Dear Editor:
We have an extremely important Republican primary election coming up next Tuesday, June 2. I’ve provided my choices for the town council seats below, along with the rationale for my thinking and the sources of my information.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Carifi / Visakay / Beehler ticket is the one to vote for in Tuesday’s Republican primary election. In fact, I believe that it is critical to vote for this team.
Why?
Because I’m in favor of the elimination of dishonesty and malfeasance on the part any member of the township’s administration.
Because I’m for smaller government, honesty and transparency. I’m for lower taxes in a town that preaches lower taxes and has raised taxes faster than the rate of inflation for decades.
Because there is growing suspicion that many of the actions of the present administration are highly questionable. I also am opposed to the stream of perceived vicious actions taken by this administration, some of which I’ve highlighted below.
Council President Paul Carifi, Jr., has continuously worked to oppose these actions. The Carifi / Visakay / Beehler ticket will support Carifi in these actions.
[Aside: Please note that the substantiation for the information provided in this write-up came from NJ.com, Parsippany Focus, Parsippany Patch, The Daily Record and SaveJersey.com, a total of five different sources.]
Let’s take a look at some facts.
“NJ’s Future First”
The dePierro / Ferrara / Gragnani ticket is presently receiving massive support from an extremist liberal super PAC (Political Action Committee) called “NJ’s Future First.” It turns out that this PAC has been shown to be radically liberal and has ties to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Source, nj.com. Click here to read complete story. PAC linked to Democrats draws fire for backing GOP slate in Parsippany council primary
Washington, D.C.-based political action committee linked to Democrats has been paying for mailings on behalf of a Republican slate in the primary for Parsippany Township Council, touching off the latest political firestorm in the ever-volatile township.
The group, New Jersey’s Future First, has sent out at least three mailings favorable to the slate of Michael dePierro, Vincent Ferrara and Loretta Gragnani, who are opposing Paul Carifi Jr., John Beehler and Aida Visakay.
Here, Council President Paul Carifi, Jr., questions the true political orientation of a Republican ticket that would accept help from a far-left super-PAC: Click here to read complete story. D.C. Super PAC gets involved in Parsippany council race
Council President Paul Carifi Jr., who is leading his own Republican ticket for re-election, issued a statement demanding an explanation from dePierro and his running mates, former Councilman Vincent Ferrara and businesswoman Loretta Gragnani.
“That Republican candidates would call themselves ‘true conservatives’ and then secure the backing of a liberal super PAC that is aligned with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as well as other liberal candidates and organizations across the country, is offensive to every Republican voter in Parsippany,” Carifi said in his statement.
The flier, which has a picture of the candidates and slogans such as “True Conservative Republicans for Council,” states that it was “Paid for and approved by New Jersey’s Future First, without the consent or approval of any candidate or committee.”
Now, why is an uber-liberal super PAC supporting dePierro, Ferrara and Gragnani who are Republicans and supposedly conservative?
Worse, this monstrous super-PAC has been circulating flyers accusing Carifi of actions that he has not taken.
The famous leftist radical, Saul Alinski, taught community organizers to “…always accuse the other side of what you are doing yourself”. (Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, 1971, Random House, ISBN0-679-72113-4) In one of the most blatant examples of this behavior that I’ve seen, NJ’s Future First” wrote in a recent piece of circulated literature, “No wonder he [Carifi] is teaming with state democratic powerhouses to protect his personal revenue stream!” [Note that there is no substantiation provided for the radical super-PAC’s statement, but only an unsupported and outlandish claim.]
I admit that I burst out laughing at the idiocy of this statement. This radical super-PAC is spending tens of thousands of dollars supporting the dePierro / Ferrara / Gragnani team. Therefore, it is circulating literature with false accusations that describe EXACTLY what the super-PAC itself is doing, in its best Alinsky-esque, extremist radical way.
The PAC also accuses Carifi, in other circulated literature, of running up $700,000 in legal expenses for the town, an accusation so absurd that it makes the writer look like a fool.
The article goes on to explain, With Councilmen Louis Valori and Robert Peluso, Carifi has formed a council majority that has repeatedly clashed with Mayor James Barberio and Township Attorney John Inglesino, particularly regarding what Carifi terms as excessive legal bills accrued by the township.
Many of those legal bills have resulted from the administration’s defense of a lawsuit brought against the township by Carifi’s brother, former township police Capt. James Carifi, who claims he was denied promotion and retaliated against for exposing department misconduct. Other significant legal and related investigative expenses have been accrued by the township for its investigation of subsequent allegations that James Carifi deleted or stole electronic documents from the department prior to his retirement in 2013.
“Mike dePierro certainly has a liberal record of raising property taxes and rubber-stamping outrageous legal fees to his politically connected friends,” Carifi wrote. “But for him and his running mates to accept financial muscle from a liberal Democratic fundraiser who helped elect Barack Obama and now wants to elect Hillary Clinton is an outrage.”
