Dump Mike Ferguson (NJ7)

PARTY WITHOUT DeLAY

Celebrate Tom "The Hammer" DeLay's Last Day in Congress

Fri, June 9 7:30 * Dunellen Elks, 131 N. Washington Ave

Cash Bar * Hors Dourves * Music * Dancing * Politics

Invited Guests:     Assmwm Linda Stender     Rep. Frank Pallone     Rep. Rush Holt     Senator Nick Scutari     Assmmn Jerry Green

Suggested Contribution:     Rubber Mallet: $25     Ball Pein Hammer: $50     Claw Hammer: $100     Sledge Hammer: $250     Jack Hammer: $500

Contributions @ the door or Online @ Act Blue

The Party Without DeLay is a fundraiser for Blue 7th PAC. All funds raised will be used for grassroots political action to turn New Jersey's 7th Congressional district and surrounding communities BLUE by helping Democrats win at all levels. Learn more about Blue 7th PAC at www.blue7th.com and see some of our online efforts to defeat Congressman Mike Ferguson at www.dumpmike.com and www.fergusonforcongress.net. Printed in-house.

Paid for by Blue 7th PAC and not authorized by any candidate or other committee.

 

 

Posted by admin at 06:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From the Sunday, May 21 NY Times:

Stuart Rothenberg, an independent analyst who tracks Congressional races, said his latest forecast, to be distributed next week, predicted that Democrats could make gains of 8 to 12 seats. That is an increase from a prediction last month that Democrats would gain 7 to 10 seats.

"When we say Democrats are positioned to gain 8 to 12 seats, that certainly means the House is in play," Mr. Rothenberg said. "And those numbers are likely to go up. They are more likely to go up than they are to go down, that's for sure."

Stan Greenberg, a Democratic pollster who worked for President Bill Clinton in the 1994 elections, said polls he conducted in three districts where Democrats were thought to have modest hopes of winning found incumbents struggling with just 50 percent of the vote against unknown challengers. In a typical year, an incumbent at this point should have an overwhelming lead.

The members in question were Mr. Chabot in Ohio, Curt Weldon in Pennsylvania and Mike Ferguson in New Jersey. "These races are competitive five or six months before the election," Mr. Greenberg said. Republican officials said they were confident of holding on to all three seats.

You can see the whole poll at the Democracy Corps website. Interesting positives to note in the poll:

• The race is currently at just nine points, easily moved in six months;
• Only 40 percent approve or strongly approve of Mike Ferguson's job as a Congressman;
• 64 percent of the NJ7 residents think the country is on the wrong track, with only 27 percent saying right track;;
• In a generic horserace, meaning no candidate names but just party names, 45 percent of NJ7 would vote for a Democrat and only 44 percent would vote for a Republican.

That last one is the most important. Mike Ferguson is a candidate out of step with the district, and his negatives should drive down the 44 percent generic Republican vote. Linda Stender is a candidate in step with the district on the issues, and as she gets better known she can move that 45 percent generic up.

The largest negative in this poll is that Linda Stender only has an 18 percent name identification, meaning that 82 percent of the voters don't know who she is or even that she is running. We need to change that, and fast. House parties, block parties, rallies, fundraisers, street fairs, political events, diners, whatever -- you need to get out and spread the word about Linda right away.

Blue 7th will be out there doing that, as well. We are planning mailings to Independents, road signs, events, street fairs and more. But we need your help to do it. Please contribute $25, $50, $100 or more to the Blue 7th campaign today!

Posted by admin at 09:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Cook Political Report moved the NJ Congressional race from Likely Republican to Leans Republican, a shift in our favor and just one step away from being rated a Tossup.

The Cook Report is the single most read and trusted campaign handicapping publication in the country, and when a campaign moves toward one party or the other it is big news.

Amazingly, in early February this race was considered Safe Republican, then was moved twice in just four months. This is in recognition of Linda Stender being a strong candidate, Mike Ferguson being a weak candidate, the current political climate, and the grassroots work you all have been doing over the past 15 months.

Very seriously, the handicappers look at how much activity there is in a district. They see the letters to the editor that show up weekly, the protests at Mike Fergsuon's office, and the polls showing a tightening race.

Be proud of yourself. We are within single digits of a three term Congressman, the political winds are swinging our way, and we have an excellent candidate in Linda Stender. This is in no small way thanks to your efforts and your work. Keep it up!

