‘New Direction’ Supports McCann, Bakley; Thornton Won’t Fade Away

VILLAS — Political parties are like families, they have squabbles, they heal, but sometimes the rifts take longer to forget.
Something like that appears to be happening among Cape May County Republicans as they look toward the November election. Two freeholder seats, held by Ralph E. Bakley Sr. and Gerald Thornton, are up for grabs.
No Democrat has entered the fray; none did last election.
Trouble is Thornton, with nearly 26 years on the board, two as director, seems alone, at least at the outset.
On Feb. 21, a new Republican faction based in Lower Township — New Direction for New Jersey — issued a release stating its leaders had endorsed the candidacy of Ocean City Republican John McCann “as he teams with incumbent Freeholder Ralph E. Bakley Sr. to run for freeholder this November.”
McCann ran unsuccessfully for General Assembly last year with Michael Donohue. He is a member of the county Tax Board, a former president of the county Association of Realtors and operates two small businesses, according to the release.
The release noted McCann’s “commitment to reduced government spending and lower taxes during his 2009 race for the New Jersey Legislature and his many years of experience as a member of the Cape May County business community, together with Freeholder Ralph Bakley’s leadership throughout the law enforcement and senior citizen community, have led New Direction leaders to endorse these candidates.”
County Republican Chairman David Von Savage told this newspaper, “As chairman, I am an impartial umpire in terms of overseeing the process to ensure we get through this.”
Feb. 17 was the date when letters of intent were received by party chieftains from those seeking endorsement for freeholder.
Von Savage said letters were received from Bakley, Thornton and McCann.
Uncontested for the party’s endorsement was U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo and County Clerk Rita Fulginiti, said Von Savage.
“At this point, this is not a primary. It is an endorsement process the county organization goes through on an annual basis to determine who will get endorsements, and as a result the county party line,” said Von Savage.
Party caucuses are meeting now through March 15. That is when the county GOP will hold an organizational meeting to tally, by town and committee members, who gets the party nod. The two who garner the highest votes will be endorsed in the primary and then in the general election.
The chairman declined to comment on the actions by New Direction leaders. He deferred questions to three persons named in the release: Norris Clark, Matthew Buesing and Brandon Sciarra.
“They will give their own assessment,” said Von Savage.
Sciarra, of Wildwood Crest, is supporting McCann, “Because he represents change and bringing new people into the organization to build it and make it stronger.” He noted his Assembly race “did quite well,” and might have succeeded had it not been for Somers Point and Cumberland County, which went to Democrats Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam.
Sciarra said McCann shares ideals of “less government, lower taxes and more emphasis on people, not the government.” McCann’s “understanding of Ocean City and seasonal tourism” were other keys to winning his support.
Thornton, a veteran of many campaigns, will seek party endorsement regardless of the opposition.
“When they talk about new direction, I want to hear what direction they want to go in,” said Thornton.
“The county has been governed very well all the years I have been in office. I don’t understand what they are going to contribute or what they can contribute. I’ve got a proven track record in the past,” said Thornton.
Admittedly, Thornton said he has taken opposing stances on some issues that may have placed him at odds with his peers on the board, but “I will never change. It’s what I’m elected to do,” he added.
Did the New Direction group take him by surprise?
“I heard rumors on and off for a while,” said Thornton. “I knew it last week. It was somewhat disappointing to me. John McCann and Norris Clark (who ran unsuccessfully for Assembly), I supported them very strongly. I was the only freeholder who went out and campaigned with them, so it was very disappointing to me,” he said.
Thornton said that McCann went to him on Election Night 2009 and “singled me out, and thanked me for the support I gave through the campaign. I was the only freeholder who got that recognition.”
Thornton added, “My handshake was my bond.” He said he had been loyal to the party for many years.
He puzzled if a new direction would mean that one’s handshake and bond and loyalty “doesn’t carry any more?”
The Court House freeholder was also “surprised” when he saw that Buesing, another candidate whom he supported “all through the local campaigns, over and over, with time and effort and financially,” was not returning the support.
Could it be Thornton’s repeated questions against the county’s seeming plan to divest itself of its certificate of need placed him at odds with the party’s top brass?
That document permits operation of home health care services. Providers care for homebound patients. “Over and over, I made the point that the certificate of need is so valuable, worth about $3 million. I’ve tried to get support for the organization to get the necessary personnel. It (support) was never forthcoming from the board,” said Thornton.
“Government is an agency that is supposed to take care of those who can’t help themselves,” he said, and vowed not to swerve from his “contrary positions.”
Thornton plans to lobby GOP committee people to cast their votes for him on March 15, and to win the endorsement of the party he’s supported, but that seems to have forgotten who he is.
Contact Campbell at (609) 886-8600 Ext 28 or at: al.c@cmcherald.com