Note that dePierro has denied involvement with the super-PAC. Yet, if the dePierro / Ferrara / Gragnani ticket disagreed with the super-PAC’s support, would they not have contacted this super-PAC and told them to stand down? It appears that they have not.
However, the point here is not to establish the ticket’s truthfulness in this matter. The issue has now devolved to this: is there any validity to the $700,000 claim?
Let’s dig into the origin of the supposed (but unsubstantiated) $700,000.
James Carifi, Paul Carifi’s Brother Used to Retaliate During Mayoral Race.
Paul Carifi’s brother, James, was denied a promotion and accused of wrongdoing in an act of apparent retaliation by the township administration soon after the beginning of the mayoral race in 2013. [James Carifi was later cleared of ALL charges, and the complaints were found to be nearly absurd].
This is explored in the following excerpt from an nj.com article: Click here to read complete article. Investigation into ex-cop is political payback, says brother running for Parsippany mayor
When Parsippany placed retiring Capt. James Carifi under internal affairs investigation — stalling and jeopardizing his pension and $368,482.02 unused-time payout — it was retribution for his brother’s decision to run against Mayor James Barberio, Councilman Paul Carifi said in a statement Wednesday.
“Time and time again, Jamie Barberio resorts to unscrupulous schemes in an attempt to ascertain an easy campaign victory,” Carifi said.
Paul Carifi also said a motion filed Friday in Morristown Superior Court alleging his brother of various acts of misconduct was revenge-motivated.
I found this alleged retaliation to be childishly vicious. It frankly disgusted me.
Captain James Carifi was completely exonerated, as this Parsippany Focus article shows. Click here to read complete article. Captain Carifi Exonerated
PARSIPPANY — Retired Parsippany Police Captain, James Carifi, has been exonerated by the state Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice, the Star Ledger has reported. Township Attorney John Inglesino and Mayor James Barberio had alleged that Carifi had deleted scores of emails and police documents off township police servers in the days leading up to his retirement in the spring of 2013. In a letter sent to Inglesino and Carifi attorney, Edward Bilinkas, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Rappa wrote “that criminal charges will not be pursued” but recommend “that these matters be referred back to Parsippany for further administrative action” but “in light of the pending litigation, Parsippany should consider hiring an independent hearing officer.” Click here to read complete article. Council files suit against Barberio; Council to investigate money allegedly illegally spent.
The same article goes on to cite further retaliation against Paul Carifi through his brother, James:
In court proceedings last week, [James] Carifi successfully petitioned the Superior Court in Morristown to overturn Parsippany Police Chief Paul Philipps’ denial of a firearms purchasers ID card.
Under oath at the gun permit hearing last week, Carifi attorney Edward Bilinkas asked Chief Philipps, “Would you agree with me that you’ve made numerous mistakes regarding James Carifi while he was employed as a police officer and after?” Philipps replied with a simple “Yes.” [Emphasis is mine.]
The conclusion: It seems that the township administration trumped up false charges against James Carifi. This strongly suggests that the spurious charges were merely a means of retaliation against his brother, Paul Carifi, Jr. James sued and was exonerated of all wrongdoing.
Now the extremist group, NJ’s Future First, has circulated completely false literature accusing Paul Carifi of creating legal bills when the man was not even a party to the lawsuit!
The irony is that these legal expenses were not caused by Paul Carifi, Jr., but rather were the result of the administration’s own (apparently) invented allegations against his brother, James Carifi.
This seems to be a shocking display of dishonesty and malfeasance.
I also interpret this another way: the township administration was apparently willing to waste $700,000 of taxpayer money in legal fees in an attempt to damage James Carifi’s reputation and smear his good name. The extremist group, NJ’s Future First, is now attributing this legal issue and costs to Paul Carifi.
This means that they twisted the facts to discredit the Carifi / Visakay / Beehler team, while ignoring the waste of taxpayer money on the part of the accusers. Is the good of Parsippany foremost in the extremist super-PAC’s actions? Perhaps there are there much darker motives driving these leftists.
This is the gang that supports dePierro / Ferrara / Gragnani. If this ticket accepts massive support from a radically liberal super-PAC, what is their true political orientation? Why would an extremist leftist organization choose to support them?
In good conscience, and in the interest of what is best for Parsippany, the Carifi / Visakay / Beehler ticket is the best choice to vote for on June 2nd.
With warm personal regards,
Jack Puglis
Note:
These links add additional depth but are not referenced above.
Parsippany Council Candidates Rope in County GOP on Mailer Sent by Dem PAC. Click here to read complete article.
Carifi, Jr. and company ask county chairman to weigh-in on material supporting dePierro team.
Something is rotten in the state of Parsippany. Click here to read complete article.
