Republicans support police and want to keep you safe. Democrats not so much.

That has been a top GOP campaign plank since 2020 and on Tuesday night it found its way into the race for Morris County Commissioner.

John Krickus, one of three Republican incumbents seeking reelection, spiced up a debate by asserting that his Democratic opponents:

“Have talked about … maybe we have to defund the police.”

This was not an off-the-cuff remark. Krickus and his running-mates – Steve Shaw and Deborah Smith  – recently sent out a mailer saying the same thing.

The Democrats – Bud Ravitz, Justin Strickland and Jonathan Sackett – called the accusation ridiculous.

Strickland, an Army vet, went a bit further.

Noting that Krickus served in the Marines, Strickland said it was disappointing that a fellow veteran would resort to such a charge.

“He knows that’s not true. What else is he lying about?” Strickland said.

Krickus did not immediately respond to Strickland. This was a League of Women Voters debate and they tend to be very structured.

But later, he pointed to a meme on Ravitz’ Facebook page back in 2020 that Krickus said expressed support for the Defund the Police movement.

That year, of course, was when the movement flourished for a while after the killing of George Floyd.

Ravitz responded:

“That post actually had Defund the Police crossed out, not once but twice.”

Let’s try to put this in perspective.

Morris County does not run any police departments.

The commissioners fund the sheriff’s office, which includes the park police, but they have no direct oversight over local police departments. That makes the charge a bit far-fetched, but as noted, this is a good issue for Republicans.

After all, it was Democrats on the left who gave oxygen to the Defund the Police movement in the first place.

The three GOP incumbents would seem to be in a good place. The county has gotten more competitive of late, but the commissioners /freeholders still win by rather comfortable margins.

At the same time, it’s a bit unusual for Republicans to send out a “hit piece” about their Democratic opponents in a county commissioners’ race. (In Morris County, that generally only happens in the Republican primary).

On that score, the Dems have to be “happy” they’re considered important enough to be attacked.