[0:13] This is the special commissioner meeting of July 29th, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. at the

[0:19] Sussex County Administrative Center Commissioner Meeting Room, One Spring

[0:23] Street, Newton, New Jersey. Can I have a roll call, please?

[0:26] » Commissioner Carney, >> here. Deputy Director Degru here.

[0:30] » Commissioner Henderson here. >> Commissioner Silverthornne here.

[0:33] » Director Space here. Okay. Number three. Moment of silence and salute to the

[0:38] flag. >> I wasn't going to do a moment of

[0:41] silence, but um I am going to do a moment of silence. Uh today,

[0:45] Commissioner Silverthornne and his wife Liz Silverthornne lost Liz's mother,

[0:51] Lillian Babson. And I just want to take a moment to recognize her loss.

[0:59] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[1:05] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liy and

[1:11] justice for all.

[1:17] Number four, public statement. Pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act, PL1975,

[1:24] C231, and PL 2025 C72, adequate notice as defined has been made via electronic

[1:33] posting and email. Such notice being submitted on July 24th, 2026 from the

[1:38] administrative center of the county of Sussex located at 1 Spring Street,

[1:42] Newton, New Jersey to the following. the New Jersey Herald and is also posted on

[1:48] www.sussex.nj. us. The bulletin board maintained the

[1:53] administrative center for public announcements and has been submitted to

[1:56] the Sussex County Clerk in compliance with said act. At this time, please mute

[2:01] all electronic devices.

[2:07] Okay. Number five, approval of agenda. There will be a change to tonight's

[2:13] agenda. Item 24 number seven is being removed. And I will let Lorraine

[2:20] explain.

[2:25] » We no longer have to have executive session because the uh issue that was

[2:29] going to be addressed has been resolved prior to today's meeting. Thank you.

[2:34] » Okay. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda?

[2:37] » Still moved. >> Okay. Commissioner Corning. A second

[2:39] from Commissioner Silverthornne. Any discussion? All in favor? I oppose.

[2:44] Abstain. Okay. Agenda is approved. Number six, there are no proclamations,

[2:48] certificates, or presentations. Number seven, no public hearing. Number eight,

[2:52] public session from the floor. This public session is for those wishing to

[2:56] make a comment of 3 minutes or less regarding an agenda item. Please line up

[3:00] at the microphone and state your name, municipality, and agenda topic for the

[3:05] record. Can I get a motion to open the floor for public comment? So move.

[3:09] Second. >> Okay. Commissioner Henderson and a

[3:11] second from Deputy Director Degrroot. Any discussion? All in favor?

[3:15] » I oppose. Abstain. Okay, the floor is open. And if you could just like speak

[3:20] into the microphone because sometimes it's hard for people to

[3:23] » It should be good to pass it. Yeah. >> Good. Thank you,

[3:27] » Michelle Van Allen. Hardest Township. I'm going to read real quickly um a

[3:33] statement made by um Governor Cheryl a couple of days ago. Um, she said, "One

[3:38] week ago, I informed New Jerseyians that a serious software error in the Motor

[3:42] Vehicle Commission system has improperly registered approximately 6600

[3:46] individuals to vote between the 23 and 24 during the previous administration. I

[3:50] promised New Jerseyians that my administration would confront the issue

[3:53] with accountability and urgency. Today, I want to provide an update on the

[3:56] progress we've made over the last seven days. We moved aggressively on multiple

[3:59] fronts, reaching out directly to those affected and beginning the role process

[4:03] of correcting the voter roles. MVC motor vehicle has mailed letters to the

[4:07] individuals who were impacted by the software error to supplement these

[4:10] notifications. We've launched a website with answers to frequently asked

[4:14] questions, information about the voter registration review process, and support

[4:18] resources. The website is nj.gov/mvcs

[4:22] errors 2023. At the same time, the [clears throat] division of elections

[4:26] has begun a process to remove more than 4,500 individuals who were registered

[4:30] solely through this software error. The remaining registrations will be referred

[4:33] to county election officials for additional review to ensure that any

[4:36] lawfully registered voters are not being disenfranchised. We are taking this

[4:40] extra step because our initial review indicates that a number of these

[4:44] individuals may be citizens that have been that has been the case in other

[4:49] states where clerical and administrative voter registration errors have occurred

[4:53] and we've we're determined to get this right. Just as we have an obligation to

[4:56] remove everyone who is not eligible to vote, we also have a responsibility to

[5:00] protect the voting rights of eligible New Jersey citizens and ensure no one is

[5:03] improperly removed from the roles. And we are going to do just that. As I said

[5:07] last week, this is what accountable government looks like. We inherited a

[5:10] problem. We didn't hide it. We didn't deny it. We're investigating it and

[5:14] we're going to fix it the right way. That approach stands in stark contrast

[5:18] to how MAGA Republicans have responded to this issue. From the moment I made

[5:22] the public this this public and launched the investigation, Donald Trump and his

[5:27] followers have to weaponize the issue to advance their voter suppression schemes

[5:32] and they are trying to target the individuals affected who were registered

[5:36] [clears throat] >> through no fault of their own. I won't

[5:39] let them do either. New Jerseyians should have confidence that every

[5:43] eligible citizen can vote. every lawful vote will be counted and their

[5:47] government will act quickly and transparently when problems arise.

[5:50] That's my responsibility as governor and we'll continue providing public updates

[5:54] while the investigation moves forward. And I trust uh Governor Cheryl to handle

[5:58] this properly and I'm going to trust that the commissioner board will handle

[6:02] this properly as well. I'm not even sure where this falls under your purview.

[6:05] Maybe you'll explain that to us tonight. But we're hoping that um

[6:11] what's going on in Washington right now, the voter suppression that's going to be

[6:15] done by the the regime that's in charge because I don't even consider it

[6:18] administration because they're not administering anything but their own

[6:22] agenda. I hope that um you're going to stand up what's right for the people

[6:26] because I know you've said you've supported him before. I can't support

[6:29] what he's doing. Thank you.

[6:41] three minutes you say.

[6:47] » Okay. Raymond Twin, Municipality, uh, Hampton Township. Uh, I'd actually

[6:53] like to just oppose both of the items on resolutions on the agenda this evening

[6:57] for the same reason. They both appear to be outside of the powers of the uh

[7:03] county outside of its remit and completely irrelevant to any of its

[7:07] responsibilities is which the commissioners have been

[7:10] tasked with and I really think that's all that needs to be said. Thank you.

