Congratulations Chairman Steinhardt (and LD1, LD2 and LD8)

Doug Steinhardt

Since we launched The Bob & Steve Show over a year ago we’ve been heaping praise on NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt on the air and on this blog. We’ve said repeatedly he’s the best chairman the party has had since Tom Wilson (2004-2009). Wilson was a fighter and so is Steinhardt – and you know how much we like fighters.

Steinhardt traveled the state talking about the Murphy Midterms, meeting with activists (even some who might be considered malcontents), put the effort to bring people back into the fold. The guy did everything he could to put the organization back together and motivate the troops.

He stayed on the Murphy Midterms message finishing with 20 straight days of “20 Reasons New Jersey Is Weaker And Poorer Under Phil Murphy 20 Reasons To Vote Republican In The 2019 Murphy Mid-Terms.” The only thing more annoying than getting those press releases every day was back when I wrote 33 press releases in a row about former Cumberland County Freeholder Lou Magazzu’s NACOgate. (I say annoying in the most complimentary way possible)

Steinhardt’s Murphy Midterms resulted in four Assembly pickups and the grand prize of Michael Testa’s Senate win. The Murphy Midterms strategy protected LD8. In South Jersey the Murphy Midterms message defeated the George Norcross Machine.

I can’t end this post without congratulating Michael Testa, Jr., “The Dapper County Chairman.” I’ve known the guy for more than a decade, we’re friends, friends enough that we’ve had arguments, but always found a way to work them out. I remember the days of his ponytail and occasionally tease him about it. What are friends for? I admit, I was worried for him yesterday, and Michael I apologize for not showing up at your victory party, but I don’t do victory parties, it’s bad luck and no way was I going to jinx you.

Thank you both, Michael Testa, Jr. and Chairman Doug Steinhardt, I no longer have to type the words, “temporary state Senator Bob Andrzejczak” and my spell check will no longer go crazy. Oh, and I don’t have to play that stupid song dedicated to the temporary state Senator on our radio show any longer.

Disability Client In PASP Program Volunteer Work Included “Removing Rust” From Salem County Clerk Candidate’s Fence (While that candidate was a Freeholder)

Beth Timberman

We don’t do a lot in Salem County here at The Bob & Steve Show. In fact, the last time we did anything in Salem County we wondered if taxpayers paid for the orange juice Bob Gant spilled on his shirt before beating an inmate at the old county jail.

Well, it’s election season and we’re back in Salem County. Remember the time a client in the state’s Personal Assistance Service Program (PASP) performed volunteer community service hours such as “removing rust off” former Salem County Freeholder Beth Timberman’s fence? Neither do we, because no one ever reported it. But it’s true, according to the volunteer’s own log (and an email) volunteer hours were performed on Timberman’s fence while she was serving as a county Freeholder.

Apparently, one of our sources knew this happened because in an email dated October 24, 2014 a county official responded to “OPRA 167.” I’ve copied and pasted the email below. I, simply because I can and I felt like it, chose to redact the names of the county official and the person who filed the Open Public Records Act request.

From: "XXXXX, XXXXX" <xxxxxx@salemcountynj.gov>
Date: October 24, 2014 at 12:05:04 PM EDT
To: "xxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com" <xxxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com>
Cc: "XXXXXX, XXXXX" <xxxxxxxxxx@salemcountynj.gov>
Subject: OPRA167 Shirlee Manahan Project Freedom PASP: response

Dear XXXXXX:

Attached please find two PDFs relating to your OPRA request for “Correspondence promoting or reflecting relocation to Project Freedom” and “Volunteer work assignments (hours and locations clients reported) for disability clients in the PASP program from 2005-2012.”

There were redactions of the client names per HIPAA privacy regulations.

Because redactions can be considered a partial denial, you have denial rights of appeal.

A screen shot of your rights are provided below.

Please contact me with any questions.

Thank you.

XXXXXX.

Below are the two PDFs referenced in the above email. Scrolling through you will find interesting items including required reports of volunteer hours with items including, “helped my landlord paint a fence and clean up brush 8 hours” and “beth timberman continued removing paint and rust off 2 hours”

There is also an email that says, in part, “I am working on Beth Timberman’s gates removing all the rust off them for her to paint them. I am doing so well with them that Jeff Ridgway wants me to do the same for the fences near the courthouse.”

As you scroll through you will also notice lots of volunteer hours at Salem County Democratic Party in 2007.

As you review the documents below you might want to ask yourself why an elected official who wants to be an elected official again would have had a person with a disability performing volunteer work at her house. Is that the type of person you want to vote for?

The Mastrangelo Recording – Don’t Listen In Front Of The Kids

Tom Mastrangelo

I figured I might as well see if I can get another cease and desist letter from Morris County Freeholder Tom Mastrangelo’s lawyer. If I do it will be my third, and like the first two, I’ll ignore it.

For those who don’t know, Fred Snowflack has an excellent piece on InsiderNJ about how Mastrangelo is suing the candidates he beat in the most recent primary election over a mailer that “that referenced a now-expunged arrest report of Mastrangelo out of Randolph.” The piece goes on to explain, “the expunged record already was made public in a previous campaign.” For the record, I would be the consultant who released the stuff before (it wasn’t expunged at that time) and Mastrangelo dragged my candidates and me into court where we were all found not guilty by way of a dismissal.

So, it’s no secret, Republican or not, I don’t like Tom Mastrangelo. I think he’s a scumbag for a lot of reasons. I’m fairly certain he has similar feelings about me.

Oh, and for those who don’t know, one of the freeholder’s phony Facebook accounts is McWilliams Johnson.

Back to the InsiderNJ piece. In the piece, Snowflack writes:

And then, there was the phone call.

The filings include a partial transcript of a phone message Mastrangelo left for Valori in 2016. No exact date given.

But, the folks at InsiderNJ don’t share the recording. Being the helpful kind of guy I sometimes like to be I have provided the recording for you below – just don’t play it in front of the kids.

Mastrangelo Talks Smack

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