Subject: No reform for Middletown

    I do not believe it is right that Middletown Republican Chairman Peter Carton's Newark legal firm to be getting the bond work for Middletown Township again. It is not in the best interests of the residents of Middletown.
    Peter Carton's firm has had the bond work for the township for many years now, and it wasn't right a decade ago and it isn't right now. This is not the "reform" that Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger promised on the campaign trail. He promised Middletown reform, but what he is giving Middletown is more backroom partisan appointments.
    The partisanship going on in Middletown is not limited to Mr. Carton's law firm - it only begins there. Whether it is contract work for community projects or office staff for the Mayor's office, the idea that the "best person gets the job" is nowhere to be found in Middletown. Here the friends and relatives of prominent Middletown Republicans litter the public payroll.
    Peter Carton appoints candidates for office, his party machine gets them elected, and his law firm benefits directly from that. Though this is legal, how can this be right, especially in this day and age when "reform" is supposed to be so big?
    Middletown is in debt over $80 million and every time Middletown goes out to bond, Mr. Carton's law firm makes more money. There is no "selfless public service" anywhere to be found in the Middletown Republican Party - it's a racket.

Joe Caliendo
Chairman
Middletown Democrats