News
- Details
- Written by: Jim Tosone
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
There are many towns throughout New Jersey that have invalid ordinances on their books. The NJLP Preempted Ordinance Project could use your help in getting these ordinances repealed.
Below are the steps for reviewing the ordinances and determining if they are unconstitutional. Below those steps is a form letter you can tailor and send to the towns with unconstitutional curfews.
Step 1 – Review the town ordinances.
- Details
- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
As a result of pressure from the NJLP Pre-empted Ordinance Repeal project three towns are looking to rescind their curfew laws. Thanks to NJLP member and project volunteer Jim Tosone for his work.
- Bergenfield has introduced Ordinance 15-2477 repealing their curfew law. (update: see coverage here)
- Hasbrouck Heights has introduced Ordinance 2236 repealing their curfew. This Ordinance is scheduled to be voted on during the Council meeting on May 12th.
- North Arlington has agreed to introduce an ordinance repealing their curfew.
Three additional towns have been notified as to the illegality of their ordinances. We are waiting to hear back from Saddlebrook, Northvale, and Moonachie.
- Details
- Written by: Michael Heise
- Category: Police Accountability Project
This story originally appeared on Cop Block.org.
You know it’s got to be bad for correctional officers to actually be reprimanded for abuse. I mean who are prisoners going to run to? It’s known that prison guard misconduct is common. In fact, prison guards are alleged to be involved in half of prison related sexual assaults. Michael Fowlkes and Richard Serrano both are being charged with excessive force, with Fowlkes having a “conduct unbecoming” charge tacked on. The details of the brutality have not been released, so I guess what exactly they did being known would be bad for business. It looks like they will probably keep it concealed as well, as Victor Bermudez, a correctional officer union rep has already been quoted as saying:
“As state delegates, we stand by our membership and are doing everything in our powers to reinstate our officers.”
- Details
- Written by: Mark Richards
- Category: Letters to Editor
Once again government goes too far
Dear Editor:
Much has been in the news recently about the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana and also in Arkansas. Sadly, all sides in this debate focus on the wrong issues.
We already have a Religious Freedom Act – it’s called the First Amendment to the Constitution! The real issue is property rights and the right of individual business owners to choose their customers – bringing religion into this debate only clouds the issue.
- Details
- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
Following is my letter to the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office and Bridgeton City Officials regarding the Bridgeton Municipal Court's continued practice of downgrading statutory violations to a municipal code provision that hasn't been in effect since 2003.
I contacted the Prosecutor's Office regarding the same issue in 2010 and was told that it was resolved. Unfortunately, the superseded code provision is still being used.
April 22, 2015
Jennifer Webb-McCrae, Cumberland County Prosecutor
via e-mail to
Rebecca J. Bertram, Bridgeton City Solicitor
via e-mail to
Marie L. Keith, Bridgeton Municipal Court Administrator
via e-mail to
Dear Prosecutor McCrae and Mesdames Bertram and Keith:
- Details
- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Police Accountability Project
I hope that Chief Dellane can clarify why his officer apparently did not file his written report until nine months after an arrest was made. My letter to the Chief follows:
April 20, 2015
Thomas Dellane, Chief
Stafford Township Police Department
260 East Bay Avenue
Manahawkin, NJ 08050
Dear Chief Dellane:
I am writing on behalf of the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Police Accountability Project regarding the March 2, 2013 arrest of Vasilio Koutsogiannis by Stafford Police. Mr. Koutsogiannis has been in touch with us and has claimed that Officer Robert Conforti's report, especially the part regarding Koutsogiannis' sister verbally conveying her father's consent to a police search of his residence, is fabricated.
- Details
- Written by: Jay Edgar
- Category: Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
As a result of a letter from NJLP member and the NJLP Pre-Empted Ordinance Repeal project volunteer, Jim Tosone, the town of Montvale is considering repealing their curfew ordinance. Read about it at northjersey.com.
- Details
- Written by: Patrick McKnight
- Category: Latest News
2015 New Jersey Libertarian Party Convention
Tavern on the Lake, Hightstown
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Tentative Meeting Agenda
Call to order & quorum check 9:00 AM
Agenda review & approval 9:05 AM
Secretary's Report 9:10 AM
- Minutes of prior meeting (State Board Meeting 1/11/2015 )
Treasurer's report 9:15 AM
- Details
- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
On October 27, 2014, I blogged about the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police ("NJSACOP") entering as an amicus curiae or "friend of the court" into Galloway Township's appeal of a trial court's ruling that I am entitled to logs showing the sender, recipient, date and subject line of each e-mail sent by a specific government employee during a specified period of time.
Recently, four other organizations have also sought to participate in the case: the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, the New Jersey Institute of Local Government Attorneys, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The League and Institute filed a joint brief which is on-line here and the ACLU's and Foundation's joint brief is on-line here.
- Details
- Written by: Mark Richards
- Category: Letters to Editor
DEAR EDITOR:
I would like to respond to two letters that appeared in the Suburban Trends on Feb. 14.
First the letter by Bill Weightman of Hardyston, advocating more taxpayer funding of the arts here in New Jersey. Government (at any level, even local) should not be taking money from one group (taxpayers) and redistributing it to special interest groups such as those who claim to be promoting the "arts."
