Commissioner Paul Dougherty A No Show For Commissioners Meeting

Commissioner Paul Dougherty

I took the time out of my evening to drive to Haddon Township for the first meeting of the commissioners since the news of Paul Dougherty leaving the scene of an accident broke. I was disappointed because Dougherty was a no show.

That’s right, Paul Dougherty took the coward’s way out and didn’t bother to show.

Officially, Dougherty “was on vacation,” according to a report on NJ.com.

Fortunately, the evening wasn’t a total loss, I met a couple of The Bob & Steve Show’s newest fans and will soon have material in my possession to add to the Dougherty story. Hint: the material comes from a citizen’s old OPRA requests. So stay tuned.

As to the meeting it was typical of local government meetings, well run and boring, until Jason DeMent approached the microphone to speak. DeMent is a smart guy and former cop in the Township. He’s the guy in the vote of no confidence video, he has guts.

I typed and swiped on my phone as fast as I could to keep up with DeMent as he spoke of Dougherty, “He made a monster mistake, and then he made a really poor choice on top of that mistake. I have all the respect for this commission. I’m not telling my children that a person in power broke the law and then is able to keep that power.”

DeMent went on to say that Dougherty “…needs to do the respectful thing and step down.” He said more, I couldn’t keep up, but fortunately NJ Pen was there and they did a good job covering the meeting. Read it here.

DeMent also made it a point to remind those seated at the dais of his community involvement. A gym owner, Personal Trainer and Weight Loss & Strength Training Specialist, DeMent dedicates some of his time to student athletes.

The Mayor nor the other Commissioner had anything of substance to say to DeMent.

Is Dougherty really on vacation? I seriously doubt he scheduled a vacation for a week in which there was a scheduled commissioners meeting. That said, he could have suddenly decided to take a vacation to avoid facing the people he represents. And, that would make him a coward.

They’re Coming For Your Plastic New Jersey

Remember way back in the beginning of the month when we warned you a ban on plastics was coming?

Some of you laughed. The Senate President was on our radio show and, based on his response that you “can introduce any bill,” I don’t think he believed this was coming. He was definitely not yet aware of the legislative hearing that was held last week when we asked him in advance of that hearing on our show.

According to one published report some people in the legislature are marching full steam ahead to ban plastics:

State Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, who announced Murphy's intentions during a joint legislative hearing on plastics in Toms River, said his "ban bill" could see legislative action as early as mid-September.

"We will be working hard this fall on plastics legislation," Smith said after the hearing. "But we're going to take plenty of testimony. We want to hear from the people of New Jersey. We're not jamming anything down anybody's throat."

Come on Bob, you are jamming this down everybody’s throats. Your party controls the Senate, the Assembly and the Governor’s mansion, and the radicals control your party.

I fill my recycle can with paper and plastics and I drag that can all the way down my driveway every week. If everyone else followed the law there would be no reason to ban plastics. Maybe someone could invent a way to use the plastics to fill the potholes that are all over this state.

Besides, if you ban plastic bags what would Phil Murphy’s soccer team use for windows in the substandard housing he provides for the players?

Senator Smith is serious about a ban on plastics. He told the North Jersey Record:

"We heard testimony today from scientists who said that we now have plastic particles in our bodies, so it's become a public health issue," Smith said. "I think there is a lot of momentum for a ban, and I think we'll have it done by the end of the year."

I don’t know what scientists Smith heard from on that day but trust me, I have no plastic in my body. Thanks to a heart attack back in February I now have a team three different doctors that I can barely afford who never once said a word about plastic in my body and I think these doctors have made me take every test possible.

We moved from paper to plastic bags when I was a young man because plastic was better for the environment, or that’s how I remember it. A bunch of talk about saving the forests. Now because we saved the forests and completely mismanage them we have giant fires all over the western United States. Good job environmentalists!

And now we’re supposed to listen to the same groups that wanted us to switch to plastics and ban the plastics they wanted us to switch to in the first place. It’s like the environmentalists can’t make up their minds.

Given the high taxes and the high fees we all have to pay for the “privilege” of living in New Jersey you would think Senator Smith and his friends would work on making New Jersey more affordable.

Instead Senator Smith makes plastics a priority.

Did Flawed Camco Freeholder Candidate Try To Pull A Fast One In Vineland?

Vincent Squire

Based on official minutes of meetings of the Vineland Development Corporation we’re now wondering if Vincent Squire, the flawed freeholder candidate the Republicans in Camden County want off their ticket, tried to pull a fast one in Vineland.

It appears, according to meeting minutes, Squire wanted to rent the old Landis Marketplace from the Vineland Development Corporation. According to the September 17, 2015 meeting minutes:

Property Lease: Sandra Forosisky updated the board on the lease for 631 E. Landis Avenue (formerly the Landis Marketplace). She advised that she received and email from Mr. Vincent Squire’s accountant regarding his financials. The accountant stated that the financials should be received by September 23, 2015.

Three months later, in January 2016, the issue of Squire renting the old Landis Marketplace came up again. Apparently, Squire signed the lease, gave the Vineland Development Corporation a check and asked them to hold the check. From the January 21, 2016 meeting minutes:

Sandra Forosisky reported to the board that she received the signed lease from Vincent Squire in connection with the lease of the Landis Marketplace. She also received the down payment but was requested to hold the check. After much discussion and review, Sandra suggested that Mr. Wilson Lu be involved in the rental of the marketplace along with Mr. Squire.

Reading that, it appears the Vineland Development Corporation didn’t exactly trust Squire because they suggested he would require a partner to make the deal happen. Following is what the Vineland Development Corporation finally decided in the meeting minutes:

After discussions, a motion was made by Cosmo Giovinazzi, seconded by Praful Thakkar approving the following conditions in connection with the lease between the VDC and Vincent Squire:

1) 2 months security and 6 months’ rent up front

2) A guarantee from Wilson Lu

3) Certified check or wired funds as payment

4) No allowed to make permanent changes to the building

All members approved.

It’s obvious that between whatever financials were sent by Squire’s accountant in September 2015, coupled with the fact Squire asked the Vineland Development Corporation to hold his check that the folks running the Vineland Development Corporation saw something wasn’t exactly right with Squire.

Asking for 6 months rent up front is unusual, requiring a cosigner is unusual and requiring payment be made by certified check or wired funds is highly unusual.

All this makes it fair to ask if the Vineland Development Corporation feared Squire was trying to pull a fast one on them?

As best we can tell Squire wasn’t willing to accept the terms laid out by Vineland Development Corporation and never moved in. All we can say is good job to the Vineland Development Corporation for seeing through this guy’s BS.