Passaic County Republican Update

As of yesterday, the Passaic County Republican Party has a complete slate of candidates to compete against 3 Democrat incumbents for their Freeholder slots, just over 2 months before Election Day. As expected and previously endorsed by the Executive Committee of the county GOP, the Committee assembled, nominated, and selected Passaic resident and technology manager Arturo Soto and Clifton Board of Education member Keith LaForgia, who also works as a Union contractor. These two candidates join Erik Lowe, a banker from Paterson, who was chosen earlier this summer.

The ticket is interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, each of the GOP candidates hails from one of the three "down county" cities of Passaic County: Paterson, Clifton, and Passaic. Considering the Democrats' reputation as an urban-stronghold party, some many consider it ironic that each of the Democrat candidates hails from the "up county" suburbs (Wayne – Tahesha Way, Little Falls – James Gallagher, Ringwood – Sonia Rosado). It's a bit of juxtaposition, as each of those towns are Republican by voter registration, plus each rests in the solidly Republican 40th District of the NJ Assembly.

There is a Black/White/Hispanic ethnic angle to this race as well, but I'm not going to get into it here – we get enough dehumanizing sectarian politics from all the geniuses reporting on the Middle East.

I have already written about Soto and Lowe, so let me say a bit about Keith LaForgia. First of all, I got to know Keith 2 years when he was running for Clifton Board of Ed and I was running for Congress, and I like him a great deal. He is a stand-up guy and is well respected in Clifton. A major player in Clifton politics told me last week, "If I was going to war, I'd definitely want Keith in my foxhole."

He is an ally of Clifton Municipal Leader John Traier and is also very close to Frank Fusco, the Clifton Republican Club President who "took one for the team" against State Senator Nia Gill in 2003 but won a seat on the Clifton City Council this year in the mini-revolution that kicked out 4 of 7 incumbents in a devastating proxy loss for the previous GOP regime. So Keith is well positioned in his hometown. He may also bring Union support to the race, which I personally view as a double-edged sword as there may be a quid-pro-quo associated with it.

As for the race on the whole, well it will largely come down to voter disposition at the top of the ticket and how that translates down the line. The Republicans are unfortunately not expected to win, and will be dreadfully outspent. However, if Tom Kean runs strong and sweeps one GOP Freeholder in, it will be a real treat.
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Dakar encore

Apologies for the delay in posting for the past 10 days. I have returned to Dakar (I actually launched this blog from here back in April) and have not had the opportunity to post. It is awfully hot here in August.

A few words for the moment about air travel and terrorism prevention: on the flight to Dakar via Paris I carried on my laptop only, and took the risk that my toiletries would get lost, simply to avoid the hassles about liquids and what-not. However, I also carried on, through security, an open package of Starburst candy. No questions asked. Not good. Imagine how easy it would be to mold plastic explosives and smuggle them in Starbust wrappers.

We need to keep thinking and brainstorming of possible ways to do harm. Anticipating is better than reacting! What also concerns me is that terrorists might use a "pump fake" to send us scurrying after a deliberately exposed plot, only because they had something more sinister in mind that would slip through the cracks while we chased down shampoo.

Hoping to resume posting shortly.
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He messes with me, he messes with my whole family!

Remember that quote? It's from the movie Twins, starring Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the scene, a so-called "tough guy" comes to pick on DeVito's character, and his brother, played by "the Terminator", teaches the goon a lesson. And while the not-so-tough guy lays there embarrassed, DeVito tells him to a deliver a message to his boss: "He messes with me, he messes with my whole family!"

Which brings me to Passaic County, and the turmoil in the Republican Party, with the 3 original candidates chosen by the previous regime (before Scott Rumana was elected Chairman this June) having dropped out. Jonathan Soto was the latest to leave, announcing it last Friday, ostensibly because of his duties on the Passaic Redevelopment Agency. The background story is that Jonathan began to feel the heat from some of those who foolishly thought they could buy and sell him (to their dismay he got wise and backed Rumana publicly), and decided to back out of the race.

Enter Arturo (Arthur) Soto, Jonathan's brother, to save the day. He has expressed interest in filling his brother's vacancy on the ticket. Art is a technology specialist at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, is married with 2 young sons, and makes an excellent appearance. He plays preppy overtones over Jonathan's urban backbeat. He is articulate and intelligent, and by virtue of his parents' church, offers community support in Passaic City, strengthened by his brother's ongoing role as Municipal Chair.

If the Soto boys get Sammy Rivera behind them, and join forces with congressional candidate Jose Sandoval's Dominican-American machine, they can put on a good show in Passaic and give the Democrats a considerable headache.

Next is Ken del Vecchio, the aspiring film producer and novelist who was referred to by a recent Letter to the Editor as "one of the greatest legal minds in this country" (Roberts and Alito, look out!). Del Vecchio cited his film career and demands in LA as the reason for his decision to withdraw his candidacy. Word on the street is that del Vecchio, who says he was "promised" top billing on the ticket, and was actually listed first in the Primary, got upset when others planned to place Soto's name first. This issue was ultimately settled by a coin toss after a lengthy discussion.

However, I spoke with Ken today and he said, "my ego is far too big to be affected" by something as trivial and inconsequential as ballot placement. He maintains that even had he remained on the top of the ticket, he would still have chosen to withdraw on account of his professional obligations.

Del Vecchio is considered by many to be a proxy for the defeated faction that used to run the Passaic County GOP. According to this line of logic, some suggest that he did not drop out of the race after Rumana's substantial victory because of this proxy status. However, in my discussion with him today, Ken had nothing negative to say about anyone involved and seemed supportive of Rumana's leadership.

A replacement for Del Vecchio is still needed (assuming that Arthur Soto will succeed in filling his brother's slot). There are rumors of an up-county female interested, but I don't have specifics yet.

