June 2, 2005 [Ocean] County GOP's nod for governor goes to biggest spender; Schroeder gave $41G to organization
By Jospeh Picard
ASBURY PARK PRESS
The Republican gubernatorial candidate who has spent the most money in Ocean County has the backing of the county Republican organization, a situation decried by at least one member of the party faithful.
"What has happened to the Republican Party in Ocean County this year is more bizarre than pay-to-play," said Point Pleasant Councilman Brian McAlinden, who is running for re-election. "A candidate like Bob Schroeder comes in, spreads money around like a philanthropist, and gets the party's endorsement regardless of the fact that another candidate has a better plan."
Pay-to-play is the practice, partially outlawed, of awarding government work to contractors in return for political contributions. McAlinden said that the contributions made by GOP hopeful Robert Schroeder to Republicans in Ocean County effectively purchased for Schroeder the county party's endorsement at its March miniconvention.
McAlinden is a supporter of former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, who was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor in 2001.
Both the Schroeder campaign and Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore denied that Schroeder purchased the endorsement.
"Yes, we have spent a lot of money in Ocean County, but a lot of money gets spent in political campaigns — that's how you reach the people with your message," said Brock McCleary, spokesman for Schroeder. "After we received the county party's endorsement, naturally we began spending more money in Ocean County to solidify the support."
The Schroeder campaign could not readily show how much the candidate has spent in the county in total — both in campaign expenses and in contributions to local and county organizations — or how much he has spent before and after getting the party line in March.
But, according to reports filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, Schroeder contributed $35,200 to the Ocean County Republican Finance Committee in 2004, and another $6,500 to the Ocean County Chairman's Political Action Committee in 2004.
That $41,700 in contributions to the county GOP came months prior to the miniconvention, and far exceeds contributions in Ocean County by any of the other six candidates for the party's nomination for governor.
Mercer County businessman Douglas Forrester made under $3,000 in contributions to the GOP county finance committee in 2004. Another candidate, Morris County Freeholder John Murphy, contributed several hundred dollars to the same group.
The other hopefuls — Schundler, Republican Assemblyman from Essex County Paul DiGaetano, former Bergen County Freeholder Todd Caliguire and Bogota Mayor Steven Lonegan — have made no contributions to Ocean County GOP organizations, according to ELEC reports, although all possible contributions to municipal campaigns could not be ascertained.
McCleary, however, pointed out that, at the miniconvention, Murphy was the choice of the party's executive screening committee, but Schroeder was the choice of the rank and file when they voted.
"The party bosses did not choose Bob Schroeder, the rank and file did," McCleary said.
Gilmore, who confirmed that Murphy was the screening committee's choice, said that Schroeder won support because he came to the county often and circulated among the party members.
"He worked hard. He visited all the local Republican clubs, or most of them," Gilmore said. "People like to meet their candidate face-to-face. Schroeder made himself available. He earned the endorsement."
Marion Holinaty, 69, a registered Republican from Manchester, characterized campaign financing as a "vicious cycle."
"If your opponent is spending a lot of money, you can't just lay down and let him run all over you," she said. "You have to go out and raise enough money to compete, so you can have a chance of putting your ideas into action. But it's easy to go too far in raising and spending money, and the situation has gotten out of hand. Maybe we need some kind of cap on how much a candidate can spend, just to keep the competition fair."
