NJ Today

Bollwage belongs in jail instead of City Hall

by James J. Devine



I have known Chris Bollwage since my childhood. We grew up in the North End of Elizabeth. His father was a mailman and before mine died, he had been a reporter at the Daily Journal and director of the city's industrial commission.



As an adult, I worked closely with Bollwage in city politics. I helped him become a city councilman and encouraged him to run for mayor. I thought he was my friend.



Chris Bollwage is a person with deep and wide character flaws. He is fundamentally dishonest. Bollwage's inadequacies and fears have compelled him to act in a manner unfitting any public official.I have heard him use the words 'spooks' to describe black people and 'spics' for Latinos.



As mayor, Bollwage traded favors from government with those who gave him campaign contributions,cash and travel, accommodations or even sexual rewards. Instead of using his office to serve the public that elected him, Bollwage evolved into a Jim McGreevey politician.



I could not provide law enforcement officials with proof sufficient to assure a conviction, but that does not absolve my inaction. Bollwage kept cops among his closest allies and allowed corruption to plague the Elizabeth police force. It’s hard to prove bribery, official misconduct or any other crime of public trust. You see the results, however.



When Mayor Bollwage turned against me, he initiated a criminal conspiracy to inflict political retribution by stopping my business from earning government money. When my newspaper reported that half of Bollwage's council candidates lost the 2006 primary elections, the mayor insisted that political bosses cut off the News Record, New Jersey's oldest weekly newspaper, from all revenue by county government sources.



Now, first of all, it is a crime to withhold public money as a form of political revenge, so Bollwage was demanding that some of Union County's most well-known and respected people participate in a criminal act.

Second, many of those involved -- Sen. Ray Lesniak, Charlotte Defilippo, Sheriff Ralph Froehlich and others -- knew me as a friend.

Bollwage was asking them to commit a crime to hurt a friend.

Finally, the ideas 'liberty of expression' and 'freedom of the press' are subjects at the very heart of democracy.Bollwage was asking people to hurt a friend by committing a crime that violated the core values of America.

That's what they did -- Lesniak, Defilippo, Froehlich -- all of them.



This contributed to the destruction of my business. It almost killed New Jersey's oldest weekly newspaper, which was saved by an inexperienced but brave new publisher, Lisa McCormick.



The unfair application of power is evil. This abuse of power is a crime against not only me or today's taxpayers, but against the concepts of freedom that make America great. These crimes by Chris Bollwage may be overlooked or punished by the voters, but your choice will influence the lives of your children. As Americans, it is our duty to struggle for a better nation.



I do not expect to run for any office but I can help worthy candidates achieve their goals and fulfill the sanctity of this democratic republic. Ray Lesniak has declared that he is a power broker and he calls me an 'extortionist.' The truth is that on Dec. 20, 2006, when he asked if I "wanted to talk" about Bollwage, I replied: "There is nothing to talk about."



There may be no negotiation on principle, regardless of the cost. Instead of bargaining with corrupt powerful officials, I would seek to remove them from the elected positions that empower them. Maybe my economic status could have been restored, but that is worth far less than my freedom and many times less than the right of my children to be free men.



People who only value money may not understand why I refuse to trade, but if you value integrity the simple truth plainly makes sense.



Now it is up to you to vote. As a Democrat, I am staking my faith on you. I trust that you will do the right thing, because anything else would be wrong.



Power brokers like Ray Lesniak and those who do their bidding -- from Jim McGreevey to Chris Bollwage -- can only be exposed. The power to stop them rests in your hands and your ballot.



You can stop Bollwage by voting in Tuesday’s primary election.



Bollwage and Lesniak say I am bad, but I admit my errors and beg your forgiveness.

Meanwhile they show no regret or remorse. I lost some money, which led to being put in jail for failing to pay alimony and getting evicted from my apartment.

These indignities are far less a price to pay for freedom than many others have paid.

I will get back on my feet, but am telling you what kind of people hold power in the Union County Democratic Party so that you can react.



I am asking you to end the corrupt reign of Chris Bollwage, a perverted thief with no values, no morality and no conscience. I am also asking you to forgive me for going along with political bosses who promoted unqualified or otherwise flawed politicians. Whether I was kept unaware or mere deluded myself, I should have known better and fought. I have made my statement and I stand by every word. I shall willingly submit to any examination to evaluate my accuracy, honesty and sincerity.



I have met the person running against Mayor Bollwage on June 3.

Edward Bryant Koon is a senior detention officer who has served to protect and rehabilitate juvenile offenders in our county for 23 years.

I advise you to place your confidence in him, along with former Councilman Sammy Rodriguez, Armando DaSilva and George O'Grady by voting Column D in the June 3 Democratic primary election.



If these Column D candidates are not Democrats you can trust, they still can be no worse than crooks you have in there now.