- Details
- Written by: John Paff
- Category: Open Government Advocacy Project
In late 2014, I blogged about my common law right of access lawsuit that compelled the Township of Hainesport (Burlington County) to release a list of all public officials, employees and retirees who were receiving health insurance that was subsidized by Hainesport taxpayers. While nothing illegal was discovered, the list did confirm that Hainesport taxpayers were paying about $27,000 toward health coverage for each of four elected Township Committee members who selected the "family plan." (The fifth member of the Committee, William M. Boettcher, selected the "married plan" reducing the taxpayers' burden in 2014 to approximately $21,000.)
- Details
- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi once stated that when it came to government spending, there was “nothing else to cut.” All programs, departments and agencies were already cut to the bone. Not only was this a falsehood, it was a poor attempt at deception. There are many areas where government can eliminate or cut spending. If it were up to me, I would start cutting or eliminating the following:
- The Department of Homeland Security: This department is useless in the fact that it has wasted billions in taxpayer monies, and it has failed to protect the homeland from terror, as we have seen from the incidents in Oklahoma and Boston. The Department of Defense along with Immigration and Naturalization and the Federal Bureau of Investigations is all we need.
- Details
- Written by: Deo Odolecki - CopBlock
- Category: Police Accountability Project
This was submitted through the submissions tab on Cop Block.org.
Agency involved:
Roselle park police department
110 East Westfield Avenue
Roselle Park, NJ 07204
Emergency: 911
Non-Emergency: 908-245-2300
Record Room: 908-245-1100
On January 7th 2015. Our friend, Christopher Larriva, was paid a visit by a Roselle Park NJ detective long with two other officers. In one marked and one unmarked car. They wanted to question him about a photo he’d taken and posted on instagram. It was of a loaded magazine for a gun. To the left is the picture he posted.
There is not even a gun in the shot. The detectives insisted on seeing the gun at his doorstep. Chris was wise enough not to let them inside and talked to them on the porch. He told the officers it was not his gun. There was no gun in the picture and who it belonged to. After threatening him with home invasion if he didn’t show them the gun. And after Chris questioned the detectives on the illegality of taking pictures and owning firearms, the detectives turned their attention to Chris’ employer. Who was the LEGAL gun owner. Chris had taken the photo on a day his boss was headed to the range, and that’s where the photo generated from.
- Details
- Written by: Mark Richards
- Category: Letters to Editor
On February 1, a letter appeared in your [The Suburban Trends] claiming that "conservative and libertarian voters" were advocates of voter ID laws. I can't speak for conservatives, but I'd like to know the writer's source of information that led him to think that we Libertarians support more voter ID laws.
As a point of fact, Libertarians have been in the forefront of making it easier to vote by our opposition to ballot access laws that make it difficult for all third parties and independents to get on the ballot as an alternative to the Republican and Democrat duopoly in American politics.
- Former school principal interviewed by prosecutor about his "involvement with a minor" is receiving $7,800 gross monthly pension benefits
- Local Government Ethics Law complaint against Westampton Township Committeeman Robert Maybury
- FCC commissioner: If you like the IRS, you’ll love net neutrality
- Stafford Police sergeant promotion exam challenged by two officers
Subcategories
NJ Libertarian Blog
Imported from NJ Libertarian News from the published feed
Videos
This is a page of various videos that we have either created or found interesting. Be sure to check out and follow our YouTube page.
Open Government Advocacy Project
The Open Government Advocacy Project is a committee of the NJ Libertarian Party. Its goal is to ensure transparency and accountability at all levels of government. Articles posted here are a subset of the work of the committee. For more information visit the Open Government Advocacy Project blog.
If you would like to demand accountability and ensure that your local governing body or school board adheres to the Open Public Records Act we can help you request information from them. Contact John Paff, the project chair here.
Insight New Jersey
NJ government is huge and complex. Private industry is shrinking while the size and cost of government bureacracy continues to grow. The articles posted here provide a guide of the NJ State Government and can be used by citizens and candidates for office to evaluate what departments can be reduced drastically in size.
We'll start with just some of the departments and provide a breakdown on what they do (or purport to do), how many employees they have and how big their budget is.
Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
The New Jersey Libertarian Party's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project (“the Project”) seeks to get New Jersey municipalities to repeal loitering ordinances that should have been -- but were not -- repealed when the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice was enacted in 1979. The Project has successfully had loitering ordinances repealed in over 30 towns. For a summary listing of all the towns see Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project page.
Police Accountability Project
The Police Accountability Project is a committee of the NJ Libertarian Party. Its goal is to search out cases of police misconduct, file former Internal Affairs (IA) complaints when appropriate, and to publicize violations of rules and laws by the police. There may be other stories posted on the NJLP Police Internal Affairs Complaint Blog page.
If you would like to help or know of a case we should be looking at, contact the committee at
Legislative Affairs Committee
The Legislative Affairs Committee was created to allow a select core of Volunteers to take action on legislation and policies which directly affects the people of New Jersey.
[INTRO VIDEO - HOSTED ON NJLP STATE YOUTUBE AND EMBEDED HERE]
Staff
Legislative Director and Committee Chair
Volunteers: