Welcome to the Mercer County Republican Committee website. Our Party has a powerful message and a strong grassroots organization in which we encourage you to participate.
We believe foremost that a successful political organization grows from the bottom up, which is why we work so hard to help our municipal party organizations compete for local seats.Our long-term goal is to make the Republican Party the majority in Mercer County. We can do it, but not without your help.
On behalf of the Republican organization, we encourage you to become actively involved. Check out our website regularly and find out when we’re meeting, when we’re planning events in your area and, most importantly, what we’re doing as a party on your behalf.
Once again, thank you for visiting. If you would like to contact us, we may be reached at (609) 849 VOTE (8683) or info@mercergop.com.
Sincerely, David Fried and Maria Bua Chairs, Mercer County Republican Committee
Please join the West Windsor Republican Municipal Committee for a town hall meeting on May 24th in council room A at the West Windsor Municipal Building at 7:30PM. The topic is a construction of a large scale solar facility on county property. For more information contact Christine Bator, Chair West Windsor Republican Municipal Committee at republicancommitteeww@gmail.com
Mercer County Community College is planning an industrial-scale, 45-acre solar power facility on its West Windsor campus. Although residents and the township have now been notified about the project, no meaningful planning or zoning reviews have taken place. As this project is proposed on school and county property, and solar panels are viewed under land use law as an “inherently beneficial use,” the project is exempt from virtually all of the customary oversight and accountability.
NJ has become a leader in the development of renewable energy with bipartisan support. However no project of this size and scope should be rushed to completion without customary planning and zoning oversight by either the state or West Windsor. This facility will negatively impact the rural character of the community, destroy acres of farmland and hundreds of trees, eliminate open space, and have potentially damaging consequences to residents due to water runoff destroying any beneficial impacts for renewable energy.
The projected $40 million dollar price tag for this project is being financed in large part through government subsidies created by the NJ Board of Public Utilities. The value of these subsidies has declined adding a level of uncertainty to the project and possible risk for taxpayers.
Despite all of the concerns raised by residents, Mercer County is pushing forward with the project as quickly – and with as little discussion – as possible.
This proposal raises serious questions that are coming up across New Jersey.
Do industrial-scale solar projects belong in residential neighborhoods?
Should solar projects be built out on productive farmland? Open space?
With the collapse of the market for solar renewable energy credits (SRECs), how much risk is there to taxpayers?
What are the unintended consequences we are seeing from NJ solar legislation? How do we fix them?
Invited guests include James Castelize, Joe D’Angelo and Dave Walsh candidates for Mercer County Freeholder, NJ Board of Public Utilities Commissioners, NJ DEP Commissioner and legislative, town and county leaders.
At an April 23rd meeting, Hightstown Republicans gave their endorsement to candidates George Serrano and Denny Hansen who will run a write-in campaign for Hightstown Borough Council in the June 5th Primary.
Mr. Serrano entered Hightstown politics last year when he ran against Gail Doran for a 1 year term on Council. “George ran a tireless campaign, and lost by a very small margin; less than 20 votes. After coming so close to victory, George is excited to throw his hat in the ring for a second round”, says Municipal Republican Chair Skye Gilmartin.
George Serrano was raised in Brooklyn, but has been a resident of Hightstown since 2004. He is the Property Manager of the Deerfield/Westerlea Arms apartments, and an Officer in Hightstown Engine Company #1. He attended Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. George served as a Sergeant in the United States Army and participated in military operations, including Desert Storm.
Mr. Serrano has lived in the community and has been involved long enough to understand the concerns of the people around him and the issues that Hightstown faces as a community. As a candidate, George believes that he can bring a sense of willingness to the Council members to make tough decisions; a desire to manage the taxpayers’ money as if it was his own. A specific strong point is George’s understanding of code enforcement;
“As a Property Manager, I deal with keeping housing code up to date. As a Fireman, I deal with the devastation and the threat to Public Safety that results when our Codes are not enforced. The residents of Hightstown can simply look in the change in quality and property value of Deerfield/Westerlea Apartments to know that I am a man of action. My commitment is to put that same energy towards the betterment of Hightstown.”
Denny Hansen has lived in Hightstown six and a half years. She and her husband Ron moved from West Milford, New Jersey where they had lived for 10 years. Denny was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. Their children are grown and live on their own. Denny went to college at Monmouth University, Temple University, and Thomas Edison State College. She has had a career in Financial Management for over 25 years, has served her previous community for 10 years as a property manager, and is a lifelong Republican.
