On February 21, 2008, Robert Gulack, a Democratic County Committeeman from Fair Lawn, mailed a letter to all 1134 Bergen County Democratic Committee members, in which he accuses Ferriero of violating State election law by failing to heed the Bergen County Democratic Organization’s own by-laws. With the letter, Gulack sent a series of resolutions providing more democratic and open procedures for submission at the County Convention on February 28. Gulack is challenging the increasingly high-handed behavior of County Democratic Chair Joseph Ferriero, as typified by Ferriero’s quick adjournment of the Convention, which took place on January 29 after he had achieved a voice vote for his hand-picked Freeholder candidate.

The Englewood Report has reported on the damage done to Englewood by local officials who have allowed their allegiance to Ferriero and his developer cronies to outweigh their obligation to the citizens of Englewood. We have also reported on the successful effort to replace several of these officials in a series of Democratic Primary elections, and thus reduce Ferriero’s ability to corrupt our City. However, Englewood is just one of 70 municipalities in Bergen County, and Ferriero continues to exercise his pernicious influence in many of the other communities where Democrats are in control.

Ferriero’s control depends on the Bergen Democratic County Committee, an organization he chairs and of which most voters are only vaguely aware. In Englewood we have 14 voting districts, and, every two years, registered Democrats vote for and elect one man and one woman in each district to represent them on the County Committee, for a total of 28. In Bergen County, there are a total of over 1,100 members, of which a significant proportion are County employees and others who owe allegiance to Ferriero. These committee members select Democratic candidates for office, who in turn tend to respect the desires of those who selected them. Meanwhile, lucrative jobs, contracts and planning approvals are awarded to those donors who contribute to the party machine. In this fashion, Ferriero has built the most formidable political machine ever seen in Bergen County, outdoing in sophistication and scope the notorious Hudson County machine of yore. The County Executive and all seven Freeholders are Ferriero allies, and the County Republican Party has become virtually dysfunctional. In town after town mayors and council members are also part of the team.

In the June Primary this year, Democratic voters will again be electing County Committee members in each voting district. An effort is underway to recruit and elect persons for these positions who are not under Ferriero’s control. In the interim, Gulack’s letter is an effort to make clear to present Committee members what is at stake, so that their votes in the Committee are not based on ignorance. Ferriero’s grip on our County and our towns will only be loosened by increased public awareness and by grassroots activity within the Democratic Party.