[7:20] » Hello, my name is Matthew Colbeach. K A LB A C like the phone. Um, I'm a, you

[7:26] know, local resident of Hamburg. Um, I lived at the Sussex Motel for a while as

[7:30] their manager. I have a little bit of experience on

[7:35] what it was like

[7:39] earning that facility into what it was today. But to know that county officials

[7:44] were involved in dumping homeless people.

[7:48] Yes. This would be the voter fraud. So, um,

[7:53] with that experience, given that the state troopers were being controlled in

[7:56] that manner, um, we had that same problem in Burnsville, North Carolina

[8:00] with absentee ballot mismanagement where sheriffs were improperly handling,

[8:06] observing, or dropping charges for felons so that way if they voted a

[8:12] certain way, they were then treated with leniency or like I said, those charges

[8:16] were then dropped. This happened in 2011. The Anie County News, the

[8:20] newspaper I worked for, a threeperson newspaper, won one of the highest awards

[8:24] in journalism, the EW Howard Scripps Award for distinguished service to the

[8:29] First Amendment because of this issue. So you have to understand by showing the

[8:33] road map of how you can steal an election, a municipality, you can steal

[8:37] an entire state by targeting these weak municipalities. Literally just heard

[8:42] someone come up here and say that it isn't your responsibility to look into

[8:45] this. absolutely is your responsibility to look into the integrity of your

[8:50] elections because you guys are obviously in charge and you can perpetually put

[8:54] yourselves there in the type of apparatus that existed in Yansy County

[9:00] and that was proved and put a sheriff in that county in a 60-year dynasty, the

[9:06] longest running sheriff in uh in United States history. So it just gives you

[9:12] just a small contrast of what you're dealing with and the type of people in

[9:17] the community that actually have the experience to know where to look. So

[9:22] this might be a software glitch, but there certainly is a lot more to just

[9:27] software glitches and people making excuses for issues that shouldn't be

[9:34] just brushed to the table like that. So, um, with that being said, you guys need

[9:38] to draft legislation or at least begin looking at legislation that brings

[9:45] transparency to how the absentee ballot process and if your sheriffs are

[9:50] involved. Now, my understanding doesn't have sheriffs that the state troopers

[9:54] are mainly responsible for the area. And in my experience, most of those state

[9:58] troopers while I ran the Sussex Motel professionally were extremely

[10:03] unprofessional. and I posted a review, I mean a video that went viral some 3 four

[10:09] weeks ago with over 10,000 views of my small little window of experience. And

[10:13] uh so with that, commissioners, I I ask that you definitely look into this

[10:17] matter. You appreciate it.

[10:24] » My name is Rebecca Marino. I am a resident of Hart. I am speaking tonight

[10:28] in support of both resolution A and resolution B. I believe our country's

[10:34] foundation relies on secure elections and safe committees. Right now, Trenton

[10:39] [clears throat] is threatening both. Regarding resolution A, it is completely

[10:45] unacceptable that a state software error allowed over 6,600 non-citizens

[10:51] [clears throat] to be improperly registered to vote.

[10:55] Voting is a sacred right for United States citizens. I fully support this

[11:01] board's demand for transparent investigation and an immediate halt to

[11:06] almatic MVC registrations. Regarding resolution B, Trenton's recent

[11:13] sanctuary policies are making our communities less safe. [clears throat]

[11:17] Restricting our local police from cooperating with federal agencies like

[11:23] ICE is a dangerous political game. Creating a so-called safe spaces puts a

[11:29] massive unfair burden on our local law enforcement.

[11:35] We need our local, state, and federal agencies working together, not being

[11:40] forced apart by state mandates. Thank you to this board of commissioners for

[11:45] having the courage to stand up [clears throat] to Trenton.

[11:49] By supporting these resolutions, you are fighting for the rule of law in Sus

[11:54] County. I urge you to vote yes on both. Thank you for your time. [clears throat]

[12:05] Good evening. Um I'm Dr. Claire Golden, resident of Andover Township and um in

[12:12] the interest of full transparency, I just want to state up front that I am

[12:15] running against Commissioner Carney for the position of county clerk in the

[12:20] upcoming November election. and I welcome the opportunity to more

[12:25] thoroughly discuss election security and other issues with him in the upcoming

[12:30] debate hosted by the League of Women Voters. So, I hope we can meet there

[12:33] again. Um, as for resolution A, resolution A, it might surprise you that

[12:40] I agree with a lot of what is stated in resolution A, but my opinion is that in

[12:45] many times it is overstated and has a real risk of of sewing distrust and a

[12:52] lack of faith in our election, which would result in more voter suppression.

[12:58] Not saying that's your motive, but I'm saying that may be a consequence that

[13:01] you haven't considered. Um, I agree that this mistake by the motor vehicle

[13:07] commission is serious and needs to be investigated. There needs to be

[13:12] accountability and it has to be done with transparency. And I argue I argue

[13:16] that as we have that already that is what the governor is doing and I think

[13:20] we should all support her in those efforts. Um, what we don't want is to

[13:25] turn this into at the taxpayers's expense a multi-million dollar hunt for

[13:31] mud to sling at each other in a political circus. So, I caution you all

[13:38] do things that are motivated by serving the people, not by grandstanding for a

[13:43] political party. And the danger and distrust is the real

[13:50] danger of Proposition A. Now, as for

[13:54] Proposition B, I think it's even more dangerous because this resolution is

[14:00] potentially um as it worded, it would disrupt the proper balance between state

[14:05] and federal authority over elections. Um [clears throat]

[14:09] the government the Constitution of the United States separates the powers and

[14:12] it gives primary power to the states to run their own elections. We're at

[14:18] danger. And if you don't believe me, listen to the threat that

[14:22] Wayne Mark Mullen, director of DHS, said he was going he threatened

[14:28] election workers, clerks, and all state and local officials uh with imprisonment

[14:35] possibly if they don't, as he say, comply with federal uh election

[14:40] measures, security measures. I don't see them as security measures. I see them as

[14:44] another brick in the road to autocracy. We're not a dictatorship. will never be

[14:48] a kingdom. And I think rather than write resolutions supporting a potential

[14:55] takeover, I think what you should be doing is writing a resolution that

[15:00] stands in support of our state's rights and our individual county rights to run

[15:05] our elections without unwarranted interference.

