REILLY WAS SILENT AS HIS PARTY ORCHESTRATED
HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING SCAM - Former Assembly Democrat Attorney Staffed Homeland Security and Law & Public Safety Committees, Turned Blind Eye While Funds were Diverted - Atlantic Highlands & Wall, NJ - Republican Assemblymen Steve Corodemus and Sean Kean today asked Democrat opponent Jim Reilly to explain why he sat idly by and did nothing as his party diverted much-needed homeland security aid away from the 11th District and into Democrat-controlled districts. “The people of the Eleventh District got short-changed in this process,” Corodemus said. “Jim Reilly and his Democrats bosses in Trenton decided to place politics above the security of the residents in this district, and Jim Reilly knew that the Democrat bosses laundered homeland security money into political booty.” Several media outlets have recently exposed a concerted effort by Democrat officials in Trenton to direct vital homeland security dollars primarily to legislative districts with Democrat representatives. Just about $7.8 million of the $8.3 million distributed last year went to Democrat districts, and 93 percent of the $22.9 million distributed since 2002 went to those same Democrat districts. At the time the money was being diverted, Democrat Assembly candidate Reilly was an attorney on staff for the Democrat caucus and was the legislative aide to the Assembly Homeland Security and the Assembly Law and Public Safety committees. “With his position on these committees, Jim Reilly had a duty to put a stop to this political diversion of funds, defend taxpayers and protect the residents of the Eleventh District,” Kean said. “Why did he remain silent while his party denied our district funding to protect our residents? Will he condemn his party leadership, Albio Sires, Joe Roberts and Dick Codey, for putting the lives of our citizens at risk?” Corodemus and Kean said that Reilly needs to explain what role, if any, he played in deciding where these funds would go, whether he helped the Democrat legislators he worked with to obtain these funds for their districts, and whether he will now condemn this process and the leadership of his party. “Mr. Reilly must explain to the families of the Eleventh District how anyone can justify jeopardizing their personal safety for political advantage,” Corodemus said. “Apparently Mr. Reilly and the Democrat Majority in Trenton are still using Governor McGreevy’s political play book that resulted in the appointment of Golan Cipel to head New Jersey’s Homeland Security. Mr. Reilly must explain to the families of the Eleventh District how he, as legal counsel to the committee and counsel to the Assembly Democrats didn’t know what was going on?” “Either he knew what was going on and did nothing, or he was in the dark even while staffing committees that dealt directly with these issues,” Kean said. “Both explanations are somewhat troubling. Regardless, Jim Reilly failed to protect the people of the district.” ### |
