SOUTH DENNIS — Michael J. Donohue, Dennis Township Republican municipal leader, who ran with John McCann in November for state Assembly, on March 4 issued a statement supporting Freeholder Gerald Thornton for the party’s endorsement on March 15.
McCann and Freeholder Ralph Bakley Sr. won the support of other freeholders and the county’s Constitutional Officers, (sheriff, county clerk and surrogate) in their bid for the party’s endorsement.
Donohue stated that he had issued the statement “In order to address certain rumors that have been circulating that have the potential to detrimentally effect the current Freeholder preference vote.”
TEXT OF STATEMENT:
With all due respect to everyone involved, I am supporting Freeholder Jerry Thornton in the endorsement process for Cape May County Freeholder. Loyalty, quite obviously, is a rare thing in politics these days. Jerry Thornton was one of the most consistent and active supporters of my runs for the Assembly in ’07 and ’09. As for the second slot, I am sure that John McCann would make a fine Freeholder and Ralph Bakley is fine as well. I have taken the position in the past that we should support our incumbents. That fact, coupled with Jerry’s steadfast support of my candidacies and his unwavering support for our Seniors and Veterans compels me to support him in this endorsement process.
I think the entire process has been handled in a ham-handed fashion with far too much political cloak and dagger. Challengers should be welcomed, but we should not have proceeded in a fashion that has led to the widening rift in our Republican ranks, with Republican Organization subsidiaries issuing endorsements and elected officials and Party leaders arguing with each other in the media. I am certain that the Camden County Democrats, and their associates in Cape May County, are very happy to see this split in the Cape May County Republican ranks. This could have been handled in a fashion to avoid tearing the Party apart, but for some reason, was not.
As to the rumor that I will challenge Chairman Von Savage at the June 2010 reorganization of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization, it is not my intention to do so. Having said that, I will be proposing the following reforms so that our Organization can avoid these types of rifts in the future:
1. In the event that there are more letters of intent than seats available for any particular office, a Convention of the County Committee members shall be held where each candidate shall have an opportunity to address all of the assembled County Committee men and women and, thereafter, a vote of the Committee member shall be held by secret ballot and the use of a voting machine.
2. No portion, arm or division of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization may endorse, in the name of that portion, arm or division, any candidates during the internal preference vote process and may not do so in any other context without the approval of the Executive Committee of the Organization.
3. No endorsed candidates shall file a petition for office which names a Committee on Vacancies, but shall, instead, submit a petition without such a committee so that in the event the candidate withdraws or is otherwise unable to run, the County Committee members shall make the selection of a replacement candidate, as detailed in number 1 above, rather than the selection being made by three people.
I believe these reforms are necessary to ensure that we do not unnecessarily create division and ongoing “bad blood” in our ranks.
Finally, to address other rumors that have been repeated to me, I do not plan to run for Cape May County Freeholder or any other office in a primary against the Republican line if Jerry Thornton does not prevail in the internal Party preference vote. I do not plan to run for Cape May County Freeholder or any other office as an Independent candidate in the Fall. I take seriously my obligations as a Republican Municipal Leader to support the Republican candidates.
Wildwood – So Liberals here on spout off, here's a REAL question for you.
Do you think it's appropriate for BLM to call for "Burning down the city" and "Black Vigilantes" because…