Dump Mike Ferguson (NJ7)

Congressman Rush Holt has sponsored HR 550, the Verified Voting Bill, which will require a paper trail on all electronic voting machines in the future. You can sign an online petition in support of the bill on Congressman Holt's web site.

The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R. 550) will:

• Mandate a voter-verified paper ballot for every vote cast in every federal election, nationwide; because the voter verified paper record is the only one verified by the voters themselves, rather than by the machines, it will serve as the vote of record in any case of inconsistency with electronic records;
• Protect the accessibility requirements of the Help America Vote Act for voters with disabilities;
• Require random, unannounced, hand-count audits of actual election results in every state, and in each county, for every Federal election;
• Prohibit the use of undisclosed software and wireless and concealed communications devices and internet connections in voting machines;
• Provide Federal funding to pay for implementation of voter-verified paper balloting; and
• Require full implementation by 2006

The bill has 159 co-sponsors including 8 Republicans. Ferguson has to date refused to co-sponsor this common sense bill that will protect the voters' right to a free and fair election process.

Call on Mike Ferguson to co-sponsor HR 550 today by calling his office at (908) 757-7835 or (202) 225-5361 or write to him on his website. Please be courteous to the folks who answer.

You can send letters to the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com, or the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com.

There are others, you know. Blanton and Ashton, Center for NJ Life, Running Scared, Scrutiny Hooligans, Did I say that out loud? Tami, The One True, Patridiot Watch, The Opinion Mill, Xpatriated Texan, Blondesense, A Mockingbird's Medley, and BlueJersey.net.

Posted by admin at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Less than 24 hours after Blue 7th PAC demanded that Congressman Mike Ferguson return a $1000 contribution he received from disgraced Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the Inside Edge is reporting that he will contribute the money to a charity.

Congressman Michael Ferguson plans to contribute the $1,000 campaign contribution he received from corrupt ex-Congressman Duke Cunningham to an in-district charity. Cunningham resigned his House seat yesterday after admitting that he took $2.4 million in bribes. Blue 7th PAC, a group that is seeking to oust Ferguson next year, called for the return of the Cunningham contribution yesterday.

Blue 7th PAC applauds Ferguson for donating this money to charity. Of course, Ferguson is not done yet if he wants to separate himself from the culture of corruption in Washington D.C. He still is keeping money in two other scandals surrounding Republican members of the House to the tune of more than $175,000. Ferguson:

• Received $54,403 over seven years from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), indicted for money laundering and conspiracy to violate Texas campaign finance laws;
• Received $132,000 in 2001 from a Retaining Our Majority Program fundraiser coordinated by Jim Ellis, Tom DeLay's treasurer and co-defended for money laundering and conspiracy to violate Texas campaign finance laws;
• Received $1000 in 2001 from Jack Abramoff, indicted for wire fraud and conspiracy in a case involving mob-style executions and floating casinos;
• Received $1000 in 2001 from Adam Kidan, indicted with Jack Abramoff for wire fraud and conspiracy.

Will Mike do the same honorable thing with the rest of his dirty money? You can ask him by calling his office at (908) 757-7835 or (202) 225-5361 or write to him on his website and ask him to stop taking money from corrupt politicians. Please be courteous to the folks who answer.

You can send letters to the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com, or the New York Times at letters@nytimes.com.

Posted by admin at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blue 7th PAC called today for Congressman Mike Ferguson (NJ7) to return a $1,000 contribution he received from convicted felon Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Cunningham pled guilty today to conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud, and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004. Cunningham also resigned his Congressional seat in disgrace.

"Since his first days in Congress when he received a record fine for illegally using contributions, Mike Ferguson has been taking part in the Republican culture of corruption," said Nathan Rudy, chair of Blue 7th PAC. "Ferguson cannot claim to be independent when he takes more money from Tom DeLay than any other member of Congress, and repeatedly refuses to return contributions from corrupt party and public officials."

The contribution was made on March 24, 2004 while Cunningham was under an investigation that led to today's guilty plea. An image of the FEC filing for the contribution is available at http://www.dumpmike.com/cunningham.html.