[15:18] Phil Dphano, Branchville. $35,000 was the approximate cost cited

[15:24] for the 2019 sanctuary state resolution and ballot question. And what did

[15:30] taxpayers get for it? A political message on the ballot that had no power

[15:35] to change immigration law. Then in 2020, we did it again with the Second

[15:40] Amendment Sanctuary Resolution. The county board spent time and taxpayer

[15:45] resources on another symbolic resolution that could not change state or federal

[15:50] law. And now here we are again. As Dr. Golden pointed out tonight, we

[15:55] apparently can't let a good crisis go to waste. This time we're being asked to

[16:00] pass two more resolutions surrounding an election security issue that is already

[16:05] being investigated and addressed through the appropriate legal and governmental

[16:10] channels. Let me be clear. I support election security. I support

[16:16] investigating the software failure. I support identifying registrations that

[16:21] need further review. Referring appropriate matters to law enforcement

[16:25] and fixing whatever went wrong. But we need facts, not fear. We need

[16:30] accountability, not political theater. The existing election system has

[16:36] processes for reviewing voter registrations and investigating

[16:40] [clears throat] potential violations. The appropriate state and local

[16:43] authorities are already involved. The answer is not to undermine public

[16:48] confidence by suggesting that our elections are somehow out of control.

[16:53] And it certainly shouldn't be to spend taxpayer money on political resolutions

[16:58] that don't actually solve the problem. Dr. Golden was right. this issue like

[17:03] the 2019 sanctuary resolution, excuse [clears throat] me, and the 2020

[17:08] Second Amendment resolution risk becoming another vehicle for partisan

[17:13] politics rather than responsible county government. So tonight, I have one

[17:18] simple question. What will these resolutions actually accomplish that the

[17:23] existing investigative and election security processes cannot? If the answer

[17:28] is nothing substantive, then we're asking taxpayers to pay for symbolism

[17:33] instead of solutions. Clare said we need cool heads, transparency, and fiscal

[17:38] responsibility. I agree. Investigate the problem. Fix the system. Hold people

[17:45] accountable where appropriate, but don't use a serious issue to manufacture fear,

[17:51] distrust, or political advantage. Sussex County deserves better than another

[17:56] political circus. And come November, I hope voters remember the difference

[18:01] between governing and grandstanding. Thank you.

[18:11] Good evening. Ray Morris from Newton. First, I want to commend everyone who

[18:15] came out tonight. Regardless of our political differences, this is dem this

[18:19] [clears throat] is democracy in action. People are concerned about our

[18:22] elections. They care about the integrity of the process and they have taken the

[18:26] time to come here and make their voices heard. That deserves respect. But I

[18:30] think we als I [clears throat] think we also need to be honest about why this

[18:33] room is so full tonight. The outrage we're seeing didn't begin with the

[18:37] discovery of these registration errors. It grew out of a much larger political

[18:40] narrative that began after the 2020 election. The claim that de that

[18:45] Democrats had engaged in a massive conspiracy to manipulate or steal the

[18:48] election. That claim, which many of us refer to as the big lie, is still being

[18:53] promoted by Donald Trump and many of his loyal supporters. And despite years of

[18:57] investigations, court proceedings, audits, recounts, and examinations of

[19:00] the 2020 election, no evidence has emerged demonstrating the massive

[19:05] conspiracy that was alleged. Republicans have had years of opportunity,

[19:10] including control of the Senate and significant influence in state

[19:13] governments to produce evidence supporting those allegations. If such

[19:17] evidence existed, you would expect somewhere along the way substantial

[19:20] proof would have emerged. It didn't. That doesn't mean we should ignore

[19:25] genuine problems with our election system. Quite the opposite. If

[19:28] approximately 6,600 people were improperly registered because of a

[19:32] software error that deserves investigation. We should know how it

[19:35] happened, why it happened, and how it was discovered, what safeguards are

[19:39] being put in place to prevent it from happening again. And I agree with

[19:42] everyone here on one fundamental principles. Our elections must be

[19:45] secure, accurate, and worthy of public confidence. But there's an important

[19:49] line we should not cross. A real error is not the same as evidence of

[19:53] conspiracy. And there's recent example that I think is worth considering. Just

[19:57] this week, the Pentagon's own casualty database briefly reported that 14

[20:01] American service members had died in the Iran conflict after previously reporting

[20:05] 18. Four service members had effectively disappeared from the official online

[20:09] count. The Pentagon attributed the discrepancy to yes software or data

[20:14] processing problem. The numbers were subsequently corrected and the

[20:17] casualties accounted for through a different category. [clears throat] We

[20:21] would rightly uh we should apply that same standard here. A computer system

[20:25] can fail. A database can transmit incorrect information. A government

[20:29] agency can make a mistake. None of those things by themselves demonstrate a

[20:32] conspiracy. So before we decide that we need new laws, new restrictions on voter

[20:36] registration, shouldn't we first make sure that the laws and safeguards we

[20:40] already have be uh are being followed? New Jersey already has procedures for

[20:44] verifying voter registrations, maintaining voter roles, and auditing

[20:47] election results. We have voter verified paper records and independent post

[20:52] election audits. What happens here is is a software failure, not a failure of the

[20:57] law itself. So let's fix the software. Let's hold the responsible vendor

[21:00] accountable. Let's make sure the existing safeguards are properly

[21:03] intimate implemented and independently verified. But let's not automatically

[21:07] conclude that the answer is so is to change the rules for every legitimate

[21:11] voter and [clears throat]

[21:22] Angela Delucia, president of the Sussex County Education Association. I reside

[21:27] in Sparta. I'm here tonight representing the educators and education support

[21:31] professionals who serve the children, families, and communities of Sussex

[21:35] County every day. We are deeply disappointed that taxpayer dollars and

[21:39] public resources have been used to convene an emergency meeting, not to

[21:43] address an actual emergency, but to advance resolutions that provide no

[21:47] meaningful benefit to the people of this county. Emergency meetings should be

[21:51] reserved for urgent action that protects the public. Tonight's agenda does none

[21:56] of that. These resolutions will not reduce property taxes, lower health care

[22:00] costs, improve public safety, create jobs, or help families struggling to

[22:05] make ends meet. They offer no practical solutions to the challenges Sussex

[22:09] County residents face every day. Instead, this meeting uses public time

[22:14] and resources to advance political messaging while pressing local issues

[22:19] remain unresolved. As educators, we know what real emergency looks like. We see

[22:25] students struggling with anxiety, food insecurity, housing instability. We see

[22:31] families stretched by rising costs. We see school districts forced to eliminate

[22:36] staff, increase class sizes, and reduce opportunities for students because

[22:40] health care costs continue to consume education budgets. Those are real

[22:45] emergencies. Those are the issues that deserve your attention. And leadership.

