so people don’t lose their homes?”

 “There has to be pension reform,” answered Rogers.  “With pension reform there has to be tax relief.  The governor and the Democrats are coming together on fair and equitable pension reform.  I will support those things.  It’s unfair to take away what people have earned.”

 After Rogers, it was O’Malley’s turn to fire up the crowd.

 “I had to take my anti-nausea pills before I went to the polls in 2008,” she said. She went on to say that the Republican Party has declined and it’s time to take action.

 “The Republicans have been so beaten down around here.  They’re a shadow of what they are in the rest of the country.  I’ll use the word ‘spineless’ for lack of a better word.”

 She continued,  “How are we going to get the state back?  How are we going to get the country back? The RNC has let a lot of people down.”

 The audience seemed to respond favorably to her impassioned speech, at times agreeing with her sentiments and peppering her with questions.  

 “The left-leaning, really hateful media, I see what they do to people like us when we try to express ourselves,” she stated, adding later, “Do you want Rachel Maddow or Chris Matthews to speak for you?” referring to the two hosts of cable news shows. 

 She also pushed back at characterizations of her movement as extremist. “We’re not these horrible, racist Tea Partiers. We’re not who they say we are.”

 O’Malley, who lives in Madison, repeatedly urged members of the audience to get involved in political activities in their local communities.

 “People think, ‘(voting for) mayor of my little town?  Does it really matter?  Yeah, it matters,” she insisted.  “There are around 50 people in this room tonight.  If each of you reaches out to 10 people, that’s 500 people.  Those are the numbers that shift elections.”

 At one point during the Q & A portion of the forum, one audience member said, “I always thought the Tea Party was not Republican or Democrat, that the people (in the Tea Party) are very independent.  I am quite confused tonight by everyone talking about Republican, Republican.”

 O’Malley replied, “I am conservative but I don’t necessarily have the same views as everyone here tonight.”

 Later, event organizer and founder of the Essex County Tea Party http://teapartyec.com/index.htm , Sue Ann Penna responded to the audience member’s observation.

 “While our values tend to align more with the Republican platform/ideals, our doors are open to Independents and Democrats,” she wrote in an email on Tuesday.  “As a matter of fact, we do have a few registered Dems who attend our meetings.  Everyone is welcome.

 “As we get closer to the election, we are looking to host forums/debates between candidates from both sides.”