Ferguson is tied financially with the three main criminal corruption probes currently facing the Congress. He has:

• Received $54,403 over seven years from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), indicted for money laundering and conspiracy to violate Texas campaign finance laws;
• Contributed $27,000 in 2004 to House candidates from Texas supported by Tom DeLay;
• Received $1000 from Randy Cunningham in 2004, who pled guilty today;
• Received $132,000 in 2001 from a Retaining Our Majority Program fundraiser coordinated by Jim Ellis, Tom DeLay's treasurer and co-defended for money laundering and conspiracy to violate Texas campaign finance laws;
• Received $1000 in 2001 from Jack Abramoff, indicted for wire fraud and conspiracy in a case involving mob-style executions and floating casinos;
• Received $1000 in 2001 from Adam Kidan, indicted with Jack Abramoff for wire fraud and conspiracy.

In late September Abby Bird, Ferguson's spokeswoman, was quoted in The Express Times saying that Ferguson refused to return the DeLay money. Bird was also quoted in an August Asbury Park Press article that Ferguson would keep the Abramoff contributions, as well.

"Congressman Ferguson has repeatedly refused to return these unethical contributions, and his constituents can only believe that the money matters more than ethics to him," said Rudy. "It is clear that Congressman Ferguson is financially connected to all three major scandals affecting the House of Representatives today, and the only way to demonstrate his independence from the culture of corruption is to return these tainted contributions immediately."

Reps. Frank LoBiondo and Jim Saxton, the other two New Jersey members of Congress who received money from Abramoff, have agreed to return the contributions.

In addition to his financial ties to corrupt polticians, Ferguson's leadership political action committee (MIKE PAC) has as its treasurer a lobbyist named Mark Valente who has business in front of the Congress. Valente collected well over $100,000 for Ferguson over the past year while at the same time lobbying Congress for various corporate interests. Valente also organized a fundraiser for Ellis and Delay after the were indicted this summer.

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Posted by admin at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Star Ledger's Auditor reports that Assemblywoman Linda Stender has decided to enter the race for Congress in New Jersey's 7th Congressional district.

Addendum Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Union) will seek the Democratic nomination to run for Congress against U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-7th Dist.) next year.

The mayor of Fanwood from 1992 to 1995 and a Union County freeholder from 1994 to 2000, Stender has served in the Assembly since 2002. She faces a primary battle with Democrat Joe Tricarico, the former mayor of Hillsborough, who has already announced he'll run.

Assuming she announces, Linda is the third candidate to announce for this race. Matt Linfante and Joe Tricarico have also announced. To date, Tricarico is the only candidate to have filed with the FEC.

Blue 7th PAC has determined that it will be neutral in any primary race and support the eventual winner. Our job is to publicize the votes, positions and beliefs of Congressman Mike Ferguson so that the people of NJ7 can vote from a position of knowledge. When the candidate is finally determined we will get involved in that side of the race, as well.

Please help us in our work by ordering tickets this week to our fundraiser at the Indigo Girls concert on February 8th. We have a payment to make immediately on the tickets and need to sell some more.

Posted by admin at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congressman Mike Ferguson claims to be a moderate, but when moderated rebelled at the thought of cutting health care for children from the federal budget yesterday he was not with them. In a vote that thankfully failed, Ferguson voted with the Republican House leadership to cut Medicaid and SHIP health insurance funding for children.

Today the House leadership scheduled a cote for more tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, and Ferguson is expected to support the bill. This transfer of federal resources from the poor and uninsured to the most fortunate Americans would demonstrate beyond any doubt that Ferguson is not a moderate, but a Tom DeLay, George Bush Republican.

You can’t say that Ferguson doesn’t understand the problem of the uninsured in America, or in New Jersey, or even in the 7th Congressional District he represents. In May of this year he demonstrated his grasp of the problem in front of a crowd of people looking for ways to afford medical care for their families:

"There are 45 million uninsured individuals in the United States and more than 1 million are living in New Jersey," said guest speaker U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-Hunterdon.

Here are some of the benefits cuts Ferguson supported by voting for this spending bill:

The House measure would cut about 220,000 people off food stamps, allow states to impose new costs on Medicaid beneficiaries, squeeze student lenders, cut aid to state child-support enforcement programs and trim farm supports. …

A provision denying Medicaid nursing home benefits to people with home equity of $500,000 would be modified by raising the limit to $750,000.

Most of what is there is pretty obvious, and impacts the people of NJ7 who need food stamps, Medicaid and student loans to reach the American dream. There are three-bedroom colonials houses in NJ7 that go for $750,000, houses that people bought as young parents and today all their wealth is tied up there. How do you deny a wife nursing home coverage because they paid their mortgage off over the past 30 years?