[22:49] And leadership is not measured by symbolic resolutions. Leadership is

[22:53] measured by results. It is measured by whether government solves problems,

[22:58] spends taxpayer dollars responsibly, and improves the lives of the people it

[23:02] serves. The people of Sussex County elected you to solve problems, not stage

[23:07] political performances. They expect you to address the issues affecting their

[23:11] daily lives, use public resources responsibly, and work together to

[23:15] strengthen our communities. The Sussex County Education Association

[23:19] respectfully urges this board to focus its time, energy, and resources on real

[23:25] challenges facing Sussex County and to do the work you were elected to do. Our

[23:30] students are watching. Our families are watching. And the people of Sussex

[23:35] County deserve leadership defined by service, responsibility, and results.

[23:40] Thank you.

[23:50] Kathy Brennan, Hampton Township. I wanted to discuss a little bit about uh

[23:54] resolution B. Um in regards to ICE agents, um I find your opposition to the

[24:02] New Jersey uh laws regarding ICE agents to be counterproductive. Your claims

[24:08] that repealing these laws would make us safest, I find truly to be false. These

[24:14] laws are designed to keep us safe from rogue, ill-trained agents running a muck

[24:19] in our communities at the moment. These agents racially profile with no judicial

[24:25] warrants. No due process is provided and it's all to fulfill a daily quotota

[24:31] required by the administration. Detaining the quote unquote worst of the

[24:38] worst is not done in this way. To get the quote unquote worst of the worst, it

[24:44] takes investigative work, judicial warrants, and getting the proper people.

[24:52] ISIS is detaining, in some cases, killing immigrants, and detaining

[24:57] citizens, immigrants that have committed no crimes. The Kato Institute says that

[25:04] at least 70% of those detained are either citizens in the process of

[25:10] becoming citizens or have committed no crimes. And then these people are sent

[25:14] off to detention centers, concentration camps, whatever you want to call them.

[25:19] And they are left there sitting there indefinitely with no due process,

[25:23] nothing that can be done. Recently, two more individuals were killed by ICE. And

[25:29] DHS said, "Oh, by the way, it was a mistake. We got the wrong people. Oops.

[25:34] Sorry. Well, that doesn't cut it. That is totally unacceptable to say, "Oops,

[25:39] we killed the wrong people." Demasking agents may help with this because if

[25:45] they can be identified, they can be brought to justice and perhaps it'll

[25:50] make them think before they do some these crazy things. Allowing agents into

[25:55] schools, churches, hospitals, and courtrooms would further traumatize the

[25:59] community and lead to more violence and death. Would you like your child or

[26:04] grandchild to come home from school traumatized, saying mass men came

[26:08] running in and they aggressively abducted people? I don't think that's

[26:12] what this country was about. This is not the country I grew up in. We were taught

[26:16] to embrace other citizens and immigrants o as well regardless of race, color,

[26:22] sex, or religion. Some of you tout your Christianity,

[26:27] yet you either turn away or worse, you actually condone these terrible,

[26:33] inhumane policies. And I think this needs to stop. Thank you.

[26:54] Good evening, Director Space, members of the Sussex County Commissioner Board. My

[26:58] name is Matt Rooney and I hail from Camden County down in South Jersey,

[27:02] which some of you know as Delaware because it's so far south. But I made it

[27:06] up here tonight because I want to do something that very rarely happens in

[27:11] this context. And I know this as a long-term m municipal attorney. It's to

[27:15] come here and tell you thank you for your leadership and your courage on this

[27:19] issue. I am a very proud New Jerseyian and I'm proud to stand here tonight as

[27:25] the executive director of the New Jersey chapter, the America First Policy

[27:29] Institute that fights for America First values here in the state of New Jersey.

[27:35] And there's not a lot of courage right now and there's a lot of bad information

[27:39] out there. Respectfully, and I say this as a fellow New Jerseyian, I heard of a

[27:43] lot of it here tonight. I heard a lot of ad hom attacks. I heard a lot of

[27:48] hyperbolic language concerning concentration camps, which is someone

[27:52] whose grandfather fought in World War II, I have to be honest, really twists

[27:56] me. But perhaps the one that I found the most offensive is when I hear an

[28:02] educator say, "We're not in a crisis." This is a crisis as real as the one that

[28:07] we faced 250 years ago when this state was fighting along with 12 other

[28:12] colonies for its independence. Look around the room tonight. I agree that

[28:17] this is a wonderful demonstration democracy, even though I strongly

[28:21] disagree with some of my fellow citizens. But that's the key word,

[28:24] right? Citizens. 400 at least New Jerseyians voted

[28:29] residents of the state voted illegally, right? In this state. That's what the

[28:33] Cheryl administration has admitted to. That means every single person in this

[28:37] room right now, whether you are okay with sanctuary statehood or you're

[28:40] opposed to it, your vote was canceled out.

[28:44] 6,600 more in the roles and we don't know how many because we don't have

[28:48] transparency from this administration. They're looking at only one year when we

[28:53] currently have people facing criminal charges in New Jersey from prior to when

[28:58] the alleged glitch happened. Sanctuary statethood is not a victimless crime. It

[29:03] is not political showboating to stand up against it. It's been estimated that

[29:08] sanctuary statehood cost the state about $7.5

[29:11] billion a year. And there have been countless victims of crime, illegal

[29:16] alien crime, including all not that long ago, a mother and her beautiful young

[29:21] daughter that was killed in Ocean County, New Jersey when they were struck

[29:25] by a drunken driver who was in this country illegally. Those are two New

[29:29] Jersey citizens that would still be here tonight, but for those policies. So

[29:34] sometimes, unfortunately, the least informed voices are the loudest, but I

[29:39] want you to know that New Jersey stands with you. You are doing what you can to

[29:44] defend this great state. God bless you for it, and thank you for it.

[29:58] » Hi, my name is Jake McCarthy. Uh, I live in Andover. Uh I've lived in Sussex

[30:03] County my whole life. Uh which is about 35 years. Uh I even lived here when I

[30:07] was going to school in Newark, which uh is mentioned. Um so I personally

[30:13] disagree with the concept of rallying to send ice into church schools, hospitals,

[30:16] and daycarees. Uh I just wanted to draw your attention to something since

[30:20] Newark's Delaney Hall is specifically mentioned in uh resolution B. Um there

[30:25] have been protests since May 2025. Uh the law which is referenced in 14B ends

[30:32] up being signed in March of this year. Um the incident which was made the news

[30:36] occurred in May of 2026 and today it's uh July. We're in Sussex County which is

[30:43] not Newark. Um we're in a special session and I would argue it lacks

[30:47] urgency and legitimacy. Uh neither 5 days notice nor 3 minutes is enough to

[30:53] cover both of these vastly diff different topics. So I just chose to

[30:56] cover that one. I oppose both. Uh, thank you for your time.