Posted by admin at 09:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This letter was published in the Courier News on May 15, 2006. No link is available.

Ferguson playing cynical game

I can't figure out Rep. Mike Ferguson. Last December, he touted his support of the Deficit Reduction Act, which narrowly passed the House and ultimately cut the federal budget by $39 billion over the next five years. Most of those cuts affected vital social programs and student loan assistance. At the time, Ferguson said that the "budget represents tough choices and key reforms to reduce the deficit." Though those cuts were harsh, his dedication to deficit reduction was encouraging at a time when budget shortfalls were crippling state and local governments.

Yet on May 10, Ferguson voted in favor of a tax-cut bill that proposes to extend the tax breaks on dividends and capital gains through 2010 (they currently are slated to expire in 2008). This law will reduce federal tax revenue by $70 billion between now and 2010 almost twice the amount "saved" in the name of fiscal responsibility last December. And these tax breaks will only benefit people who have substantial investments in the stock market.

The bill also would protect more taxpayers from having to pay a higher alternative minimum tax a wise portion of the tax code intended to prevent the wealthiest Americans from craftily sheltering all their income from taxation. According to Ferguson, because that law was written in 1969, and has not been adjusted for inflation, it is now impacting 19 million families whose incomes are as "low" as $75,000. While that may be "low" for us in the 7th District, try explaining your need for tax relief to the rest of the country, where the national median income is about $44,000.

The tax cut may be advantageous for the 7th District, but I challenge us all to consider the common wealth over our own self-interest when thinking about tax policy. Whether our government protects the wealthy or the vulnerable is a moral issue of the highest importance.

The refrain risks becoming a cliche why do Republicans continue to push tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest among us?

Is now the time for tax cuts, or for fiscal responsibility? It cannot be time for both. The only justification I can think of for Ferguson's support of these two contrasting bills is that he follows the whims of his party leadership rather than considering the logical impact of his votes. Either that, or he thinks so little of his constituents that he hopes the promise of tax breaks will distract them from Congress's reckless disregard for financial discipline. Are we buying it? Time will tell.

DAVID J. ALLEN
Hillsborough

Posted by admin at 07:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few months ago we wrote a post saying that Congressman Mike Ferguson's claims that he had juice in Congress because he is a Republican were bunk based on his ability to return money to NJ7.

Now it appears that an objective ranking of the relative power of Congressman shows Ferguson is an incredibly weak member of Congress, ranking 291 out of 435 Representatives. If this were No Child Left Behind, Ferguson would be in the 33rd percentile -- a failing grade.

The kicker is that there are only 231 Republicans in the House of Representatives, and Ferguson is 291. That means there are 60 Democrats who have more power in Congress than Ferguson, though he has been there for more than five years and the Republicans have been in power for 12 years.

Posted by admin at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's 2006, and every member of Congress wants to get lots of press. Getting into Time Magazine is a doozy, and campaigns drool over the opportunity to have their guy sent into millions of homes.

Well, unless it's reminding people of the time your candidate was hanging out in a Georgtown bar and was accused of harassing a coed.

Shared bathrooms, bacheloresque cooking mishaps — it's a fitting lifestyle for a group whose official perks include, according to Wikipedia, "low-cost haircuts" and a gym membership. Also, their signature is worth as much as a stamp. (Which, come to the think of it, was the hallmark of another penny-ante House scandal of the '90s.) And as for that Congressional pin that can get you around Hill metal detectors, well, that and $2,800 can buy you a really nice dinner. It's not even much of a chick magnet; in 2003, New Jersey Representative Mike Ferguson made the Washington Post with his late-night attempt to impress a Georgetown student:

"Mezoe said the incident began around 1 a.m. as she strolled past Ferguson, who was leaning against the bar on the second floor. She said Ferguson, a Georgetown alum, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward him, introducing himself as a member of Congress. He pulled out his congressional ID card, she said, and pointed to his pin. "That's special," she said sarcastically. "Yes, it is special," he replied earnestly, she said."

So no wonder they cheat.

The whole story from the Washington Post is here, and in the extended entry.

More on this story from Dump Mike here and here.

The Congressman's Night on the Town

By Lloyd Grove
Friday, April 4, 2003; Page C03

In his dark suit, knotted tie and official congressional ID pin on his lapel, Republican House member Mike Ferguson looked out of place at the Rhino Bar and Pumphouse, a Georgetown saloon popular with college kids.

