Passaic County, NJ Focus

ANOTHER Cowardly Republican unwilling to face the voters: Republican sheriff candidate pulls out of debate...there has been a trend this year of Republicans refusing to debate. I think it is clear they have NO ideas and no justification for their taking money from communist China and Saudi Arabia and supporting policies that ship jobs overseas.


Tod Theise for Congress:

Here is Tod Theise's statement on why he is running:

I'm running for Congress in the 5th Congressional District because I believe Scott Garrett is out of touch with the values we share. While I harbor no personal animosity toward Scott, I am often left scratching my head at the votes he casts and the priorities he pursues.

Our nation's economic collapse thoroughly exposed Scott Garrett's disconnect with the working familes he was elected to represent. Even in the face of Wall Street's unbridled fleecing of the American economy, Scott continues to serve as the apologist-in-chief for Big Finance.

He continues to push the same discredited agenda of reckless deregulation that drove our economy off a cliff. He continues to advocate for privatizing social security. He even voted against extending unemployment benefits for families suffering through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression while advocating for millionaire Wall Street execs to get lucrative bonuses because, according to Scott, they "earned" them.

If you're looking for a logical reason for Scott's servitude to Wall Street, you need only look at the sources that fund his campaign. His campaign finance reports read like a who's who of corporate lobbyists and entities that directly benefit from his lock-step votes. Moreover, Scott sits on the United States House Committee on Financial Services (or House Banking Committee), which oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries. The Committee also oversees the work of the Federal Reserve, the United States Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other financial services regulators (see sourcewatch.org). How can anyone objectively regulate Big Finance when their political lifeblood flows from these very sources?


For Scott Garrett the golden rule is "Wall Street plays and Main Street pays."

Aside from national issues like financial reform, New Jersey faces a particular challenge that has plagued us for decades. New Jersey gets only 61 cents back on every federal tax dollar we send to Washington. For decades we have ranked dead last out of all 50 states in this regard. Given our current financial crisis and the brutal budget cuts we are enduring, we can't go on paying the freight for other states -- some of whom get back as much as twice what they pay in federal taxes. It's about time someone took the gloves off in Congress and fought for New Jersey taxpayers.

My FAIR SHARE TAX ACT will require that any state receiving less than 75 cents back on each federal tax dollar be refunded the difference between their return and the 75 cent baseline. In new Jersey's case, taxpayers would be refunded the difference between our pathetic 61 cents and the 75 cent baseline, which comes to 14 cents.

That 14 cent per tax dollar refund represents $9.8 billion that would come back to New Jersey. Can you imagine what an impact these funds would have on preserving our quality of life? I've outlined the plan in full detail (including a funding mechanism that won't cause other states to oppose the bill) in the "Tax Fairness" section. I will go to Washington and do something no on else has had the guts to do -- get back our fair share!

I look forward to meeting my friends and neighbors during the campaign and listening to your concerns.

To find out more, go to Tod's website.


Here's a local blog covering Passaic and neighboring counties:

Blog the Fifth: Covering Representative Scott Garrett and politics within the 5th District & New Jersey


Find local events in Passaic County through the Hawthorne Democrats' Calendar,


Passaic County Democracy for New Jersey
First Thursday of the Month
meets at Puzo's Restaurant (Upstairs)
4 Garfield Ave.
Hawthorne, NJ 07506
RSVP at www.dfalink.com/passaic

Passaic County DFA is a grassroots community of progressives. We meet each month to talk politics, plan events, and engage in citizen activism. Join us!

Passaic County DFA is a Coalition Partner with DFA New Jersey and Democracy for America.

Hawthorne Democrats The local Democratic Party of Hawthorne, NJ
Meets the 4th Tuesday of every month, 8 PM at the Llewellyn Fire House (no meeting listed in August)

For a schedule of local events, go here.

And show your true colors with a Hawthore Dems T-shirt.



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Join the Passaic County Democrats:

Passaic County Democratic Committee
668 McBride Avenue
Woodland Park, NJ 07424
Phone: 973-279-4647
Fax: 973-279-4468

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Passaic County Young Democrats:
973-279-4647
668 McBride Ave
West Paterson, NJ
Click here for their Facebook page


Bear Swamp Farm Community Supported Agriculture
81 Otterhole Road
West Milford, New Jersey 07480
URL: http://www.bearswampfarmcsa.org
Phone: 201-574-6194

Bear Swamp Farm CSA is a small organic community supported agriculture farm located at 81 Otterhole Road in West Milford, NJ. The 20-week minimum season runs from mid-June until the end of October (or longer, weather permitting). The 2009 season will include 29 vegetables, 6 herbs and 2 fruits. An average of 4 different varieties of each vegetable will be grown, totaling around 100 varieties. The cost of a full share for the 2009 season is $600. ($30/week or less). Please visit our website for more information.