“Denny has the time and energy to dedicate to her community, and a business background that is needed on Hightstown’s Council. She is ready to run, and we are thrilled to support her in this critical election year”, says Skye Gilmartin.
“I have made the effort to stay informed on local issues such as the Rug Mill, Taxes, Shared Agreements and the looming issues created by Hurricane Irene; specifically what to do with Borough Hall and how to pay for it. Where is the Five Year Plan for Hightstown? We need a fiscally sound Financial Plan based on a unified, realistic vision. We have no Plan! We have no transparency! All we have are tax increases every year and declining real estate values. I believe maybe I can make a difference by joining the team that’s taking the responsibility to make the hard decisions necessary to keep this town viable.”
On Thursday April 12, 2012 I sent the following letter in to the The Times, While It still has not been published by The Times, I thought I would share it with you as well.
Jim
DEAR EDITOR,
In the last few weeks, there have been many articles in the paper about the Trenton Council Minutes and the County Officials have called on Trenton to remedy this situation.
Its due time that the county look in the mirror at their own meeting minute situation. Mercer County is one of the only governmental body in Mercer that requires you to OPRA (spent your own money to see how they spend your money) their minutes (http://nj.gov/counties/
mercer/officials/freeholders/minutes/). Most of the municipalities now have the minutes readily available online. Neighboring Hunterdon County has all of their minutes online back to 2000. (http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/frholder/frindex.htm). What is our freeholder board trying to hide that they
can’t be open and transparent like everyone else? Its due time that they move into the 21st century and be open and transparent like the rest of the governing bodies.
HAMILTON, NJ – When it comes to awarding lucrative contracts to Royal Printing Services of West New York, the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders apparently cannot help itself.
Royal Printing and its long-time connection with former Medford, NJ-based New Frontier political action committee (PAC) have contributed thousands of dollars to current freeholders and County Executive Brian M. Hughes since 2007.
Royal printed the election ballots for Mercer County in 2006 and 2007 and received $218,707 and $240,597, respectively. On May 15, 2006, Lucia Passante, wife of Royal Printing owner Ralph Passante Sr., gave $2,500 to the Mercer County Democratic Committee.
The following month, the all-Democratic Mercer County Freeholder Board hired the company to print the ballots. On May 1, 2007, Royal Printing contributed $2,500 to the New Frontier PAC, which has since been dissolved.
Six days later, New Frontier gave $2,500 to Mr. Hughes’ campaign. On May 10, 2007 the freeholders approved another lucrative contract to Royal Printing.
On February 9 of 2012, Royal Printing was awarded yet another contract by the newly-elected Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders to print election ballots through April of 2014 at a cost of $695,142.16.
Since 1985, records show Royal Printing Services has contributed $267,000 to the Democratic Party.
Mercer County Republican Freeholder candidate James Castelize III today slammed the Freeholders’ continued association with Royal Printing and its pay-to-play ties.
“The Democratic Mercer County Freeholder Board and the County Executive have continuously used their political cronies to line their campaign coffers,’’ Castelize said. “It is time that Mercer County tighten its pay-to-play rules to include PACs and lower the threshold of these contributions to $500 for companies wishing to bid on a county project.’’
Mercer County currently has a pay-to-play ordinance, but it only applies to professional contracts.
Any vendor can contribute up to $2,500 to a campaign fund and still be permitted to bid on any public project. The current Freeholder board, along with embattled Trenton Mayor Tony F. Mack, have learned to use PACs to circumvent pay-to-play rules, which has opened the door for companies such as Royal Printing to be awarded contracts year after year. The New Frontier PAC also contributed thousands of dollars to Peter Cammarano, the former Hoboken mayor sentenced to two years in prison in August of 2010 after pleading guilty to extortion conspiracy for accepting $25,000 in illegal campaign contributions offered by an undercover FBI informant posing as a crooked developer.
Although the New Frontier PAC was not named in FBI filings, during the organization’s first three years of operation it raised approximately $119,000 and donated approximately $115,000 of that to Democratic candidates, mostly in Burlington County and South Jersey. At least three donors to New Frontier received contracts from the City of Hoboken, according to public records.
“The residents of Mercer County deserve better than this,’’ Castelize said. “I once again call on the Freeholder board to be open and transparent regarding all of its business dealings.”
