Somerville, NJ–Donald Lemma and Dan Gallic, Republican candidates for Somerset County Commissioner, are questioning a $128,000 purchase of abstract art statues on the County Courthouse lawn by the Democrat County Commissioners.

The statues were paid for using American Rescue Plan funds—federal money that was devoted to improving infrastructure and helping businesses recover from the pandemic shutdown. The artist in receipt of the payment is not a Somerset County artist, but one in Brooklyn, NY.

“This is an egregious example of government waste during a period of widespread economic uncertainty,” said Donald Lemma, Republican candidate for County Commissioner. “The Democrats justified the purchase with the ridiculous notion that these statues would bring tourism to downtown Somerville. We challenge the Democrats to show any evidence of increased tourism in Somerville in 2023 from the prior year.”

The Republicans argue that the federal COVID recovery funds would have been much better spent aiding some of the Main Street business owners who lost tens and hundreds of thousands during the government-imposed shutdown, some considering selling their own homes to keep their businesses afloat (https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/06/will-nj-downtowns-survive-the-pandemic-coronavirus-puts-one-towns-identity-at-stake.html).

“These statues are a complete slap in the face to Somerset County taxpayers. They are a monument to Democrat wasteful spending of federal funds that could have made a difference in people’s lives on a completely frivolous purchase which is quite frankly, a ridiculous eyesore in front of our historic courthouse,” said Dan Gallic, Lemma’s running mate for the second Commissioner seat.

“Our opponents were so proud of these statues that they held a professional photoshoot with them earlier this year. Curiously, the county has since removed the photos from the Internet.”

See the photos of the Democrats’ statue photoshoot on the Somerset County GOP website here: https://www.somersetcountygop.com/statues