Morris County Republicans Throw Down the Gauntlet
MORRISTOWN – If ascending to heaven is your goal, here’s an alternative to maintaining a pious life. Just move to Morris County.
“Is this heaven? No, it’s Morris County.”
So said John Krickus last Friday evening – paraphrasing the film, “Field of Dreams,” – after becoming director of the county’s board of commissioners.
This notion of Morris being “heaven on earth” is not new – at least among county leaders.
“Morris County is the best run county in New Jersey,” Krickus said, adding, “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”
He then ticked off the county’s attributes.
They included a great park system, a low crime rate, high incomes and relatively speaking, low property taxes.
While reorganization meetings often prompt such grandiose pronouncements as a matter of course, what Krickus said rings true.
As the all-Republican commissioners occasionally point out, it was Democrat Phil Murphy who upon visiting a Morris COVID-vaccination site observed that the county “runs like a top.”
All of this, of course, is not attributed solely to GOP leaders.
Income levels in Morris have always been on the high side and unlike many other counties in New Jersey, Morris has no widespread pockets of poverty and accompanying social problems.
Let’s not forget the “freeholders” of yesteryear.
Morris freeholder boards in the 1950’s and 1960’s were the ones with the foresight to establish a park commission to preserve county open space and to create such amenities as a community college, a vocational high school and a nursing home.
Christine Myers, who was sworn-in to her second stint on the board, was right-on when she said a continuing goal of today’s commissioners is to “make sure we don’t screw up a good thing.”
The board has been all-Republican with one exception just about forever, but there is still some political bickering.
This year, Commissioner Tom Mastrangelo, who was also sworn-in, is on the outs with his colleagues.
Mastrangelo was given very few committee assignments for 2023, but when he spoke at the reorg meeting, it didn’t seem to bother him.
He said his goal is to vote his conscience and represent the people. Mastrangelo noted that he’s been reelected four times.
In what seemed a very small protest, Mastrangelo abstained on the board’s vote to make Krickus director. Everyone else on hand voted yes.
The only commissioner up for election this year on the seven-person board is Tayfun Selen. He has amassed a lengthy roster of endorsements from county Republicans and plans an official campaign kickoff later this month.
But he’s not alone.
Anthony Somma of Randolph says he’s running and Paul DeGroot, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in CD-11 (after beating Selen in the Republican primary) is also a possible candidate.
Funny thing about presiding over heaven, a lot of people want a crack at it.
Getting rid of Democrat Congresscritter Mikie Sherrill would go a long way to block her Socialist influence in the county. There needs to be a concerted effort to oust her in the next Congressional/ Presidential election in 2024 before the corrupt electronic voting system is allowed to take hold and keep her in office until she becomes an old hag. Sherrill voted 100% with Congressional dictator Nancy Pelosi for far left programs such as the failed New Green (Raw) Deal, the $1.7 TRILLION dollar spending debacle right before Christmas, and anti-2nd Amendment/anti-gun legislation that has no bearing on anything other than a violation of the 2nd Amendment that will cost taxpayers millions to have overturned in the courts. Sherrill’s votes are costing taxpayers in her District , New Jersey and nationwide more money for unnecessary programs ($4 MILLION dollar Michelle Obama Walking Trail, LGBTQ museum, unaccountable aid to Ukraine, failed Green energy programs now that major scientific reports have come out saying there is NO climate change/global warming, etc).
My name is Joseph Biasco and I was the Libertarian Candidate for CD 11. Please reference the YouTube video of our debate. She was able to offer no recourse of substance when confronted with “common sense” observations of the damage inflicted by the radical left.
I have now declared Republican and hope very much for the opportunity to debate her once again. I am quite sure it is a debate that the Congresswoman will not soon forget.
Where are you getting your disinformation from? Rep. Sherrill is not a socialist, she’s a moderate democrat. Here are her positions: https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/179651/mikie-sherrill. If you want to lose your Medicare and your Social Security that you most likely paid into all your life, then sure, vote republican. Rep. Sherrill was elected twice by voters because they think she’s doing a good job and I agree.
The Republicans didn’t even try to win against sherrill. She literally ran ads like she was a republican, pretending to care about the border, all the while voting with Nancy Pelosi. She put her career before the people of her district. The weak and ineffective Republicans failed to even point that out. I don’t recall hearing a single degroot ad, calling out sherrill for her blatant lies. The only thing degroot did was place some signs on the side of the road, the election reflected that he got crushed.
These two people are insane. Mikie Sherrill is one of the best congresswomen in congress at this moment. You’re barking fox new lies.
😂😂😂 what a ridiculous comment.
These Republicans are extreme, extreme, extreme. They are vindictive and absurd. Their behavior and speech contain the effect of arson. Their language is the language of lies. Sherrill has been a very effective Congresswoman. She works pretty darned hard to bring justice, equity, and advantages to the people of NJ and our Nation. She is reasonable, detailed, and rational. As for Pelosi, she is a brilliant strategist and powerful woman. Her heroism in the Capitol on the day of the attempted coup/takeover of our government should garner her some sort of recognition and award. Just brilliant. Facts do matter.