Retire Garrett

The Retire Garrett Campaign presents the first ever issue of its newsletter, called Take Back the Fifth. View it Here.

The Take Back the 5th Newsletter was composed by a handful of people working alongside the Retire Garrett Campaign’s organizers. The newsletter introduces readers to The Retire Garrett Campaign and its goal of unseating Scott Garrett from Congress. Our newsletter also describes how people who are similarly interested in retiring Garrett can get involved in the campaign. We hope our newsletter not only further enlightens readers about Scott Garrett’s dismal voting record but spreads The Retire Garrett Campaign’s message of change across the 5th District - so forward it to your friends and print out a copy or two to hand out.

This is not the last time you will hear from The Retire Garrett Campaign. We will be regularly publishing our newsletter and working on other projects to accomplish our ultimate goal of getting Scott Garrett out of office. Our members meet on a regular basis, by phone and in person, and we welcome anyone interested in helping to join our “strategy sessions” – just contact us at RetireGarrett@gmail.com.

The Retire Garrett Campaign Newsletter

By: Matthew Jordan

Disclaimer: I am working on John and Mark’s campaign, but more importantly I am a constituent of Scott Rumana and David Russo. I would be surprised if they could find my hometown of Wanaque without a GPS, which is just one of the many reasons why they shouldn’t represent the 40th. Additionally, getting John and Mark into the Assembly would be a great first step in retiring Scott Garrett and his abysmal record in NJ-5. Unseating Congressmen like Garrett starts with making electoral gains on the local and legislative levels.

The 50 State Strategy put into place by Howard Dean in his tenure as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee is largely responsible for the position Democrats enjoy today. A commanding majority in the House of Representatives, with Arlen Specter joining the Democratic Caucus and Al Franken on his way from Minnesota a 60 vote filibuster-proof majority in the US Senate, and a Democrat in the White House who won traditionally Republican states like Virginia, North Carolina, and Iowa.

So what does this mean in New Jersey and how can we learn from the new paradigm that Dean introduced on the national level? In my opinion, especially in a blue state like New Jersey, it means going on offense all over the State. With a little investment and energy we can put traditionally Republican Municipalities and Legislative Districts into play and stretch Republicans thin all over the State.

This line of thought brings me to the 40th District and the two candidates that are running as Democrats. John Agostinelli and Mark Bombace have both introduced themselves to the Blue Jersey community and explained a little about their backgrounds and why they are running.

In John and Mark there are several reasons to be excited about them as candidates and the campaign in the fall. For starters, they have both been elected in their communities before, which I think is very important for any candidate who is running in a Legislative or Congressional race. It means they have a political base of support already in place. Secondly, from personal experience I can say one thing with little doubt in my mind: they are both just greats guys who would bring a lot of practical knowledge and a new ethical standard to Trenton.

They aren’t looking to go to Trenton with grand ambitions of long political careers and backroom deals to further their own interests. They see a genuine lack of leadership by their State Representatives and think they have a duty to challenge Scott Rumana and David Russo’s records in the Assembly.

More importantly, they both have ideas on how to make things better. Mark has a wealth of knowledge from his time as the President of the Ridgewood Board of Education and genuine ideas on how to make out public school systems more efficient and more accountable. Not to mention his day job as a Ridgewood Fire Captain and the new perspective he could bring to public safety issues in Trenton. John has been a civil engineer for more than 15 years, and has a strong grasp on transportation and infrastructure issues that I could do no justice to in this post. He wants to expand mass transportation, improve our roads, and improve our environment, and has the professional background to get it done properly. They are looking to bring common sense solutions to Trenton that will benefit the people of the 40th District, not craft legislation that increases bureaucracy and wastes taxpayer dollars.

So I know as we reach the conclusion of this post you are asking yourselves, how can I help them get to Trenton? Well, if you live in Northern New Jersey I hope you will join us at the kickoff fundraiser hosted by Mark Bombace at his Ridgewood home. The event costs only $35 and all of the details can be found on the Blue Jersey calendar. This campaign isn’t going to be run on the heels of lawyers and lobbyists writing big checks, it is going to be on the backs of normal people making $5, $10, and $25 dollar contributions. Furthermore, you can join John and Mark’s Facebook Group and stay up-to-date on campaign events and issues (a web-site will be up soon). This campaign is going to be won on grassroots support and I hope the Blue Jersey community will be a partner in sending John and Mark to Trenton in November.

Cross Posted on Blue Jersey

Now with audio embedded!

Rep. Garrett was the special guest speaker at a Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce Networking event a week and a half ago at a local bank. It was supposed to be a pleasant meet and greet where citizens of Ridgewood and the surrounding area would sip wine, sample fine cheeses, and get to ask their Congressman about the noble endeavors he’s been up in Washington. No controversy expected here – no sir, just good times with a Congressman actively involved in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

At the event Garrett addressed 50 or so businessmen and women for about 30 minutes. Rather than letting Garrett make a public appearance without being challenged on his dubious voting record, RetireGarrett.com demanded to hold Garrett accountable for his opposition to President Obama’s stimulus package and his questionable beliefs for rebuilding the American economy. Fortunately for you we recorded what happened when a contributor to RetireGarrett.com, Adam Lambert, as well as another supporter of our website “interrogated” Garrett during his question and answer session. Listen below to hear how it all went down:

Garrett’s voice is somewhat muffled, so you’ll have to turn up your volume. Also of note: At the final minute mark or so the Deputy Mayor of Ridgewood loudly denounces Adam for daring to question Garrett’s Conservative economic agenda, which draws loud applause from the partisan audience.