Like many of you, I watched in horror and disgust as our Capitol Building was attacked by a mob of violent insurrectionists. I am devastated for the family of the fallen Capitol Police officer who gave his life defending our country. This was an attack on our democracy and all perpetrators of this heinous act should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

As you may know, Commissioner Director Sue Soloway attended a rally supporting the President on that same day. As she publicly stated, she left the rally once it became clear that the situation was turning into a violent attack on the Capitol Building. She then quickly and voluntarily submitted video she had of the perpetrators to the FBI.

Director Soloway peacefully attended this rally and then peacefully left it. These are the facts.

Democrats have called on Director Soloway to resign because of this. I contemplated not releasing a statement in response to these calls. I strongly believe that we shouldn’t allow hypercritics to drive the agenda. There’s hard work being done by our county right now, ranging from implementing the county COVID vaccine program to continuing to build on the legacy of one of the finest farmland preservation programs in the state. This should be the focus.

However, I am recently in receipt of official public statements made by the Hunterdon County Democratic Committee Chair that are simply impossible to ignore. I have decided to highlight some of the words from these statements and issue a response.

• “If republicans in Hunterdon County will not stand for police officers, for our America…then we will.”
• “I am embarrassed and disappointed in my neighbors. Because make no mistake, these domestic terrorists are living next door to us, they are walking around in plain sight as doctors, CEO’s, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters.”
• “If you are upset by the utter recklessness of Susan Soloway, here is the information for the Commissioners meeting this Tuesday…..Elected officials must be held responsible for their actions, especially, and certainly, when those actions lead to the death of a police officer.”

A few points:

For the record, we do stand for police officers. We aren’t the party that ran on a platform to ‘defund the police.’

The Democratic Chair and I obviously live in the same county and I believe the same township. I have to be honest- even though I’ve lived here for most of my life, I’m not familiar with the domestic terrorist part of town. This county is full of good people, with a multitude of opinions, seeking to build a better community for their families and neighbors. What an insulting and revealing statement.

Lastly, to suggest that a person who peacefully attended a rally, who left when it became violent, and who submitted video to the FBI, is somehow responsible for a police officer’s death is unconscionable and dangerous. I struggle to find adequate words to respond to this. For a party that talks so much about healing, this is as divisive and hateful as you can possibly get.

I close with this: we will have a new President shortly and Joe Biden’s success as President is the country’s success. Let us all pray for him as he takes on the difficult, but important task of uniting us. Our country’s motto is E Pluribus Unum- out of many, one. While we come from different backgrounds and hold varying political perspectives, let us never forget that we are all united in our love of this great country.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Gabe Plumer

Hunterdon GOP Chairman