[31:07] » Hi, my name is Nick D. Fabrisio. I live in Augusta. Um, I don't need to add any

[31:11] more to the conversation. You've heard it both sides pretty much. Uh, just a

[31:15] couple of additional points. One, I think the, uh, the governor's taking the

[31:20] right approach. The Chesa firm is the perfect firm to do the initial

[31:25] investigation on this matter. Jeff Chasa was not only the last Republican senator

[31:30] we had, but he was also a US attorney and a uh uh attorney general. He's a

[31:36] very trustworthy guy. I think Democrats and Republicans can trust his judgment.

[31:40] I think if you send it to the legislature for an investigation,

[31:44] they'll make a a mad house out of it and waste a ton of money and they'll just be

[31:48] infighting. I suggest we let him and his firm gather the evidence first and then

[31:54] a biccameal and um bipartisan group of legislators can then deal with that

[32:00] evidence and then with or without subpoena power. That's my

[32:03] recommendation. Um in terms of the the gravity of it, yeah, 400 [clears throat]

[32:10] votes is a big deal. 6,000 is a big deal. But let me give you a couple of

[32:14] other numbers to put it in perspective. The total number of registered voters in

[32:18] New Jersey are 6,549,000. So roughly 1 in a,000 we're talking

[32:23] about in this glitch. And in terms of 400 votes, that's roughly 1 in 10,000.

[32:30] That's not those are not unusual numbers for large computerated issues in my

[32:36] experience as practicing law in 40 years. But let me give you a couple of

[32:39] other numbers. 15,7833 votes in the last guminatorial election

[32:45] were rejected, including 414. Kind of an interesting number here in Sussex

[32:51] County. I would like to see us do a better job with that. Many of those

[32:55] votes may have been um properly rejected, but some of them were not.

[33:00] There are people, particularly elderly people, who screw up for one reason or

[33:04] another, and we should be able to do a better job of saving their votes.

[33:08] Second, the other number that really gets me is 51%. That's the percentage of

[33:14] registered voters that actually cast a to vote in the last gubinatorial

[33:18] election. That is a disgrace. 54% in Sussex County, that's a disgrace. If we

[33:23] don't do a better job of getting everybody to vote, particularly young

[33:27] people, that's the biggest risk to our democracy. Not immigrants, not computer

[33:34] glitches, but a lack of interest among the general public. We need to find a

[33:38] better way to get people engaged and voting whether they vote for one side or

[33:42] the other. That to me is the biggest issue here. Thank you.

[33:54] » Hi, Sandy Pender, Freeden Township. Uh good to see you all again. It's been a

[33:58] little bit. Uh I am here to speak out against you on both resolution A and B,

[34:04] but I'm going to focus on resolution B. The state of New Jersey enacted major

[34:08] legislation in March regarding law enforcement operations and federal state

[34:12] cooperation in regard to immigration policy. The first part of the legisl

[34:17] legislation, the immigration trust directive codification, formally bans

[34:22] and state law enforcement from entering into or renewing federal agreements that

[34:27] deputize local police as immigration enforcers. It also prohibits police from

[34:33] stopping, questioning, arresting, or detaining individuals solely based on

[34:39] actual or suspected immigration status. It also bars holding individuals past

[34:44] their scheduled criminal release date strictly on civil immigration detainers.

[34:50] Please keep in mind that there are exceptions to all of these, particularly

[34:54] when a final order of removal exists or if the person has committed a major

[34:59] felony. To paraphrase an elected official, New Jersey resources, our tax

[35:05] dollars should not be used to do federal agents jobs. I think we can all agree

[35:10] that ICE has been given more than enough federal dollars to do their jobs. Again,

[35:15] our hard-earned tax dollars. The second part of the legislation, the Law

[35:20] Enforcement Officer Protection Act, requires law enforcement officers,

[35:24] including federal agents operating in the state of New Jersey, to display

[35:28] visible identification and present credentials prior to detaining or

[35:33] arresting anyone. Officers are prohibited from wearing

[35:37] masks or disguises that conceal their facial identity during public-f facing

[35:43] official duties. Again, there are reasonable exceptions such as for

[35:47] undercover operations. I think we can all agree that if your

[35:52] spouse, children, or neighbor were being pulled over for a traffic stop, we would

[35:57] we would all want an officer to have visible identification and not be

[36:01] wearing a mask. To suggest otherwise is dangerous and steers us in the direction

[36:07] of an authoritarian state. The final part of the legislation, the Privacy

[36:11] Protection Act, restricts state and local agencies and healthc care

[36:15] facilities from collecting or retaining sensitive personal information like

[36:20] citizenship status, place of birth, or taxpayer identification numbers unless

[36:25] it is necessary for service delivery. These laws have been enacted to protect

[36:31] us all against civil rights abuses and protect due process protections. When

[36:37] ICE is operating, it must be doing so lawfully. Immigration enforcement

[36:41] requires a judicial warrant to stop and detain people as this is not a fishing

[36:46] expedition. I hope that you will use our resources wisely and protect our

[36:51] citizens. Thank you.

[36:59] » Hello. Um Birdie Green Monu. Um, it's getting exhausting watching you

[37:05] play to your base instead of doing your actual jobs and addressing what's

[37:09] important to all your constituents. Tonight's two resolutions make a show

[37:14] for your party but do nothing to help people in real life. The governor caught

[37:18] this misregistration issue, made it public, and immediately launched an

[37:22] independent investigation by a law firm headed by a former Republican senator

[37:27] along with the at office of the attorney general. That is literally proof that

[37:31] the system is working. No system is perfect. What matters is fixing errors

[37:35] fast. But instead of being realistic, you're seizing on a tech mistake to push

[37:40] the same, tired, baseless voter fraud claims you were shouting about before

[37:44] this even happened. You're trying to exploit a bad situation to justify worse

[37:49] outcomes like making voting harder and open to fewer people who can legally

[37:53] register. We have orderly and fair elections in

[37:57] New Jersey. And if we didn't, then it calls into question the process that

[38:00] elected our current president. and the elections which keep returning

[38:04] your one party government to power in Sussex County, which I'm sure you don't

[38:08] want challenged. We could be talking about how to stop

[38:12] big tech from stealing all our water and electricity with data centers like

[38:15] they're trying to do in Andover, but instead we're wasting time rehashing

[38:20] an error by a tech firm which the state has already fired.