"He shouldn't have even been at the bar," 21-year-old Georgetown University junior Michelle Mezoe told us. "He and his group" – two unidentified staffers, also wearing suits – "stuck out like sore thumbs."

Yesterday Mezoe accused the congressman, a 32-year-old married father of three representing New Jersey's 7th District, of grabbing her in the wee hours Wednesday morning. She said Ferguson removed his ID pin and handed it to her, saying she could keep it if she would "come back and have a drink with me." Mezoe said she refused to return it unless Ferguson apologized for his "disrespectful" behavior. An apology was not forthcoming.

Ferguson initially refused to speak to us, leaving his chief of staff, Chris Jones, to counter: "What I can tell you is this is absolutely ridiculous and false. . . . The congressman emphatically denies this." Jones wasn't at the bar.

Late last night Ferguson changed his mind and dictated to us the following statement:

"I was having a couple of beers with my staff when she approached us and noticed my pin and began to ask about it. In a conversation that lasted fewer than five minutes, I had taken off my pin to show it to her. She then took the pin and walked away, and wouldn't give it back until the police were called. Any other sensational stories about this are outrageous and false."

Mezoe said the incident began around 1 a.m. as she strolled past Ferguson, who was leaning against the bar on the second floor. She said Ferguson, a Georgetown alum, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward him, introducing himself as a member of Congress. He pulled out his congressional ID card, she said, and pointed to his pin. "That's special," she said sarcastically. "Yes, it is special," he replied earnestly, she said.

"He came across as very arrogant, as though he was invincible," Mezoe said. "He appeared older, slightly balding, not someone I wanted to talk to. . . . It was very obvious I was a student and not someone to sit down and talk politics with over a late-night drink. I don't think he was interested in my political views."

Mezoe told us that as last call was announced, Ferguson gave her the pin – which she attached to her shirt. When she declined Ferguson's offer to "come back" for a drink, Mezoe continued, Ferguson demanded his pin back. According to Mezoe and other witnesses, she refused to return it unless he apologized, and walked away.

A Ferguson staffer tried to change her mind. "This guy in a suit came up and said, 'I'm sorry, it's my fault. I brought him here and got him drunk, and that's why he's behaving like this.' He asked for the pin and started stroking my hand. I told him, 'If you think you're helping the situation, you are sadly mistaken.' "

Then, Mezoe added, a young jeans-wearing woman, who seemed to be with Ferguson's group, approached and tried to remove the pin by force, grabbing at her chest. The attempt was unsuccessful. Finally, Mezoe said, she was granted a brief audience with the congressman as his aides stood close by. "What is your perspective on what happened here?" she asked. "You stole my pin and you won't give it back," he answered. To which Mezoe replied: "How old are your children, Congressman Ferguson?"

Mezoe said the staffers immediately interposed themselves between her and their boss. "You have offended the congressman," one informed her, she said.

Ferguson's chief of staff yesterday insisted that no such words were ever uttered, that no hand-stroking occurred, and that no young woman with the congressman's party ever approached Mezoe and grabbed at her.

But everyone agrees that Mezoe stood her ground, even after manager Dave Nelson offered her a $50 gift certificate to return the pin. "I won't be bribed, it's the principle of the thing," Mezoe responded, continuing to insist on an apology. Nelson then called the police, and after 2nd District D.C. Police Officer Robert Ferretti arrived and cuffed one of her wrists, Mezoe said she returned the trinket. No charges were filed, and the police department's public affairs office declined to make Ferretti available for an interview.

Posted by admin at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mike Ferguson is trying to run away from his good friend George Bush (but not his money!), scrubbing every positive mention and picture of the President off his campaign site (we fixed that here). Unfortunately, Mike Ferguson doesn't have the power to srub the whole Internet (even if he wants to tear it down).

Just today we found this lovely button commemorating both Ferguson's and Bush's swearing in as federal elected officials in 2001. It's a nice little keepsake that you can buy yourself for just $10 to remind everyone how these two conservative Repbulicans have been locked at the hip in Washington, D.C.

Posted by admin at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This leter was published in the Cranford Chronicle on April 27, 2006:

Time for a change in the 7th District

To The Chronicle:

It's a new week, and so there is another scandal involving Rep. Mike Ferguson, a minor player in Washington's culture of corruption.

