EMAIL: Change Of Leadership Coming To Cape May GOP

Yesterday New Jersey Globe broke the news, “Donohue Seeks Return To Cape May GOP Chair Post.” A day later and an email is out stating exactly that. According to the email “CapeGOP Chairman Marcus Karavan announced today that he will not seek another term as the leader of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization.” Additionally, “As Karavan’s successful tenure ends, former Chairman Michael Donohue, who retired from the NJ Superior Court earlier this year, has submitted a Letter of Intent to seek the CapeGOP Chairman’s position at the reorganization of the CMCRRO to take place in mid-July. Donohue lead the county Republican party from early 2010 through 2015.”

Read the email below:

CHAIRMAN KARAVAN LEAVES GOP ON TOP
Former Chairman Michael Donohue Submits
Letter of Intent

(Cape May County, NJ) June 19, 2020 - After a nearly five-year tenure, CapeGOP Chairman Marcus Karavan announced today that he will not seek another term as the leader of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization. The county’s Republican party will reorganize shortly after the July 7th NJ Primary Election.
 
Karavan, a lifelong resident of the Wildwoods and a partner in the law firm of Blaney & Karavan, has been active in local politics for over thirty years. He assumed the leadership of the CapeGOP in late 2015, when then-Chairman Michael Donohue resigned the position to become a judge on the Superior Court of New Jersey. Karavan was elected to a full, four-year term as County Chairman in June of 2016.
 
Chairman Karavan’s tenure was highlighted by continuing electoral success, as the Republican party in both Lower Township and Middle Township gained full control of the county’s two largest municipalities. Republicans retained control of all county-wide elected offices and maintained or strengthened their hold on municipal offices in almost every Cape May County town.
 
Karavan’s term was also highlighted by the historical events of the past year, as Republicans “Flipped the First”, sending Senator Michael Testa and Assemblymen Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan to Trenton from the First Legislative District. The year ended with Democrat Congressman Jeff Van Drew switching parties to Republican and culminated with President Trump’s historic visit to the Wildwoods Convention Center in late January.
 
“Marcus Karavan has done fantastic work as the CapeGOP Chairman,” Senator Testa said. “His leadership and guidance were a key ingredient in the Testa Team’s win in District One in 2019. Marcus built a strong and winning organization that is not only winning, but stays true to the Conservative Republican principles that are the hallmark of the CapeGOP. As Marc steps away, I wish him only the best. I know I will continue to seek his guidance as a true friend going forward.”
 
As Karavan’s successful tenure ends, former Chairman Michael Donohue, who retired from the NJ Superior Court earlier this year, has submitted a Letter of Intent to seek the CapeGOP Chairman’s position at the reorganization of the CMCRRO to take place in mid-July. Donohue lead the county Republican party from early 2010 through 2015.
 
Senator Testa expressed confidence in Donohue’s proven leadership.
 
“Mike Donohue has also been a great friend,” Senator Testa said. “In my role as Cumberland County GOP Chairman, I’ve worked side by side with Chairman Donohue in some tough electoral battles. His proven political acumen and assertive campaign style have served our candidates well. It is testament to the character of Chairman Karavan and the mutual respect shared by both of the leaders, that the CapeGOP will move forward stronger than ever and united in its purpose to foster the American ideals that resonated so strongly with Cape May County voters.”
 
Karavan believes that the future of the CapeGOP is bright.
 
“I was honored to be chosen to assume the Chairmanship in 2015 and I’m very proud of the work our team accomplished the past five years,” Karavan said. “We have built on our past record of success and carried our organization to even greater heights. I have all confidence, as I pass the baton of leadership forward, that the CapeGOP will be in good hands, as we move towards crucial election cycles in both 2020 and 2021. I remain committed to the ongoing success of the CapeGOP.”

PRESS RELEASE: ABC-NEW JERSEY CALLS ON RESIDENTS TO REJECT PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS

Associated Builders and Contractors New Jersey (ABC NJ) says recently passed legislation that awaits Governor Phil Murphy’s signature, leaves “close to 85% of New Jersey contractors unable to bid on work.” ABC NJ’s press release on the matter follows:

The New Jersey Legislature has pushed through new legislation that revises the definition of ‘public works projects’ to permit government-mandated PLAs on even more projects. This legislation now sits on Governor Murphy’s desk for him to sign into law. As a result, the majority of construction contractors and workers in New Jersey will be unable to compete for PLA projects, solely based on the fact that their workers are non-unionized, leaving close to 85% of New Jersey contractors unable to bid on work. 