[38:24] The second resolution is truly heinous. We have an outofcrol federal government

[38:28] exceeding and abusing its authority. They attack and in some cases kill

[38:32] innocent people. It's tragic that your response is to double down and ask our

[38:37] state to reverse what progress we have made for human rights and openly call on

[38:41] your counterparts to break these state laws.

[38:44] The issues you raise were settled years ago. The 10th amendment to the US

[38:48] Constitution, a document I don't think you've read, makes it clear that the

[38:52] federal government cannot hijack local police and tax dollars to do their job

[38:56] for them. States should not take on the functions

[38:58] of federal government and the federal government cannot commandeer local

[39:02] police forces, budgets and other resources to carry out functions like

[39:06] immigration which are their only which are only their responsibility. The

[39:10] immigrant trust directive has the support of current and former police

[39:13] chiefs throughout the state in both red and blue towns from precipany to orange

[39:18] to trend in Atlantic City. Newton, [clears throat] the town in which we are

[39:21] holding this meeting, has on their PD website, the immigrant trust directive

[39:25] is designed to strengthen trust between New Jersey's law enforcement officers

[39:29] and the state's diverse immigrant communities, thereby ensuring that

[39:32] victims and witnesses feel safe reporting crimes. As New Jerseyians, we

[39:36] should be standing up to federal overreach, not rolling over for the

[39:40] rogue federal secret police and interference in our state's free and

[39:43] fair elections. Start acting like leaders who care about

[39:46] this county instead of party puppets looking for cheap political points. I'd

[39:51] say thank you for your time, but you've already wasted mine.

[40:03] Hello, my name is Susanna Oliver. I'm from Roxberry. I'm here because in

[40:08] Roxberry, our town council wasted our time and passed a useless resolution

[40:12] that did absolutely nothing to keep the warehouse from coming to Roxberry. And

[40:17] what I see happening here is that you're wasting people's time. Again, you are

[40:21] also wasting people's time trying to pass two resolutions that are are

[40:25] symbolic and are going to do absolutely nothing. I also want to state that I'm a

[40:30] US veteran, an army veteran. I have had combat training as well as advanced

[40:34] weapons training. I've been to Delaney Hall and I see the joke of the uh ICE

[40:39] agents that are there. ICE agents that can't even hold or holster their weapons

[40:44] properly, yet these are the people that you want to uh that you want to um

[40:48] partner with for law enforcement. That's very unsafe. Uh I also want to just

[40:53] touch base on um who is actually being picked up by ICE. Um contrary to your

[40:59] beliefs, it is not the worst of the worst. Uh there are approximately

[41:05] 600,000 undocumented residents in New Jersey. Of them, group one is the worst

[41:10] of the worst. That's about 30,000 people, roughly 5% who have been

[41:16] convicted of a violent or dangerous crime. Um that is actually um 0.0

[41:25] I'm sorry 31% of all New Jersey residents. The second part are the

[41:30] paperwork offenders. Those are roughly 88,000

[41:34] people. Around 18% of the people they have um some sort of um traffic

[41:40] violation or something else. But the biggest group is the blameless. These

[41:45] are the vast majority of people being targeted by ICE. Around 46 uh thou

[41:50] 462,000 people. These are our neighbors, our

[41:54] students, children, uh people who have zero criminal records other than that of

[41:58] to exist. Uh, one thing to note of irony, one of the staggering um, one of

[42:04] the staggering irony is that one of the worst of the worst criminal offenses is

[42:10] noted as fraud and swindling. This is the benchmark for a national security

[42:15] threat. Then Trump, who has been convicted of massive civil frauds in

[42:20] 2024 and whose own charitable foundation was dissolved for legal illegal

[42:25] swindling, should be the first person detained. I think that another thing I

[42:30] want to say real quick is that I also work in software. I've built my career

[42:34] in software and it's very very common to have software glitches without

[42:39] conspiracies.

[42:49] » Hi. Uh my name is Cass Mihawk. I live in Hatacong. Um, I think that y'all know

[42:54] that you're not really accomplishing anything at this meeting other than,

[42:56] like was said, pandering to your specific agenda and your audience. A lot

[43:01] of what I was going to say has already been said. I disagree with both your

[43:04] resolutions. Donald Trump lost the election of Kamla by 252,000 votes, by

[43:09] the way, in 2024. I don't know if y'all are any good at math, but subtract 400.

[43:13] Like, it it still is what it was. Um, even the Heritage Foundation, which we

[43:18] all know that they're far right, could only find 99 specific instances of

[43:23] undocumented individuals voting since the year 2000, only one of which was in

[43:27] New Jersey in 2011, and they were all punished by law. This is a non-issue.

[43:32] The Save Act and and clone acts are just targeted at specifically married women

[43:38] um who have a different last name or trans people who change their name to

[43:41] make it diff more difficult for them to vote. It's expensive to change your

[43:44] documents and and that's all that it is. Um the governor has been clear about her

[43:50] investigation. Uh as far as as ICE goes, I've been

[43:54] outside at Delini Hall. I've been attacked by ICE. I've been tagged by the

[43:58] the state police. Uh I'm provoked. They are a violent paramilitary group and I

[44:03] think that they're they're trying to see how far they can push it. Tom Hullman

[44:06] came out and said a couple weeks ago that there will be more bloodshed and if

[44:10] you want to invite that here, you might as well just tell us all to go to to go

[44:15] to hell because you just saying you're not you don't care about us. Um I I do

[44:18] want to play this audio. This uh the the agent who killed I have his name here.

[44:24] Um Joan Sebastian Durangero a couple weeks

[44:28] ago. He killed him. The agent's name is David Broulette. He had a va a mass

[44:33] history of domestic violence. He threw boiling water on his wife while she was

[44:38] holding their baby. And this is a a voicemail that he left for her.

[44:43] » Single female nothing

[44:47] just

[44:52] all of you said.

[44:56] » Yeah, you should. >> So I don't know if if you guys feel safe

[45:00] inviting that kind of person into your churches, your schools or in your towns.

