February 20, 2007
My fellow Republicans:
It is with heartfelt regret that I am writing to inform you that I will not be participating in Chairman Adam Puharic's screening process and that I will not be seeking the regular Republican nomination for the office of Freeholder in the upcoming election.
I deeply appreciate all the support that I have received from rank and file Republicans and County Committee members over the last year. You are an inspiring and dedicated group, and it has been my honor to work with you and to serve you as your Monmouth County Freeholder. I have recently come to a roadblock in dealing with the current leadership of the Monmouth County Republican Organization, and I have serious reservations about continuing to work under the conditions imposed by this regime.
Contrary to Mr. Puharic's comments in the press, I am not the only candidate who has objected to the screening process as designed by the Chairman.
My problem with the process is not the background check that has garnered so much attention. I am willing to submit to a background check, if for no other reason than to prove I have nothing to hide. In fact, my modest but sufficient means reflect that of the average voter, and that should lead no one to question my honesty.
Despite the Chairman's statements in the press, he is requiring me to sign a contract that deprives me and you of some of our rights as United States citizens, and that could compromise my security and that of my family. Mr. Puharic has stated in the press that the background checks will be private and confidential. His contract states just the opposite and releases the Monmouth County Republican Organization from any liability for the misuse of my private information. As a wife and mother, and elected public servant, I can not sign that contract. As an attorney, I would advise any client not to sign that contract.
Many of you are no doubt aware of the smear campaign that has been waged against me and my family since our victory on November 7, 2006. Since election night, I have made numerous attempts to communicate with Mr. Puharic to resolve our differences and to bring the Party together in preparation for another tough election this year. After being rebuffed by the Chairman numerous times, we finally met on February 6, 2007. Puharic, seated behind his desk with two muscle men standing on either side of him with arms folded, stared at me. Puharic then listed the reasons that he felt I should not run on the Republican ticket. He stated that the screening committee would make the decision because he was angry and didn't trust himself to decide fairly. He stated that I should tell the press I would be signing the agreement, even if it were not the truth. The result of this meeting was that that the Chairman and I will not be able to resolve our differences. I find it troubling that after being appointed to the Freeholder position, fairly selected by the entire Monmouth County Committee, and after winning a difficult race in the November General Election, my viability as a candidate is being questioned. The selection process in the past was fair to the candidates and to the entire Monmouth County Committee at the general convention.
I will continue to serve as a Monmouth County Freeholder for the remainder of this year, and I am in the process of evaluating other alternatives for my candidacy for re-election. I expect that many of you will not be happy with this turn of events, and neither am I. While I can appreciate that my leaving the Organization line will cost me the support of some of you, I expect and hope that many of you will want to continue to work with me for the betterment of Monmouth County government.
Anna C. Little, Esq.
Monmouth County Freeholder
--------------------------------------------
READ CONCERNED MONMOUTH REPUBLICAN'S ANALYSIS HERE
Posts
9 comments:
Well done, Anna. You have shown that unlike the current leadership of the Republican Party, you still have class. When you win in November, it will be time to remove the spoiled children who have taken over the party and return it to responsible professionals focused on the public good, not fixated on their own power.
There is more to this story, Little was looking to jump ship for months. Most of the complainers really want to argue over who is chairman. Just remember, it was Bill Dowd that got us into this situation by allowing freeholders to stay on the board, long after they should have stepped down. The party is suffering from a lack of orderly transition in power.
In the wake of Operation Bid Rig, the Monmouth GOP had really taken a black eye. We need to pull together and reject Jim Purcell, other Democrats, and outsiders; whose goal is to weaken the party, so they can get their candidates elected.
Ras - oops, I mean Adam just jumped the shark. He has got to go.
Has it ever been determined why Adam Puharic would have any animosity toward Anna Little? Did I miss something? His statement discrediting her efforts as a Freeholder seemed distasteful as did his intentional mistatements about no other candidates objecting to the screening process and that Anna was going to jump parties.
I would like to see her run for the party nomination. If she's a Republican and she believes that the Chairman is wrong, I beleive she ought to try for the nomination without going through the screening process. This would give the voters of the Republican Party a chance to have a say. The results might be divisive, but they would at least be an honest reflection of where the party stands.
I just read the article in the APP regarding the possibility of Anna Little jumping parties so I can see where Adam Puharic could make the statement he did regarding her switching parties.
I see that men are once again are put off when a woman stands her ground and says NO! Bravo for Anna. She has shown the characteristics that make her a great freeholder, Standing up for what's right, putting the people's interests first and the party gestapo second. No idiot in their right mind would have signed the contract. She deserves our support , whatever line she runs on.
I must respectfully disagree with the last poster who said, "No idiot in their right mind would sign that contract." It was signed by a number of idiots who, while suffering from a severe lack of common sense, intelligence, foresight and other qualities necessary for governmental leadership, do appear to be in their right mind, however defective those minds may be. No leader, no effective governmental official, no public minded servant would sign such a contract. But an idiot certainly would.
We seem to be plagued by poor leadership. Leader after leader in our party has failed to heal our rifts and reform our party. I actually had high hopes for Adam but it appears he lacks the maturity to do the job correctly.
Anna is strong willed which I am sure makes her difficult to work with. She has crudely stepped on some toes and perhaps she could have been more diplomatic. There are times to be a maverick and times to be a team player. Anna may be stuck in one mode. On the other hand many people in the party agree with her on issues where she has disagreed with the other Freeholders.
Love her or hate her she has proven she knows how to win an election.
If the motivation of the people who drove her off the ticket (yes that is what happened) is to win elections they have clearly made a huge tactical mistake.
I believe that if Anna is not our candidate it will result in loss of control of the Freeholder Board and could lead to loses across the county.
I could be wrong. It has happened before.
So we should let this play out. If my prediction is wrong then maybe what was done was best for the "party".
However if I am correct then all those who participated in the debacle should resign and the rank and file should demand it.
Hopefully there will be some competent people who will step forward and pick up the pieces.
I will therefore not engage in any further criticism of the process as at this point that would serve no purpose. I will just let things play out and see if I was correct
Who should we support?
Clearly if you believe that Anna is doing in office what you want done then and she runs in a primary you should support her. There is no disloyalty to the party in disagreeing with who they picked to represent the party.
The party endorsement is a recommendation that you are free to accept or reject. That is the reason there is a democratic process called a primary. I personally liked the positions Anna took. I therefore will support her in the primary should she choose to run.
If she runs as a Democrat what to do? Actually a tough question. I am not entirely pleased with some decisions our current elected officials have made but while I really like Anna I fear what the democratic machine would do to our county. Not so much the local Dems but if the party bosses get their hooks in us things could be a lot worse then they are now.
In the final analysis we should all "to our own hearts be true".
There is a loyalty that transcends party loyalty. We should always act in the general good above the good of the party. The difficult question is; what is in the best interests of the general good? That will take a little thought.
Since the county organization has never adopted a set of by-laws, and since the county committee membership has never voted for this so-called 'screening process', what is procedurally in place to prevent Anna Little from being nominated at the county convention? I do believe a wise investment might be to retain a parliamentarian who can advise as to the motions and actions to be made at convention. This would surely squash the nonsense that is going on and get this party in order, regardless of leadership at this point.
Post a Comment