CD-6 Primary: It will all come down to turnout

On the day Anna Little won the endorsement of the Middlesex County GOP, she became the favorite to win the 6th congressional district nomination.  Despite that all of the candidates, Democrat and Republican are from Monmouth County, the new 6th is a Middlesex County district. 

With no presidential contest on the top of the ballot and the U.S. Senate race uncompetitive, turnout is likely to be very low.  13,000 voters decided the 2010 primary race between Little and Monmouth County GOP Vice Chair Diane Gooch by less than 90 votes.  This time out, I’ll be surprised if there are more than 6000 votes.

Based on name recognition, Little should be considered the favorite.  She scored an upset in the last primary. She was the general election candidate in 2010 and she was a countywide candidate for Freeholder in 2006.

Coming into the race, Ernesto Cullari, the Monmouth County GOP endorsed candidate was a complete unknown, except for readers of the triCityNews where he was the token conservative columnist.   The nomination in both Middlesex and Monmouth Counties was his for the taking because no one else wanted it.  Little was running for the U.S. Senate nomination against Joe Kyrillos.

Little has been once again running against the Republican establishment who turned her away for the congressional nomination twice and never wanted her as freeholder candidate.  She won the office of Freeholder by one vote at a raucous January 2006 convention and was denied the nomination for reelection in 2007.

But it was during a meeting with Kyrillos in early March, before the Monmouth County screening/candidate selection and after Cullari announced his candidacy, that Little give up her Senate bid and decided to make another run for Congress.   Kyrillos did not want a primary challenge from the pesky Little.  Little did not want her career to end with a primary loss to Kyrillos.   The independent minded elected officials and municipal chairs of the Monmouth GOP were not going along with the deal.  They knew Little was no more of a threat to Kyrillos than Badar Qarmout.

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Little continues to be out of compliance with the Federal Election Commission

Three days after a spokesperson for the Anna Little for Congress campaign told PolitickerNJ that Little’s delinquent campaign finance reports would be filed “immediately” the Middlesex County GOP’s endorsed candidate has yet to file with the federal agency as a candidate.

PolitickerNJ called the Little campaign on Wednesday over the story that MMM has been reporting and updating on since early May.  Initially a campaign volunteer claimed that Little’s reports had been filed nine months ago and blamed a backlog of paperwork at the FEC for the reports not being posted online.  An FEC spokeswoman told PoltickerNJ that there was no backlog and that every report the agency received from Little was posted on their site.

Little filed a termination report for her “Anna C. Little for Congress, Inc.” campaign committee on April 2.  The FEC issued an acceptance of the termination on April 12.  The termination report says that Little raised $71,000 more than she spent as a candidate.

In February, Little filed “Friends of Anna Little” as a campaign committee for her aborted run for U.S. Senate.  “Friends of Anna Little” is the committee listed on the congressional campaign website . It yet has not yet been terminated as a senate campaign or registered as a congressional campaign.

Little’s husband, Rob, told PolitickerNJ that the campaign spending reports would be filed by primary day, Tuesday June 5.  The required statement of organization could easily have been filed on Thursday or Friday.  That would have qualified as “immediately.”

PolitickerNJ named Little one of their Losers of the Week :

Anna Little

With just four days left until the Republican primary, 6^th District Congressional candidate Anna Little has yet to file her official Federal Election Commission paperwork or any fundraising reports for her candidacy.  Little’s team called it an oversight and promised to fix it immediately.

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Anna Little’s Response

As part of a fundraising email sent this evening, former Highlands Mayor Anna Little issued the following statement in response to today’s news about the lawsuit that accuses her of failing to perform the work she was hired to do and advising her client to pay undocumented workers in cash:

“Every citizen has the right to seek legal redress if they believe they have been wronged.  The other party also has the right to defend themselves, and be judged by a judge or a jury of their peers.  The pending legal action is an allegation.  There is no final money judgement (sic) in the matter.  It has just come to my attention that Default has been entered, a technicality which occurs when one party doesn’t answer on time.  I have filed an Answer and have sought legal counsel to defend me.  I intend to seek to vacate default, defend myself, and make motion for the complaint to be dismissed as we deem appropriate after thorough review of the matter.”

The subject/title of the email was,”What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…”

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Sam Thompson on Anna Little’s FEC Reports: “I have no idea”

Middlesex County GOP Chairman, Senator Sam Thompson, is as puzzled as the rest of us as to why Anna Little has not registered with the Federal Election Commission as a candidate for congress.

Little has the Middlesex GOP endorsement in her primary battle with Ernesto Cullari, the Monmouth County GOP endorsed candidate for the nomination for the 6th congressional district seat in the House of Representatives.

Asked why Little would have terminated her congressional campaign account, “Anna C. Little for Congress Inc.,” with the FEC, which she did on April 2, while maintaining her U.S. Senatorial candidate status through her “Friends of Anna Little” account, Thompson said, “I have no idea.”

Asked why her “Termination Report” would indicate $71 thousand more in receipts than expenditures yet show a zero balance, Thompson said, “I have a hard enough time keeping my own campaign finance reports straight.”

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Cullari Challenges Little to First Debate of Primary Season with No Response

Press release

Asbury Park, NJ – On Friday, May 25th and again on Saturday, May 26th, Ernesto Cullari, Republican Candidate for Congress, personally invited former Freeholder and Mayor Anna C. Little to a debate scheduled for May 31st at 7pm. This marks the first time that either campaign has directly contacted the other to seek approval on terms and format. The debate, as proposed by Cullari, will be held at a prominent local university with a moderator, who is a well respected journalist. Members of the press are encouraged to attend.