Robert Mitchell Delk and Clark Camper, lobbyists for mortgage lender Freddie Mac, held 85 illegal fundraisers for federal candidates, including members of the House Financial Services Committee. Ferguson received about $40,000.The Federal Election Commission Freddie Mac $3.8 million. Will Ferguson get rid of his tainted money?

In other news, Ferguson supports a Bush budget that cuts $12 billion from student loan programs. Earlier, he had received $25,000 from two loan corporations (and their associates) who stand to benefit from cuts in the federal program. Why would companies based in California and Virginia give this money to Ferguson, unless they were buying his vote? Or perhaps Ferguson is just an automatic "rubber stamp" for the misguided policies of Bush, Cheney, and Rove? For more information on this payoff, see dumpmike.com.

And now let's examine a fine example of Ferguson's "compassionate conservatism. "The author of the Web site turnpikefeminist.com recounts a story in which she asked Ferguson's chief of staff this question: "Does the congressman feel that keeping last year's tax cuts is more of a priority than food stamps, Medicaid, tuition, and social programs for New Jerseyans? "According to the site, the chief of staff responded, "Well, yes." Apparently Ferguson's top priorities are more huge tax cuts for millionaires.

Ferguson and most other House Republicans are creations of the corrupt Tom DeLay. The indicted former majority leader gave Ferguson more than $54,000, and Ferguson consistently voted for DeLay's legislation and to protect DeLay from House inquiries or punishment regarding his unethical and illegal behavior. In the April 24 edition of The Nation, John Nichols wrote "DeLay is gone. But the machine he built goes on... He elected its members and he trained them to play politics... Only an election can rid the House of DeLayism... no change will come until DeLay's Congress is retired with him."

Let's help to reform the House and restore some integrity, honesty, and decency to Washington this November.Let's begin by tossing out Mike Ferguson. Visit the Linda Stender for Congress Web site, or contact her office in Scotch Plains by calling (908) 322-1996.

JOHN CANTILLI
Cranford

Posted by admin at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congressman Mike Ferguson decided to take a swipe at both Republicans and Democrats in his assessment of efforts to reduce gas prices for people in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. His analysis was spot on for the Republican plan to offer a $100 check to every taxpayer in the country, but spot off in suggesting Senator Bob Menendez's plan would hurt New Jersey.

"Some people have been talking about the $100 rebate, (and) a gas-tax holiday," noted U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson. "These are quick-fix, gimmicky solutions that do not address the challenges we face in terms of energy dependence. The gas tax holiday, that's just going to take money out of the Highway Trust Fund. That's critical to New Jersey."

It's true that the effort by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to offer all tax payers a $100 check whether they own a car or purchase gasoline is a gimmick meant to buy votes. But Ferguson either intentionally misstated Menendez's plan or didn't bother to learn about it before talking to the press.

Menendez proposed that the federal gas tax be suspended through the beginning of the summer driving season, when demand increases and results in higher prices at the pump. However, the plan also includes a commensurate reduction in the tax breaks Ferguson and the Congressional Republicans gave to the oik industry earlier this year. The plan would be revenue neutral, meaning that the Highway Trust Fund would have the same amount of money in it under the Menendez plan as it would without it.

But Ferguson didn't note that. Instead he decided to play politics with high gas prices, just like Karl Rove would recommend.

Posted by admin at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

This letter, which notes that Congressman Mike Ferguson's staff is once again unwilling to answer a simple question about his stance on the issues, was published in the Courier News on March 10, 2006:

Ferguson should explain war stance

I was born in 1941 into a Polish immigrant community in Linden. Perhaps my earliest childhood memory is of riding past the town theater and seeing their repulsive billboards advertising the movies on tap. The billboards featured macabre images -- large ones -- of Japanese soldiers. I had never seen an Asian person and didn't ask my parents what these representations were all about. I know now this was a predictable outcome of government propaganda calculated to manipulate a malleable public to support the country's involvement in the Second World War.

My grandparents, parents and their siblings -- and indeed myself -- spent endless hours, for years after the war, preparing and sending parcels of food, medicines and clothing to our relatives abroad in an attempt, not always successful, to keep them alive. Then there were the frequent letters from Poland, detailing the aftermath of the war in Europe.

