Cities Sunk Sipprelle and Little
Urban Democratic strongholds in Trenton and Plainfield figured prominently in the outcomes of the Congressional races in NJ 12 and 6.
In the 12th district, Trenton voters provided Rush Holt with 8,044 votes to Scott Sipprelle’s 437. Holt won the entire district by 13,836 votes.
In NJ-6, 43% of Frank Pallone’s margin of victory came from Plainfield were he won 7950 votes to Anna Little’s 667. Democratic sources told MMM that Pallone spent $30,000 to get out the vote in Plainfield.
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Art you are right on target with this story. Pallone with his war chest spread the ” STREET MONEY ” around . I called a black friend of mine on election day to vote for Anna Little his response ” how much she paying ” Do I have to say any more. She was ambushed. The only good thing to come out of this election is now Pallone is neutered.
Huge street money in Trenton. Turnout in some precincts off the chart, up 20% from Governor’s race. We know what happened.
Because our state is so gerrymandered that the seats are a lock. And those locks ensure that the decision makers are party bosses and not the voter. !!!!!!
The mayoral candidate (also a lawyer) somehow took a look at the results in HP, and said that he and Anna were winning for most of the day. when the dem challengers left with their challenger sheets and kicked the dem machine into gear at about 4:00, 2000 dems came out to vote in the last 3 hours.
Given that NJ will lose a congressional seat because of the census results, and that Republicans won massively at local and state levels, look for redistricting to take place soon. Perhaps very soon the Trenton and Plainfield boat anchors will trouble Districts 12 and 6 no more.
$30,000 to buy 7,000 votes? That is cheap. A friend, on watch night, told me about a trip he took years ago as a political newbie to surreptitiously observe the vote-buying in Asbury, where he saw ‘guys with check lists’ asking people what they wanted, ‘Chicken dinner? Cash?’ and likened it to “elections” in banana republics where the people resoundingly re-elect their president-for-life by a 95% ‘approval’ margin.
Consider that there are about 880 total registered Republicans in Plainfield; Anna Little’s 667 represents about 76% of all Republicans in Plainfield – an extremely good effort! If she’d carried Monmouth by that percentage, or even the expected percentage she’d have won hands down, because Plainfield always was known to be the boat anchor of her campaign. Her Middlesex numbers were good. The surprisingly low 2% spread in Monmouth is what sunk her.
I’m sure this will be taken the wrong way, but surely every single one of us MMM readers, and every single Republican voter in NJ KNOWS and HAS KNOWN that the districts are and have been drawn this way for years – and yet no one, not a single person, has stepped up with a realistic solution or way to combat this — and don’t look to me for the answer, I’m just hear to point out the problem, again. No one is really working hard there in Trenton or Plainfield trying to sell Republican principles in these areas – no one is trying to sell the facts as to why Democrats are bad for these areas in these areas, and for that matter no one seems to be selling the problem of gerrymandering to the Rs and Is, and even the Ds, in the rest of the district whose votes essentially don’t count and don’t get heard because of a place like Plainfield or Trenton.
Enough of the whining – we all knew and know that these cities are part of the district – it’s not like they magically appeared for the first time ever this Tuesday – it comes down to a lack of a real, legitimate, long term effort by Republicans to earn the respect, trust and votes in these cities and in my humble opinion, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Want to lose again in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018? Keep doing nothing to change the perceptions of Republicans in the big cities.
James,
Here is the problem. How do you reach out to people with a fundamentally different outlook on life and the role of government.
people in theses urban districts believe the government is the answer to all their problems. it should supply them with food , housing, med care, retirement. You name it.
Until you change that culture you can not make inroads.
I understand and agree TR – it’s a cultural problem — I’m just pointing out that we as Republicans can’t sit around crying about the results from the city, when we knew all along what the results from that city would be. Either do something to change the results, overwhelm those results, or stop complaining.
Sipprelle and Little both needed better efforts in Monmouth County. Trying to win people over in Trenton and Plainfield would have been fruitless, in my opinion.
I looked at turnout in NJ12 relative to 2006 and 2008 and Monmouth turnout was only 4% better than in 2006, during the last mid-terms. Turnout in the other three counties in NJ12 were up by higher percentages than Monmouth, led by Mercer, +10% vs 2006. That is not a recipe for success. That said, while Sipprelle put up a good fight he lost by 14,000 votes. There’s no way, even in a year of good turnout, he could make up that deficit even with a 62% to 37% edge in Monmouth. Sipprelle was ahead by 10,000 with Middlesex and Monmouth counties counted, but Mercer sunk him. Tough district for Repubs, for sure. It’s a shame more people didn’t stay open-minded and watch the debates. Sipprelle was a very articulate candidate with a good message for fiscal accountability. Holt is a liberal hack who made vicious personal attacks to save his seat. How sad!
Hogan and TR,
I’m pretty sure there is a Monmouth Republican who has for years been trying to sell the party on involving itself in urban issues.
I can’t think of his name right now, but I bet you can find it somewhere in this column he published on this very website in 2008:
http://moremonmouthmusings.blogspot.com/2008/11/asbury-park-muscle-flex-and-rise-of.html
Here is a sample of what he said:
So the Republican task is clear: We’d better do something to compete in Monmouth’s Urban Centers. Just so you know, that doesn’t mean an African American “outreach” program that says, “Hi Black people! Remember Abe Lincoln?”
