Gas Tax union SuperPAC playing for Space-Fantasia-Inganamort in LD24?
/By Rubashov
Stronger Foundations SuperPAC spent six-figures trashing Assemblyman Jay Webber in 2018. Webber – the most conservative member of the Assembly – was the Republican congressional candidate facing Democrat Mikie Sherrill, who ended up winning the race, flipping the seat to the Democrats, and giving Nancy Pelosi a vote for Speaker. The details are here:
https://www.opensecrets.org/outside-spending/detail/2018?cmte=C00678623&tab=targeted_candidates
Open Secrets, a non-partisan group that monitors dark money in politics and the potential corruption that it leads to, identifies Stronger Foundations as a “Liberal” SuperPAC: Stronger Foundations Inc Outside Spending • OpenSecrets
The Stronger Foundations SuperPAC is funded by the International Union of Operating Engineers – the union that supported the largest gas tax increase in New Jersey’s history. The donations funding the attack on Republican Webber were made by the ENGINEERS LABOR-EMPLOYER COOPERATIVE of Springfield, New Jersey (aka ELEC825). ELEC825 is run by Kate Gibbs, the former Freeholder from Burlington County who in 2022 tried to have Sussex County hire a political operative from Burlington County as the Sussex County Administrator. Earlier, the union was successful in having one of its operatives installed as the County’s Communications officer.
Kate Gibbs has a close working relationship with Space-Fantasia-Inganamort political consultant Chris Russell of Checkmate Strategies. There is documentation to support this. And, as this involves a labor union, there is an additional level of scrutiny provided by the United States Department of Labor.
Now it looks like Stronger Foundations has jumped into the GOP primary in District 24 (Sussex, Morris, and Warren counties). Stronger Foundations appears to be augmenting the team’s cable buy. Recent NJELEC filings indicate that the team might be having some money issues:
Space
Raised $100,778.50
Spent $71,309.75
Debt $33,353.11
Net $16,203.81
Fantasia
Raised $69,303.78
Spent $55,105.04
Debt $6,116.00
Net $8,082.74
Inganamort
Raised $69,364.68
Spent $63,356.01
Debt $100,000.00
Net $8,660.27
Judge for yourself:
“Voters can’t make informed decisions unless they’re informed. If you asked any self-respecting constituent of George Santos, they’d tell you they wish they knew then what they know now.”
Micah Rasmussen
Director of the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University
"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
George Orwell
N.B. We welcome a conversation on this and all topics raised on this website. Jersey Conservative is entirely open to your ideas and opinions. To submit a rebuttal, clarification, an opposing opinion or any column for publication, please contact the Editor at info@JerseyConservative.org.