These pathetic epistles were read aloud and discussed in family gatherings. They occasionally contained a photo of the writer's family. No picture I have ever seen of the least fortunate Americans comes close to the wretchedness of our people in the "old country." I had uncles serving in the conflict, which greatly heightened the stress our family suffered. That was as close as I ever came to war, but it was close enough to make an impression that has not faded with the passage of time.

Our species has a history sometimes glorious, but in most respects abominable in the extreme. The sickening side of human nature isn't unveiled to young children when they are taught history. It needs to be.

America is inflicting on the Iraqi population (and itself willy-nilly) the same hell Germany inflicted on the rest of Europe and the world beyond, not once but twice in the last century.

At times, I hear someone say George W. Bush "doesn't know what war is." That one sure rings true. People such as our pampered president and young congressman Mike Ferguson have lived lives thoroughly removed from such realities. They are clueless and, consequently, far too cavalier.

As the November elections approach, I look forward to knowing Mr. Ferguson's current position on the Iraq invasion (and why a constituent cannot get this information when he calls Mr. Ferguson's office in Washington). I also am curious about whether Ferguson is planning to support a discussion on the House floor addressing how America should now deal with the mess in Iraq he and his party have created. I refer to House Resolution 543.

FERDINAND GAJEWSKI
Westfield

Posted by admin at 07:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congressman Mike Ferguson sent out a press release [1] last Friday announcing his vote on a bill to improve port security. But the vote, which was 421-2, really didn't deserve a press release. Almost every member of the House voted for it, after all, so it would be more newsworthy if Ferguson had voted against it.

Until you realize that this release is intended to obscure the fact that Ferguson voted earlier in the day to weaken the bill in the fight against possible nuclear weapon attacks by terrorists.

An amendment was proposed which would have required scanning for nuclear materials at the point of origin, before the containers shipped to the United States. With fears rising the Iran could build a nuclear weapon, that North Korea has them already and that there are hundreds of unsecured nuclear devices in former Soviet republics, this would seem seem to be a no brainer.

But Ferguson sided with the Republican leadership and voted down this amendment in favor of scanning most containers when they are already in our ports. Instead of stopping potential nuclear bombs before they get here, Ferguson would rather we wait until they reach our home ports before checking.

As Ferguson's own press release notes:

Port Newark/Elizabeth, operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, form the largest port complex on the East Coast and are just outside Ferguson's 7th District, which includes portions of Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union counties.

Ferguson could very well have sent out a press release which would have garnered media coverage if that's what he wanted: FERGUSON VOTES TO WAIT FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO REACH UNITED STATES BEFORE SCANNING, RISKING THE LIVES OF EVERYONE IN HIS CONGRESSIONAL DISRICT.

Now that would have gotten him in the paper.

[1] www.house.gov/ferguson/20060504.shtml

Posted by admin at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Congresmman Mike Ferguson opposes abortion, but he also opposes policies and legislation that would reduce the number of abortions in the United States and abroad.

There is a bill in front of the Subcommittee on Health, where Ferguson is co-chair, that would increase funding and availability of contraceptives and family planning education for poor women. This, in turn, would reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and result in a dramatically lower number of abortions. The Bush administration estimates that there are 3 million unwanted pregnancies a year, with 50 percent ending in abortions.

Now new evidence from the Bush administration demonstrates that the number of unwanted pregnancies among poor women is skyrocketing under Republican "pro-life" policies, resulting in even more abortions.

Poor women in America are increasingly likely to have unwanted pregnancies, whereas relatively affluent women are succeeding more and more in getting pregnant only when they want to, according to a study analyzing federal statistics.

As a result of the growing disparity, women living in poverty are now almost four times more likely to become pregnant unintentionally than women of greater means, the study found.

Based on nationwide data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics and other sources, the researchers found that from 1994 through 2001, the rate of unplanned pregnancies increased by almost 30 percent for women below the federal poverty line -- now defined as $16,000 annually for a family of three. For women in families comfortably above poverty, the rate of unplanned pregnancies fell by 20 percent during the same period.

The abortion rate also rose among poor women while declining among the more affluent.

The Republican took over the House and Senate in 1994, and the White House in 2001. During that time they have radically reduced access to family planning and contraception, choosing to focus only on abstinence education to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Abstinence education has a place, since teenagers are often not ready for the emotional or other costs of sex and pregnancies, but only when it is coupled with realistic prevention messages, as well.

