Billy Washer, spokesperson for the Sussex County Republican Committee, responded to the hypocritical allegations leveled at Freeholder Josh Hertzberg by the Sussex County Democrats’ executive director, James Santonastaso. In an email today (July 17) to the New Jersey Herald, Santonastaso called on Hertzberg to “step down following his announcement that he would run for a seat on the Sparta Council.”
According to the Herald, Sussex Democrats wrote that “Hertzberg should not split his focus between two separate governing bodies... while Hertzberg is within his rights to make a bid for the Sparta Council and help out his hometown, it should not come at the expense of serving the rest of the county.”
The Herald reported: “It’s not like there’s an integrity problem; it’s more so, ‘Where are your priorities?’, said James Santonastaso, the executive director.”
Washer replied: “As a political consultant with ties to the corrupt New Jersey Democrat machine, James Santonastaso didn’t say a word against U.S. Senator Cory Booker when he ran for two offices – President and Senator – at the same time. State Democrats actually changed the law to allow Booker to do this. The Sussex County Democrats supported Booker and were silent if they had any concerns about Booker’s priorities.”
“When Democrat Assemblyman Reed Gusciora ran for Mayor of Trenton while holding the position of Assemblyman in the Legislature, James Santonastaso was not only supportive of Gusciora, he never voiced concerns about Gusciora’s priorities,” Washer said.
Washer continued: “Santonastaso and the Sussex Democrats are being more than a little hypocritical to put out a silly press release on this, when their record clearly shows them to be all in favor of what they are complaining about. It is silly and small-minded and a waste of time when there are more important issues for them to address, like obtaining the COVID-19 funding Nancy Pelosi and congressional Democrats shortchanged Sussex County on. We’d like to hear from them on that and we’d be happy to work together with them to obtain that aid for our county.”
Sussex County Republican Committee