[45:04] That's not a oneoff. That's a a mass pattern across ICE agents. There is no

[45:09] there is no background checks. A lot of them are domestic abusers, sexual

[45:13] abusers. They are abusing little girls in these concentration camps and getting

[45:16] them pregnant. These the these aren't rumors. They've been

[45:22] proven. Um and allowing ICE agents to cover their

[45:26] faces, by the way, invites people to to imposter them. And even in Oregon last

[45:32] week, we saw a group of people pretending to be ICE agents and pull

[45:35] over and assault a woman. So I I just think that even the added allowing them

[45:39] to cover their faces is really odd and it just tells us your motive and and

[45:42] shame on all of you. Truly,

[45:54] » good evening, Manny Bonn. Um, there's been a lot of uh good things

[46:00] said here against the resolutions and I agree with just about everything that

[46:04] was said. I wasn't going to speak, but there is one issue that hasn't been

[46:08] raised that I only became aware of this week and I just wanted to share it

[46:12] because it might prove and I'm just going to read this little

[46:18] clip here. On April 28th of this year, the Texas Secretary of State admitted to

[46:23] a clerical error where individuals who identified themselves as non US citizens

[46:29] to the Department of Motor Vehicles were nevertheless registered to vote. This

[46:34] incident involved a mismatch between driver's license application data and

[46:38] voter registration roles, which state officials characterized as a simple

[46:43] paperwork mistake rather than voter fraud. So the obvious question is when

[46:48] it happens in a red state, it's just a simple error. When it happens in a blue

[46:53] state, everybody starts beating their chest and saying voter fraud.

[46:58] So why is that? I think one of the main reasons is because we've had a bully in

[47:05] the pulpit beating his chest for the better part of 10 years telling us that

[47:10] there has been voter fraud and producing zero evidence. Carl Sean once said,

[47:16] "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." And to me, the

[47:22] claim that there is rampant voter fraud and some kind of conspiracy is a major

[47:29] claim and should require extraordinary evidence. Thank you very much.

[47:40] » Hi. Hey. Um, I want to start by um addressing something that the gentleman

[47:45] from South Jersey had said. Oh, I'm sorry. Um, Carrie Stetler over Morris

[47:49] County. Um, yeah. So, the gentleman from South Jersey, um, unless I'm

[47:54] misunderstood, and he was citing the meeting as an example of democracy,

[47:57] which it is, and was glad to hear him say that, but he also seemed to be

[48:01] implying that this meeting would only be for citizens, which I don't think is the

[48:07] case. I think anybody from anywhere can come to this meeting and speak out,

[48:11] right? Um, and I don't know that you're going to be checking for citizenship

[48:14] status at the door. Um, so for all you know, I could not be a citizen, but here

[48:18] I am speaking to you because I care about something and also I'm a New

[48:23] Jersey resident and I live nearby in Morris County. Um secondly, [laughter]

[48:29] um I don't understand why how it makes people safer to have your law

[48:35] enforcement officers supporting ICE going to schools and churches and

[48:42] medical facilities. Um if someone is is charged with a crime, they could easily

[48:47] just go into those places and and arrest them. But to just be able to go in there

[48:52] randomly and get people who um haven't been as people have said 70% of the

[48:59] people who are detained have not been charged with a serious crime. Um and

[49:05] also entering the US illegally is a mis is a misdemeanor. It's not a felony.

[49:12] It's a civil offense to stay here after you've entered illegally. Many of the

[49:16] people that do enter illegally that have been arrested and deported by ICE were

[49:22] people who were going through the process of gaining status uh of gaining

[49:26] citizenship, of applying for refugee status. They were people who had

[49:30] temporary protection status. They've been here for decades in some cases and

[49:34] then all of a sudden they had that yanked away and yet they're still here

[49:37] and all of a sudden they've been told abruptly that they need to leave. Um

[49:42] okay. [laughter] Um, and also I just wanted to point that

[49:46] out. I don't think those people are threats to public safety. And also

[49:50] there's I think your resolution advances this notion that that ICE is somehow

[49:56] protecting the public. And in fact, six people, including three US citizens,

[50:01] have been killed when ICE fired at vehicles since January of 2025.

[50:06] 23 people have been shot at.

[50:11] So, I think they're really that's that's something you should be concerned about.

[50:14] I think they're the threats to public safety. I don't think that immigrants

[50:18] are threats to public safety or they don't justify an emergency meeting for a

[50:23] resolution like this. Thank you.

[50:32] Washa Williams, US veteran army hapacong. I wasn't going to speak

[50:38] tonight, but uh Matt Rooney came up here and said a few things, and I'm very sad

[50:43] that you had to drive all the way down here. I'm sure there's a lot of things

[50:45] you could focus on down in Camden County, like the 50% crime rate.

[50:50] Uh my agenda topic is the fact that these two resolutions are wasting tax

[50:56] dollars. Just in Hakong, and I'm sure throughout the state, we're facing tax

[51:01] increases left over right after left over right. And it's ridiculous the fact

[51:06] that you guys aren't focused on the utilities, the poles that are coming

[51:09] down, the trees that need to be trimmed, the infrastructures, the health care

[51:13] that you know you need to shop around for employees, things like that. Those

[51:16] are the things that could save us money as residents, right? I don't know. I'm

[51:21] going to approach this in a different way, right? We live in a Republican

[51:24] county with elected Republican officials, right? If anything, I would

[51:30] expect that you would be touting how great the Republican county and

[51:34] elections are because you caught no voter fraud, right? Because it would be

[51:38] on your watch. So, I don't see you doing that. Instead,

[51:43] I see you just making another resolution and wasting everybody's time and wasting

[51:48] more money, which these people do not have. All right. The second thing I want

[51:52] to address is the fact that and while he may be offended by the concentration

[51:56] camp, and I can I can understand that, right? I'm going to I'm going to go a

[51:59] little different route. I would compare the ICE agents as

[52:04] modern-day slave patrol. They're yanking up people, citizens.

[52:10] They're killing them with no training. They're running rampid

[52:14] in the streets. just in Roxberry not too long ago. They ran through our town

[52:20] ripping and running and end up in a car chase over by the hardware store off a

[52:24] landing in Roxberry. That is not safe. There's a park over there. Kids play

[52:29] ball over there. If you don't want to protect that, then I don't I don't I

[52:34] don't know what purpose that resolution serves. Yeah. While I agree our New

[52:39] Jersey officers are well trained, I would trust them with my life. If that's

[52:43] what you're saying is that their ICE is incompetent, you can't they can't be

[52:47] trusted, then on that lines, if you need our police officers to babysit them,

[52:51] then then maybe say that. Tell the truth. In the meantime, while

[52:59] Hakong school districts are ranked three level levels lower than Camden,

[53:05] we're wasting 54% of our tax money competing with a district that is

[53:11] failing as well. So, let's talk about the issues. Let's talk about the grocery

[53:16] food prices. Let's talk about the homelessness on on in Newton here, right

[53:20] here. Let's talk about services for these people instead of resolutions that

[53:25] aren't going to do anything. People elected you and I don't care what

[53:30] party you're belong to. People elected you to do a job. Do it.

[53:41] » Sorry. Before you start, I just want to before you start, I just want to say one

[53:45] thing. We do address all these things. This is a special meeting on these.

