Dear Editor,

Yesterday a woman knocked on my door and told me that she’s running for Morris County Surrogate. She told me a little bit about herself and then began to talk about her opponent, Heather Darling. The trash coming from this woman’s mouth about Heather Darling was deeply personal and sickening-she sounded completely unhinged.

Researching the candidates, I learned that the woman who is slandering Heather Darling, is an unemployed accounts payable clerk from the travel department of a company. I even found her job description and LinkedIn profile which I have included. In her prior jobs, she has no experience with trusts or estates and she absolutely lied to me about that.  I am sure that if she did so when she knocked on my door, she is also lying about her experience to any Morris County voters she meets. What kind of candidate is that? Surely, Morris County can do better.

Another candidate that is running has yet to say what he plans on doing as Surrogate.  If his past is any guide, the answer is next to nothing. He has little to show for 23 years in the Assembly and has done next to nothing to campaign for the position he is running for.  Worse still, are his comments about slavery and other offensive positions he has taken.  Nominating him means the Democrats will almost assuredly win their first county election in 45 years.  His candidacy will motivate Democrats to come to the polls and imperil other candidates running for office up and down the ballot in November.  As a Republican, I do not believe this is a chance we should risk for either the Surrogate’s seat or the other offices being contested this year.

Heather Darling is running to be a champion for the residents of Morris County, especially senior citizens and those with special needs.  Unlike her opponents, she has a plan for the Surrogate’s office.  She is a constant presence across the county as Freeholder and I believe she will continue to be as Surrogate. When I compare the three candidates running, Heather Darling is by far the best person for the job.  Her ability to stay on message in the face of deeply personal attacks illustrates exactly how good a fit she an office requiring the utmost tact and decorum for the benefit of those needing the services of the Surrogate.

Sharon Dogany
Chester, NJ

Dear Editor:

During the 2009 Primary election, when he was up for re-election to his 7th term in Trenton, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll sent out a mailer to his constituents where he listed 18 bills he supports or sponsored and said he could save them “15% or more on your taxes.”

Ten years later, eight of which were under a Republican Governor, Assemblyman Carroll failed to deliver on any of these promises. Taxes are as high as ever; residents are fleeing the state, and Assemblyman Carroll wants a taxpayer funded job with better pay. His failure to deliver any tangible results by the metric he set for himself, speaks volumes to the type of Assemblyman he is.

Carroll will respond, by stating that he was in the minority, but when he sent out this mailer, he was in his 6th term in the Assembly. This was not the product of an overambitious first-time candidate for office, but rather a calculated political decision by an entrenched incumbent to lie to his constituents in hopes they would be more likely to vote for him.

Assemblyman Carroll also holds disgusting views about slavery, views that will guarantee him defeat in November, and bring shame on Morris County Republicans, if he is our nominee. He once stated, and to this day refuses to back down from the following quote: “If slavery was the price that a modern American ancestors had to pay in order to make one an American, one should get down on one’s knees every single day and thank the Lord that such price was paid.” No one holding these views should be in public service and it’s a shame more Republicans have not taken a stronger stand against them.

Furthermore, despite claiming to be a taxpayer champion, Assemblyman Carroll cannot take care of his own finances. He filed for bankruptcy and had a tax lien against him for failing to pay his own taxes. Now he wants to control a $26 million children’s fund that the Surrogate oversees. His finances came back to haunt him in 2011 when he his judicial nomination was withdrawn amid feelings that among his own colleagues for over a decade in Trenton and in the Bar Association may be unfit to be a judge, and now he wants to be an elected judge to the Surrogate’s Court.

Morris County residents deserve better than Michael Patrick Carroll for their next surrogate. That is why I am supporting Freeholder Heather Darling. Freeholder Darling is an independent voice, who will be a champion for the elderly and special needs residents of Morris County. Darling’s platform also recognizes a group that Carroll seems to have forgotten as a “no vote” in the most recent decision in this regard, the unborn. Heather Darling has repeatedly indicated that she will champion adoption, a function facilitated by the Surrogate’s Office as a very viable alternative to abortion. Most importantly she takes her position as Freeholder seriously and will do the same as Surrogate. Please join me in voting Heather Darling for Morris County Surrogate in June 4 Republican primary.

Gary Ridner
Oak Ridge, NJ

Dear Editor:

My name is Ray Tahan. I have been a good friend of Heather Darling for many years and am also the President of the Rockaway Republican Club. I thought I had seen it all in politics, but the mean spirited and deeply personal attacks against Heather, by her opponent Isabella Alfano is a new low for Morris County.

I would like to set the record straight, since I was named in her attacks. Alfano’s entire campaign is nothing more than a distraction from her complete and utter lack of qualifications to be our Surrogate. From attacking Heather in a personal manner, to dragging Sheriff Rochford and myself into this, she has acted in a manner completely unbecoming of an elected official, or even a candidate worthy of consideration.

Further disqualifying her is the fact that she is also lying to the people of Morris County. She claims to have experience in Trusts and Estates by virtue of working for a specific employer when in reality she only worked in the travel department handling accounts payable. She confirmed to me she parted ways with the employer about a week before she entered the race and is currently unemployed. She has no bachelors or law degree or anything in her background that would lead a logical person to conclude that she would make a good Surrogate.

I know Heather to be a good and decent person, who is running for Surrogate to help the most vulnerable among us. She will work tirelessly and be a champion for the elderly and those with special needs and continue to be a constant presence in the community at events. I hope you will join me in voting for Heather Darling on Tuesday, June 4th.

Ray Tahan
Rockaway Township
May 24, 2019