They are going to want to see policy, just like any other voter. If we’re smart, that can benefit us beyond just votes.
Consider this. A few years back our County cut Middletown a $12 million check to buy open spaces. That money is gone and we won’t see any revenue from the investment.
For $1 million more, the County could have bought the Redevelopment rights to Asbury Park’s entire beachfront – 56 acres. The developer who did I estimate stands to make as much as $100 million back from selling off the properties.
We need a global plan for the whole county, West to East. We want the West to stay rural and suburban. Buying open spaces keeps people from moving there, so buying open space there is good.
That means though people will move to our Urban Cities, and those Cities need some money to build vertically. If every time the County peels off open space money to the West they also peel off some Urban development money to the East, everyone wins, and every loves us.
You know, there was a guy who tried to get the Republican Freeholder nod a few years back who very presciently warned we needed to be on the ground in our Cities building a structure. Anyone remember that smart guy’s name? 🙂
To bring the message of our policy to the Cities, we need a Freeholder candidate who is a messenger our Cities know and trust. Allow me to suggest Neptune City Mayor Tom Arnone, former Neptune Mayor Tom Catley and Long Branch Councilman Anthony Giordano.
The best way to weather a gathering storm is to prepare for it.
those newer to the process, and some who already know all this, understand what they were/are up against, when I kept telling you all about the “knock- and- drag goon squads”, “campaign worker” monies as shown on ELEC reports, cash flowing from used car lots, etc., every single year these creeps are up..have we learned??. the question now is:will THIS new Gov.and Lt. Gov., and State Chair, and Rep. county chairs and elected officials, KEEP LOOKING THE OTHER WAY, OR,WILL THEY FINALLY LOOK AT THE WHOLE AND ONGOING FUTURE PICTURE, AND, FINALLY, ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ,TO MAKE IT FAIRER, AND REALISTICALLY REFLECTIVE OF THE WILL of the working, taxpaying citizens?? only time, and us bugging all of them whenever we see them, will tell!.. it is disgusting, and must be addressed, while people are awake and engaged, or this will never be fixed properly!
Just to confirm “Now”…. when you say “fixed properly” – you are suggesting to simply redistrict in favor of Republicans, correct? Or are you suggesting “fixed properly” as in you have or will get on board with some plan(s) to address the cultural, social and political differences that cause a 15:1 D to R registration and voter turnout difference?
Again, someone can surely redistrict and put Plainfield in to another area, or if/when we lose a seat in the house – it can move away from the Jersey Shore/Central Jersey districts – but do realize it’s not “fixing” anything – it’s just moving the lopsided city to some other district and some different people will be left fighting the same voter registration/outcome difference — you’ll still call it gerrymandering, just not here.
At the end of the day, I believe that we all NEED the same things from the government – but the problem is that some people WANT (and know/believe that they can get) more things from the government – and we have politicians like Pallone who are more than willing (and able) to give them what they WANT – if we’re not addressing those differences, we’re just wasting our time and masking the problems. Republicans will get elected once the people believe that Republicans really are voting in their best interests, or that Democrats are voting against their best interests. At this point in time, we as a party aren’t convincing a large portion of society that we can represent their NEEDS, never mind their WANTS.
It’s a real discussion and topic that I think needs to be addressed — I just hope some smart people take notice of what that smart guy Tommy D is talking about is saying… except for the part about Giordano… he and his wife don’t seem interested in being involved Republicans here in Long Branch at this point in time, I’ve reached out to them and they’ve ignored me… at least they didn’t swear allegiance to Pallone like another of Long Branch’s Republican Committeewomen/City Council members. 🙁
Ms. Little’s loss can be attributed to three words – Tea Party Approved.
A redistricting statute:
1. Districts must be contiguous;
2. Districts must be compact;
3. Districts must be as equal in population as possible, and;
4. Districts must, when feasible, make use of existing city, county, and geographical boundaries.
5. All communications between appointed rediscticting commissioners are to be made public, and
6. All decisions and votes regarding redistricting are to be made at open public meetings.
No backroom dealing on redistricting.
that we hope the R’s in-charge don’t give away too much, as was bartered for and given last time!.. don’t go getting all philosophical and stuff, the fact is, each party draws a map to their advantage, then they fight, squabble, bargain, and deal, in dividing up the folks, to help some, save some, etc…. that’s just how it is!..word is, (since we’re DOWN in population, and must lose a district this time, leaving us with 12 instead of current 13-and, ps,who can afford to still live here, anyway?..oh, I forgot, the “takers” can!.. this CD 6 moves south, which could help an Anna,next go-round!)…. the new laws mean those in cities will not be split, so, from an R point of view, that may be helpful, in finally changing some of gov’t. to reward the payers more than the “takers” who have had far too much to say, at taxpayers’ increasing expense,look at the national map!- you have the left coast, a pocket of east lefties, then nearly all the rest of us is RED!.. am hoping the unfairness can finally be alleviated, and hope we don’t give the store away again, or it’ll be another decade of the same results!
[…] released the week before the election. The Democratic GOTV efforts, particularly in the cities of Plainfield and Trenton were the electoral equivalent of shock and […]