MORRIS COUNTY — A special ceremony was held at the Madison Borough Hall on Sunday, August 30. Approximately 100 people, including many county officials, gathered to recognize the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.

August is a big month in the fight for women’s equality!

August 18 was the historic 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment in which women finally won the right to vote. And, August 26 marks the official certification of the amendment by the U.S. Secretary of State.

The story did not end here. The fight continued until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 when women of color finally gained this basic, fundamental right in a democracy.

A group of Morris County elected officials honored these milestone moments by hosting a bipartisan celebration on Sunday, August 30.

Elected Morris County women at the local, county, state, and federal levels were invited to attend as well as the general public.

The event was held on the spacious steps of the historic town hall, with social distancing protocols followed and masks were required.

The lineup of featured speakers included Morris County Clerk Ann Grossi, Leslie Bensley, executive director, Morris County Tourism Bureau; Vanessa Brown, president, Morris County NAACP; Donna Guariglia and Marie Fornaro, co-presidents, Morristown-Area League of Women Voters; Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (D-25), Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-27); and youth activists.

The host committee was Madison Mayor Bob Conley, Morris Township Mayor Cathy Wilson, Mendham Township Committeewoman Amalia Duarte, Morris Plains Committeewoman Nancy Verga, Morristown Councilwoman Sandi Mayer, Mountain Lakes Councilwoman Lauren Barnett, Parsippany-Troy Hills Councilwoman Janice McCarthy, and Parsippany-Troy Hills Councilwoman Emily Peterson.

For more information on the League of Women Voters, Morristown Area click here.

PARSIPPANY — Republican Candidate for Congress Rosemary Becchi recently held a successful fundraiser at Knoll Country Club.

Area politicians came out to support Becchi were Mountain Lakes Councilwoman Audrey Lane, Senator Anthony M. Bucco, Jr., Morris County Freeholder Tayfun Selen, Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, Parsippany-Troy Hills Council President Michael J. dePierro, Council Vice President Loretta Gragnani, Councilman Paul Carifi, Jr., Morris County Republican Chairwoman Laura Ali, Former Morris County Republican Chair John Sette and Morris County Young Republicans Chairman Justin Musella.

Becchi is running for election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Rosemary is a leading tax policy lawyer and consultant who works as a Strategic Advisor and Counsel at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where she specializes in tax and financial services matters. Rosemary began her career in the public sector at the IRS as an attorney and advisor before moving on to the majority of the staff of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee as tax counsel. It was during her time on the Finance Committee that Rosemary co-authored the “529 college savings plans,” that are used today by parents across the country to help their children pay for college. She has also held in-house executive positions, including as vice president of federal government relations at Citigroup and Fidelity Investments.

Rosemary also has been a political advocate both on the national and local levels. She has authored multiple commentary pieces on tax and financial services issues. She has served in a leadership role of the Tax Coalition, including serving as the chair. Most recently, Rosemary was Chairman of the Board of Running Start, an organization dedicated to getting more women elected to public office. Rosemary is also the New Jersey Chair for Maggie’s List.

PARSIPPANY — Please be advised, the Township Council of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills is scheduling a Special Meeting to be held on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, at 6:30 p.m.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting will be held via a web conferencing program name WebEx. This program will allow the public to listen in to the meeting and to participate during the public portion session only.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss potential water and sewer rate adjustments.  Formal action may or not be taken, and any other action reasonably related thereto may also be taken.

Click here to download the agenda.

Click here to register and join the meeting.

PARSIPPANY — New Jersey motorists will be paying more than 40 cents a gallon in gas taxes starting October 1 if Gov Phil Murphy pushes ahead with his plan to raise the gas tax by 9.3 cents, says Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce.

The gas tax hike is part of the governor’s revised FY 2021 budget that seeks to raise taxes and create yet another new social program.

“The governor should be working with the legislature and the White House to find innovative ways to address the state’s financial problems rather than heap more financial misery on residents and businesses,” said DeCroce. ‘Tax hikes are not the solution to everything New Jersey needs to do.”

DeCroce noted that the fuel tax hikes will take effect immediately on the heels of a series of toll hikes that will also hit motorists across New Jersey starting in September.

The gasoline tax finances the state’s Transportation Trust Fund – which pays for infrastructure improvements. Built into the TTF regulations is an automatic tax hike if revenue drops to a certain point. DeCroce says, however, the state should have foreseen the TTF revenue decline coming after the governor closed most businesses in the state and furloughed government workers.

DeCroce says the governor has issued dozens of executive orders to get around state laws and create new regulations and he could have issued another executive order to override the fuel tax hike trigger.

“Someone in the administration had to realize that with businesses closed, most of the state government closed, and people working from home — that fuel consumption would drop and so would fuel tax revenue,” said DeCroce. “The answer to every problem in New Jersey is not to automatically raise taxes.”

DeCroce said that instead of sparring with the White House at every turn, the governor should have been reaching out to President Trump’s team to discuss an increase in federal infrastructure funding.

“The president is a big supporter of infrastructure financing and so am I. New Jersey has some of the worst roads and bridges in the nation that need to be addressed. I am sure the state could have received federal help for infrastructure funding and not hit residents with another tax increase,” said DeCroce.