PLAs typically require that most or all employees hired for a project be referred through union hiring halls and union apprenticeship programs, which discriminates against the 70% of New Jersey construction workers who choose not to join a union. Most contractors do not like this requirement because they have invested heavily in their own existing employees to ensure a safe, productive jobsite, not strangers from a union hall.  More than one of every four New Jersey workers have filed a claim for unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the state Labor Department. This figure represents 1.24 million workers or 28% of the entire workforce. The unemployment rate for May is 15.2%. Considering PLAs only cater to the 15% of the construction workforce in New Jersey, why would we put into law a measure that would stop the ability for the 85% of the construction majority from bidding work?  This is not the time to discriminate against the majority of the construction workers.

Additionally, non-union contractors already have their own benefit plans in place, but the PLAs also require such contractors to pay union benefits and pension funds for any non-union employee working on a PLA job. This forces contractors to pay double the amount of benefits, even though union pension plans are at risk and non-union workers do not receive the benefits unless they join the union and become vested.

PLA mandates also disproportionately discriminate against women and minority-owned construction businesses and their workers, who traditionally have been underrepresented in New Jersey’s construction trade unions.  We should be encouraging not discouraging these companies.

The price and timeframe for these projects usually skyrocket as there are less available bidders. This harmful piece of legislation not only discourages competition between qualified merit shop contractors and workers, but it also adds between 12-18% to the cost of all taxpayer-funded construction projects.  More specifically, on school construction projects it is even worse.  Based on a New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development study, PLAs add an average of 30.5% to the cost and extend the construction period by 22-weeks.

As we work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe our tax dollars must be spent diligently, while also creating an environment where competition is welcomed, not disparaged.  I encourage all New Jersey residents to let the Governor and your legislative representatives know that we cannot afford to overpay for our public construction projects because well-connected lobbyists want to steer contracts to unionized contractors and create an artificial monopoly for union labor via PLA mandates. 

New Jersey taxpayers deserve to have their hard-earned money spent in a competitive, fair, and open market where New Jersey based non-union contractors get an equal shot.  It is imperative that you make your voice heard.

It Sounds Like Murphy Is Considering A Mail-In Election For November

News12 New Jersey has reported, “A printing error led to hundreds of Republicans registered in Somerset County accidentally getting mail-in ballots for Democratic candidates.”

According to the report Somerset County Clerk Steve Peter said that “500-700 Republican voters in Bernardsville received Democratic ballots.”

The report goes on:

County Clerk Steve Peter says that there is no evidence of malicious intent. The ballots were printed by Verona-based Reliance Ballots. The company says the ballots got caught up in a plate change and that the correct ballots should be in voters’ mailboxes by Thursday.

Peter says that there is no evidence that any Republicans chose to fill out and send in the incorrect ballots and there is no indication that there have been more mix-ups elsewhere in the county.

Peter, a Democrat, according to a press release after he won election to County Clerk in November 2017 said, “I look forward to updating the County Clerk’s office to serve all the people of Somerset County with consistent, high-quality services,” said Peter. “I will work hard with my team to have a smooth transition and hit the ground running in January.”

“Consistent, high-quality services!” If sending Democratic ballots to 500-700 Republican voters is your idea of “consistent, high-quality services” then you’re doing an excellent job Mr. Peter.

Aside from the obvious, that the Somerset County Clerk failed miserably at providing his promised “consistent high-quality services,” what struck me about this story was that Governor Phil Murphy offered no comment about the “printing error” and instead, according to the report, said “that he will wait to decide on whether the primary election is a dry run for what the November presidential election will look like in New Jersey.”

News 12 quoted Murphy:

“We’ll certainly want to see how July 7 goes, but that guidance – there’s no need to do that now. We don’t do it now. The more information and history we have, particularly from a health perspective, the better a decision we’ll make,” Murphy said.

I’m not saying it is going to happen, but it sure does sound like Murphy is thinking about a mail-in November election.

Stay tuned. We’ll be watching!