The bigger question is: how will this all reflect upon Scott Rumana? My guess is that it's ultimately a positive for him. The Democrats have considerably more money and resources than the GOP, and are favored to win all 3 Freeholder seats in November, so the expectations for victory are already low, unfortunately. However, if Kean runs well in Passaic County and sweeps in a GOP Freeholder or 2, Rumana comes out like a knight in shining armor. If all 3 lose, he can easily attribute it to the fact that he was not able to assemble a ticket until late August under uncontrolable circumstances, leaving just over 2 months to run a campaign start to finish.

Another plus is that all of these changes, while ridiculous in appearance, do stoke activity in the newly-elected County Committee. The nomination meetings give them something to do, and make them realize that the position actually has a purpose.

However, Scott needs to assert stronger leadership. A number of elected officials have voiced concern. One said:

"I know he has a difficult job, maybe now he will get a taste of what Mike had to go through, it is a crappy job and no one is ever happy. Now Scott is on the other side. And I supported Scott, but he needs to stop bellyaching and be the leader people think he is and pull it all together. For all of our sakes."

Another elected official who is no lightweight was concerned that there has been no clearly articulated short-term or long-term plan in detail for key Republicans to get behind.

Again, all of these criticisms are healthy. I heard them in the context of positive discussions aimed at improvement. There is a consensus that Rumana can deliver and most importantly, is willing to accept feedback to strengthen the Party. If people didn't have faith that we can really turn things around for the Passaic County GOP, they wouldn't bother to voice their concerns.
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Senator Chafee doesn't eat Skittles

This evening I attended a fundraiser in New York City for Rhode Island Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee, who has shown a remarkable streak of independence in Washington.

1) The only Republican Senator to vote against the Iraq War
2) The only Republican Senator (only 3 Democrats joined him) to vote against the Syria Accountability Act
3) Did not vote for George W. Bush in the 2004 election (he cast a write-in ballot for George H.W. Bush, who spearheaded the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991)

In his remarks to the assembled guests, Chafee touched upon these issues. He said that his Republican opponent, whom he faces in a September 12 primary, has sought to discredit him by mentioning the vote against US sanctions on Syria, the effectiveness of which has been questioned. He told us how he went alone to the CIA in 2002 and asked to see the evidence for WMD in Iraq, which he believed to be insufficient. He spoke out strongly against the secretive manner in which the Bush Administration has conducted its Middle East policy - "Tell us what the plan is! Let's debate it!" - especially as it refers to "skittles" (breaking everything up into tiny pieces and scattering it around like the candy of that name). I do note, however, that the word "neo-conservatives" was not used even one time during the evening.

Chafee was strongly critical of past rhetoric from the Administration and described at length his disappointment following the Aqaba summit of 2003, at which Bush made a strongly-worded speech suggesting American backing of the Road Map. Chafee showed us a picture of he and Ambassador John Wolf (does anybody remember this guy?) taken in Jerusalem around the time Wolf was hung out to dry.

As for Chafee's chances of re-election, well, he is descended from a long line of very influential Rhode Island politicians. Americans for Tax Reform head and GOP icon Grover Norquist has called Chafee a "gift from the Gods", referring to the difficulty of electing a Republican in a liberal state like Rhode Island, which, as Senator Chafee told us this evening, went stronger for Al Gore in 2000 than any other state, and second only to Massachusetts for Kerry in 2004. So perhaps it is not surprising that President Bush, despite the fact that Chafee did not even vote for his re-election, has been raising money to support Chafee - he is an integral part of Republican majority status in the Senate.

On a personal note, Senator Chafee was extremely down-to-earth, affable, good-humored, sensitive, and gracious. I am pleased to support him, and always admired his independent streak as a Republican, since I too encountered resistance from fellow Republicans who took umbrage with my opposition to the Iraq War in the 2004 campaign.
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Corzine needs an education

NJ Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat, told the Star Ledger:

"All of our hearts go out to all of the innocent, wherever they are (and) whether they're Christian, whether they're Arabs or whether they're Jews."

It was bad enough that Corzine's budget raised the sales tax by 17%, and with all that extra revenue he still had to cut funding for higher education. Because an ignorant comment like this one suggests that he needs a bit more education himself.

Let me explain. There is a difference between ethnicity and religion. If Corzine was talking about religion, which it seems he was since he mentioned Jews and Christians, then he should have used the term "Muslims". Those would be the 3 main religions practiced by those inhabiting the tumultuous region. Instead, he juxtaposed the word "Arabs".

"Arab" is an ethnic designation. My origin in Arab, although my religion is Christianity. There are also Jews of Arab ethnicity.

Most, but not all, Arabs are Muslim. However, some, but not most, Muslims are Arab.

Corzine should be able to recite that in his sleep. Frankly, I find it disturbing that someone could rise to the Governorship of an incredibly diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-religious state like New Jersey and still be so uninformed. Rest assured, Corzine's opponent from last year, Republican Doug Forrester, would not have made such a remark. But then again, when the Arab American community held a candidates forum last fall, Forrester showed up - Corzine didn't.
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Peace Vigil in Paterson

This evening, I attended, along with dozens of other Arab-Americans, a lovely candlelight peace vigil at a small park in South Paterson, NJ, in honor of all the civilians - Lebanese, Palestinian, and Israeli, who have perished in the current fighting in the Middle East.


Antiochian Orthodox Bishop Antoun Khoury, and Imam Mohammed el-Filali of the Islamic Center of Passaic County led prayers - see pictures. The Imam gave extended and very apolitical remarks, in which he said, "I wonder how we spell peace, is it P-E-A-C-E, or P-I-E-C-E, as in a piece of land."
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