The invitation to the Little Team clearly lays out the format of the event being proposed. This is in stark contrast to an event, which was to be hosted last week by Democratic Tea Party Leader and Little endorsee, Mark Falzon. Cullari agreed to attend Falzon’s Candidates Forum more than eight weeks prior to the event. Only through third party sources as the event neared, did the Cullari Campaign learn that the format had been changed to a debate without any communication or agreement from Cullari or his surrogates.

Every aspect of the debate proposed by Cullari is to ensure that each candidate has an equal opportunity to be heard by the voters and that no one candidate has an unfair advantage over the other. If any facet of the venue, format, or the stipulations surrounding the debate changes, the Cullari Campaign pledges to notify all involved parties to discuss the proposed changes immediately.

The Little Team has not responded to Cullari’s debate request.

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Little still not registered as a candidate for Congress

“Terminated” campaign committee report has a $71K discrepancy.  Where did that money go?

The primary is one week from today and former Highlands Mayor Anna Little, the Middlesex County GOP candidate for the 6th district GOP congressional nomination, has yet to file as a candidate with the Federal Election Commission.

MMM first reported that Little’s FEC paperwork was not in order on May 7th.  Jane Frotton, her former treasurer said she never had anything to do with the FEC reports. Brett Rappaport, the treasurer listed on Little’s web site, has not responded to a request for comment.

Little’s Anna C. Little for Congress Inc. campaign committee was opened for her 2010 race and continued to be active in the 2011-2012 election cycle.  A “Termination Report” was filed with Frotton’s electronic signature on April 2, 2012.  No other reports, statements of candidacy or statements of organization have been filed by or for Little, despite the fact that she is on the primary ballot and received the Middlesex County GOP endorsement on March 24, 2012.

The Termination Report indicates total contributions from 2010-2012 of $485,364.57 and expenditures of $414,295.70.  Despite that $71,068.87 surplus, the report indicates a zero balance in the Little account.  Frotton could not explain the difference and Rappaport has not responded.

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Cullari Issues A Debate Challenge to Little

Ernesto Cullari, the Monmouth County GOP candidate for the 6th Congressional District of New Jersey has issued a debate challenge to former Highlands Mayor Anna Little, the Middlesex County GOP candidate for the nomination.

The Cullari campaign has arranged for a prominent academic venue within the district to host the debate and a prominent member of the New Jersey news media to moderate the debate, subject to Little’s acceptance of the challenge.

If Little accepts, the debate will be on Thursday, May 31, 7 PM, and open only to the press.  It will be live streamed on the Internet and recorded for later viewing online.

Cullari issued the challenge via email yesterday, May 25.  Little has yet to respond.

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Cullari: Little Blew It Against Pallone

Senator Jennifer Beck and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini Endorse Cullari in CD-6 Primary

In an interview with Politickernj, the Monmouth County GOP nominee in the primary for the 6th Congressional District, Ernesto Cullari, said that Anna Little,  the 2010 GOP nominee in the 6th district and his primary opponent this year, was focused on herself and not the task at hand, defeating Congressman Frank Pallone, during the 2010 general election,

“What I saw was a candidate unwilling to go after (incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank) Pallone – like the fact that he got his wife a job at the EPA where she works while most people suffer an economic downturn,” Cullari said. “Frank Pallone and a slew of other leaders have been looking out for just themselves. I’ll make that case. I’m not ashamed to make it. 

“What I witnessed in Anna was someone deeply focused on herself instead of the task at hand – namely advancing the small government ideology,” he added. “She missed that opportunity.”

Cullari went on to define himself as the true Tea Party conservative in the primary,

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Little Still Not Registered With FEC As A Candidate For Congress

10 days since MMM reported that Anna Little was a candidate for U.S. Senate and had terminated her candidacy for Congress as far as the Federal Election Commission is concerned, the former Highlands Mayor has yet to file a Statement of Organization.

Little terminated her Anna C. Little for Congress committee on April 2, 10 days after she was awarded the Middlesex GOP endorsement for the 6th Congressional District primary.   She filed a Statement of Organziation for U.S. Senate on February 13.   There is no active record on Little being a candidate for the House of Representative with the FEC, as of this writing.

Ernesto Cullari, the Monmouth GOP nominee in the CD-6 primary, filed his Statement of Organization on March 26.

Little’s treasurer, Brett Rappaport has yet to respond to an inquiry from the May 6 story.  Little’s former treasurer, Jane Frotton, said she had nothing to do with the FEC reports, despite her signature.  She also said to stop picking on Anna.

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Cullari Assails Little’s Record as Mayor

Ernesto Cullari’s primary campaign for the GOP congressional nomination in the 6th district of New Jersey followed this mornings rebuke of Monmouth County Tea Party Coalition leader Frank Cotton with an attack on former Highlands Mayor Anna Little’s conservative credentials.

“A Record of Backdoor Tax Increases,”  is how the Cullari campaign characterised Little’s tenure as mayor from 2008 through 2010, citing  borough ordinances:

So-called TEA (taxed enough already) Party activists and former mayor Anna Little has a strange obsession with taxing residents of the Highlands through back door fees, fines, and license increases during her time as mayor.

 

During the worst recession since the Great Depression mayor Anna Little sneakily increased numerous borough fees, fines, and licenses pushing struggling families and businesses closer to the edge!

Little has not returned a call for comment and her campaign does not have a spokes person.

This is just the beginning, according to a source familiar with the Cullari campaign’s plan for the next month.  Little’s record as mayor, freeholder and the public record of her law practice will all be subject to public scrutiny over the remaining 32 days of the primary campaign.

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