Our answers to written questions received from reporter George Woolston.
1. [QUESTION REMOVED AT COURIER POST'S REQUEST]
We are more than a dozen Haddonfield men and women -- Democrats, Republicans, and Independents -- who care deeply for this town. Many of us are community leaders although not necessarily in this context. We do not all know each other, although all of us saw a draft of the piece and made comments before it went out (along with two lawyers). Many of us support different candidates. Some of us hadn’t even made up our minds at the time the piece went out. But we are united on the desire to fight the growing influence of George Norcross on the governance of our town, Haddonfield.
Our anonymity is part of a wonderful American tradition dating back to Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine. It gives focus to our ideas instead of our personalities or our looks or where we spend our vacations. It also protects us from the quite real threat of retaliation against ourselves, our businesses, and our kids.
2. [QUESTION REMOVED AT COURIER POST'S REQUEST]
We were formed fairly recently to fight the growing influence of George Norcross and his organization in Haddonfield. The wake-up call for many of us was much earlier, when Cherry Hill Senator Jim Beach publicly bragged about the Norcross Organization's involvement in our 2019 election to fill a vacant slot in the Borough Commission.
While our approach is different, we are drawing a lot of energy and inspiration from the Collingswood Progressive Democrats whose success against the Norcross Organization is a rallying cry for all who care about good government.
3. [QUESTION REMOVED AT COURIER POST'S REQUEST]
The tabloid format is a highly-effective way for us to communicate and document our claims. It's clearly working; we are getting a great response.
It cost about $1600 to print and mail.
4. [QUESTION REMOVED AT COURIER POST'S REQUEST]
Haddonfield is filled with smart, energetic, and creative people. We can solve any problem so long as we maintain the independence and integrity of our public institutions. Doing that is job one.
5. [QUESTION REMOVED AT COURIER POST'S REQUEST]
We posted a link on our web page to her response because we wanted people to hear what she had to say. She dodged the George Norcross issue completely. The claim that we made a "personal attack" is particularly offensive. We exposed her relationship with Norcross and Lou Bezich's relationship with Norcross. You can hardly call that personal.
6. [QUESTION REMOVED AT COURIER POST'S REQUEST]
The Norcross organization stealthily injected their particularly corrosive brand of politics into Haddonfield elections in 2019. We found out too late to do anything about it then. We are trying to make sure it does not happen now. Or ever again.
Candidate Kevin Roche's statement is particularly problematic because he enjoys the support of [former Mayor] Jack Tarditi. Tarditi has been a business partner of George Norcross for a very long time. It is unclear whether Roche is speaking for himself or for them. He should disassociate himself from Norcross and Tarditi to remove all doubt.
As for the rest? We would have liked to see the other candidates espouse our cause but we never had high hopes that would happen. They dare not even speak the name "George Norcross." It's like saying "Voldemort" in the Harry Potter stories.
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