Congressman Ferguson is one of the most absolutist opponents of contraception, family planning and abortion. He is so radical that his own colleagues call him "Mr. Embryo", and that radical position is hurting poor women. Unwanted pregnancies create financial burdens, empotional stress, hurt families, and end in abortion as often as they result in children.

Posted by admin at 05:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This letter on net neutrality was published in the Courier News on May 4, 2006:

Ferguson trying to put a price on Web

Rep. Mike Ferguson, who sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, voted to pass a bill to the floor which would give wide power to telecommunication companies to change the way we experience the Internet. It gives them the power to charge content providers, like Amazon etc., extra fees to send their content to users.

The Internet will no longer be the free space with equal access for all that it was intended to be. It will be taken over by profit-hungry telecommunication companies and used only by people who can afford to pay to have access to everything.

It should be noted that Rep. Ferguson has received thousands of dollars in campaign donations from AT&T and other telecommunication companies. Until we change to publicly financed elections to diminish the huge influence of lobbyists, the only recourse we have is to barrage our legislators with calls and e-mails opposing this bill.

The Internet is an amazing space which encourages the free flow of ideas and products. Oh! That's right! Republicans and industry lobbyists only like unrestricted commerce as long as they are the ones making money from it.

MARTHA MILLER
Flemington

Posted by admin at 05:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rep. Mike Ferguson would like to pretend that he is not complicit with the disaster that is the Bush administration. In fact, he is so eager to run away from his party's standard bearer that he has scrubbed all photos of himself with President Bush off of his website at http://www.fergusonforcongress.com, and only mentions the President three times. Once is talking about how Ferguson opposed the President on the Dubai ports deals, and the others are simply saying that the President signed a bill.

But Ferguson can't run away from his connections to George Bush. Ferguson voted for the failed Iraq War, the incompetent Department of Homeland Security, the Energy Bill that gives tax breaks to oil companies, the Patriot Act that reduces civil liberties dramatically while making us safe minimally, to interfere in the medical care of a husband and wife in the Terry Schiavo case, and against embryonic stem cell research that will save lives and families' pain.

And Ferguson is tied in with President Bush's fundraising apparatus as well, beholden to them for the money he uses to win campaigns. Not only has he accepted more than a quarter of a million dollars from Tom DeLay's crowd, but also $43,900 from the New Jersey branch of Bush's fundraising team of Pioneers and Rangers alone, which much more coming from out of state.

Not one of the Pioneers or Rangers below gave to Ferguson in his 1998 or 2000 races, but only after President Bush took over the White House and needed Ferguson's vote -- which he got 91 percent of the time.

Bush's Rangers and Pioneers from New Jersey Who Donate to Mike Ferguson

• Laurence Bathgate III -- $5,000
• William Burris -- $1,000
• Robert Chernin -- $500
• Natale Conti -- $1.000
• James Courter --$1,000
• Lawrence Eisenberg -- $4,500
• Doug and Andrea Forrester -- $7,000
• George Gilmore -- $1,000
• Jon Hanson -- $2,000
• Munr Kasmir -- $1,000
• Gualberto Medina -- $500
• William Pallatucci -- $6,900
• Barbara and Cliff Sobel -- $2,000
• John Stafford -- $7,000
• Elliot Vernon - $1,000
• Christie Todd Whitman -- $2,500

Posted by admin at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier this year Mike Ferguson voted for a law that would make all undocumented immigrants felons and criminalize anyone offering assistance to undocumented immigrants. That includes churches and lay community groups offering food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless and comfort to the afflicted. The bill was so draconian that the Catholic leader of Los Angelos, Cardinal Mahoney, instructed all priests to violate the law if it passed.

Ferguson has yet to defend his vote, and his staff has refused to answer questions about his rationale. Yesterday scores of immigrants and supporters of immigration reform rallied at his office, and according to eyewitnesses the staff refused to come out an meet with the ralliers. But staff was happy to return the call of a Courier News reporter:

More than 100 people demonstrated for immigrant rights outside Plainfield City Hall, about 70 people protested at Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson's office in Warren, according to workers there, and a small group showed up at Rep.Rodney Frelinghuysen's Morristown office.

This repeats a pattern for the Ferguson office: they dodge or refuse to answer questions from constituents, yet they will talk to the newspapers at any time.

 

 

 

Posted by admin at 06:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)