And worse is the provision to reduce funding for tracking down deadbeat dads. There is no justification for the miniscule saving you can get with this cut to reduce the amount spent to track down parents who refuse to pay to support their own children. It's close to unconscionable.

Ferguson is showing his true colors as the radical House leadership pushes through cuts to the very programs that allow middle class and moderate income families to rise up and reach the American dream. He cares more about the wealthy people he grew up with than the people he was elected to represent.

Posted by admin at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PoliticsNJ.com is reporting that the buzz is Assemblywoman Linda Stender will not run for Congress against Mike Ferguson in 2006 in New Jersey's 7th.

Democratic leaders say the expect Assemblywoman Linda Stender to pass on a run for Congress next year, leaving former Hillsborough Mayor Joseph Tricarico as the most likely challenger to three-term Congressman Michael Ferguson. Moveon.org continues to target Ferguson, despite the Republican-leaning tenancies of the 7th district: members are being urged to join in a rally outside Ferguson's congressional office tomorrow morning to show opposition to the federal budget.

Linda has been a good friend to my hometown, North Plainfield, and has come to a couple Blue 7th PAC events. I want to stress that the PNJ report is rumors and not from Linda, so take it with a grain of salt. When Linda is ready to announce, she will.

Posted by admin at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

MoveOn.org sent out the following missive.

Bag the Bad Budget

Outside Congressman Mike Ferguson's Office 16 Nov 12:00 PM

We'll meet outside of Rep. Ferguson's office and hope to get the word out of how this budget will hurt many

Americans. We're going to have a mock Thanksgiving table demonstrating how the wealthy feast while middle and low income Americans are left with empty plates.

It would be great to make the Progressive Presence felt by the Congressman and the media so please attend!!!

Location: Warren, NJ 07059
Host: Ruth Coules
Status: Public, open for RSVP, 20 Guests (Max 50)

http://political.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=7034

Posted by admin at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Newsweek has good news for organizations like Blue 7th PAC which are trying to defeat an incumbent Republican:

Coming on the heels of Democratic wins in closely watched gubernatorial races in (Blue) New Jersey and (Red) Virgina this week, all of this has got to worry Republican leaders contemplating next year’s elections. When NEWSWEEK asked registered voters whether they planned to vote for a Democrat or a Republican in those elections, 53 percent said a Democrat and 36 percent said a Republican. It’s a long way from now to next year’s Congressional contests. But no one knows better than the president how much things can change in a year.

It means that the mood of the country is definitely leaning toward the Democratic Party and gainst Republican incumbents. The country is seeing the failures of Republican leadership and are ready to move another way.

But New Jersey's 7th district still leans Republican, and the national mood may not translate here. We have to make sure it does. We need to be ready to take advantage of that, working together to raise the money, organize the volunteers, push the messages and beat the streets.

You can help by joining us for the Indigo Girls concert on February 8th for a fundraiser at the McCarter Theater in Princeton. Tickets are just $100 for the concert and $150 if you want to come to a cocktail party before with a special guest! Order tickets online or mail in the form today.

Sponsorships are available, as well. $500 for the Host Committee (2 tickets to Party & Concert), $1000 for Patrons (4 tickets to Party & Concert), $2500 for Sponsors (6 tickets to Party & Concert) and $5000 for Honored Guests (10 tickets to Party & Concert). You can pay for a sponsorship online or mail in the form, as well.

Posted by admin at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The LA Times notes that Mike Ferguson could be in a danger after the Democratic wins this past weekend.

Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), whose district includes much of Fairfax, said Kilgore's poor performance in the area should tell the White House and congressional Republicans that they need to repair their tattered image with independent voters.

"In our [meetings], all we hear is from guys in safe districts and all they say … is we have to keep the base happy," Davis said. "But you've got to start making independents happy or we won't be a majority."

Davis, former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said the same tide that overwhelmed Kilgore in Fairfax County could threaten Republican House members representing similar suburban communities across the Northeast. Democrats are targeting a number of GOP incumbents from such districts, including Reps. Michael G. Fitzpatrick and Jim Gerlach in Pennsylvania, Mike Ferguson in New Jersey and Christopher Shays in Connecticut.

The voting patterns in New Jersey were similar to those in Virginia. Like Kilgore, Forrester suffered from "a weak performance by the Republican base and very limited traction with swing voters," said David P. Rebovich, chairman of the political science department at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J.

The numbers were especially bleak for Forrester in large suburban counties such as Bergen, Middlesex and Mercer that are similar to northern Virginia.

Posted by admin at 07:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)