[53:50] Yeah. No, I'm just addressing it. I'm addressing it to the public. I'm

[53:53] addressing it to the public. >> Man, stop interrupting. The director

[53:56] Mayor, stop interrupting. >> I'm addressing it to the public. They

[53:59] probably would like to hear what I say. We do have meetings twice a month and

[54:03] that's what we discuss at these meetings twice a month. This is just a special

[54:06] meeting on these two resolutions. Whether you agree with them or not, we

[54:11] do do the other things at the other meetings. And that's why I'm just

[54:13] addressing a lot of the same people come to a lot of our meetings and they do see

[54:16] us do that kind of stuff and worry about our taxes and our residents. Thank you.

[54:22] » Uh Sierra Wilson, you know me from Stanh Hope. Um I wasn't going to speak

[54:26] tonight, so forgive me. I'm not going to be as eloquent or well spoken as some of

[54:29] the folks here. Um but I hear people that are on the other political side of

[54:36] the spectrum as me say the name Lake and Riley, but I never hear the names of

[54:40] Sandy Hook victims. So, if you're going to say that ICE is the issue for killing

[54:45] all of these American citizens, I also want you to address the issue of guns

[54:49] that are killing American citizens as well. In fact, uh, white Americans

[54:54] killed more people just this last year than immigrants. So, keep that in mind

[54:58] when you're you're using your resolution tonight. My second topic or my second

[55:02] point is has have any of you been to Delaney Hall?

[55:07] I didn't think so. I have been to Delaney Hall and I want to share uh my

[55:11] experiences at Delaney Hall and some of the experiences that your Sussex County

[55:16] residents have uh at Delaney Hall. Just so you know what you are inviting into

[55:21] your neighborhoods, into your towns, into your streets. Um just this past

[55:25] Sunday, an ICE agent sped through the streets in Delaney Hall and nearly hit

[55:29] two pedestrians. These were just bystanders that were going to visit

[55:32] their loved ones at Delaney Hall. Um they nearly hit these two pedestrians.

[55:37] ICE has literally hit someone and sent them to the hospital before at Delaney

[55:42] Hall. Uh this doesn't even bring up the topic of the guns that have been fired,

[55:48] the gas tanks that have just been accidentally dropped at Delaney Hall. Um

[55:53] the fact that they pepper- sprayed Andy Kim. So think about all of that when you

[55:56] are addressing your resolution tonight. But um there are people that are

[56:02] detained at Delaney Hall that should not be. Uh there are children at Delaney

[56:06] Hall. There are people at Delaney Hall that have their green cards that have

[56:10] been here for longer than I have been alive, probably longer than some of you

[56:13] have been alive. Um, the ICE agents have no regard for human life. If they are

[56:19] going to speed up to purposefully hit pedestrians

[56:23] that are there to save their loved ones, what are they going to be doing in your

[56:27] streets? Uh right after this ICE agent almost hit two pedestrians, visitation

[56:32] was cancelled for the day uh because advocates on the ground said literally

[56:38] watch out, get out of the way, don't run into that person. And visitation was

[56:42] canled for the couple dozen people that were there. Uh so this again is what

[56:46] you're bringing into your streets. Cruel people that have no regard for human

[56:49] life, that have no humanity. Please consider this when addressing your

[56:53] resolution tonight. I believe it's resolution B that you are inviting and

[56:57] you are not only inviting but you are encouraging crime and horrible horrible

[57:02] people to walk on your streets in the name of whatever you want to call it

[57:06] justice safety it's not safe ICE agents are not safe and again if you're going

[57:11] to address uh immigrants that have killed people you also need to address

[57:15] the issue of Sandy Hook and guns thank you

[57:23] » hi Amy Milan uh Lafayette. I'm just saddened, disgusted, heartbroken. I I

[57:30] don't even have words. I was educated in Germany. Violence,

[57:36] murder, brutality.

[57:40] These things are never the answer to anything. This is the first thing that

[57:44] is pounded into your head when you go to school in Germany.

[57:48] Violence, murder, and brutality. Shooting someone in the head in front of

[57:54] their child in the back seat is not okay. I don't care how you try to

[58:00] justify this. I mean, I don't understand what is going on. This is like so

[58:07] insane. [clears throat] Anyway, I'm going to finish for Mr.

[58:11] Morris. He was up before um he didn't get to finish. So, let's

[58:16] fix the software. Let's hold the responsible vendor accountable. Let's

[58:20] make sure the existing safeguards are properly implemented and independently

[58:24] verified. But let's not automatically conclude that the answer is to change

[58:28] the rules for every legitimate voter in New Jersey because a computer system

[58:32] failed to follow the rules that already exist. We don't necessarily need new

[58:37] election laws. We need the laws we already have to work

[58:42] and we need the people responsible for administering them to be held

[58:46] accountable when they don't work. And this is where I hope the commissioners

[58:49] will exercise particular care. Sussex County is overwhelmingly Republican, as

[58:54] we well know, and every member of this board is a Republican, as we well know.

[58:58] I understand why many people here may have strong feelings about what happened

[59:01] in 2020. But that makes your responsibility even greater. You have an

[59:06] opportunity tonight to demonstrate that election integrity isn't a Republican

[59:11] issue or a Democratic issue. It's an American issue that affects all of us.

[59:16] investigate the problem, fix the problem, hold people accountable when

[59:20] accountability is warranted, but also be willing to say when the evidence doesn't

[59:23] support the larger allegation. Because if we take every mistake, every

[59:27] irregularity, every bureaucratic failure, and use it as proof of a

[59:31] predetermined conspiracy, then we're no longer investigating.

[59:35] We're simply confirming what we already believe. And that is exactly the kind of

[59:40] thinking that has damaged public confidence in our elections. So, I

[59:43] commend everyone for being here tonight. I commend the commissioners for taking

[59:45] election integrity seriously, but I would ask that we make this something

[59:49] about something bigger than Democrats or Republicans, bigger than Trump or Biden.

[59:53] Let's make it about ev evidence. Let's make it about accountability. And let's

[59:56] make it about restoring trust in our elections. Not by telling people what

[59:59] they want to hear, but by telling them what the facts actually demonstrate.

[1:00:03] Thank you.

[1:00:11] » My name is Tracy Richardson. I'm a resident of Andover Township. I'm also

[1:00:14] the current president of the League of Women Voters of the Sussex Highlands

[1:00:19] and I'm speaking on behalf. Uh, every voter in Sussex County shares a

[1:00:24] fundamental interest in secure and accurate elections. When system errors

[1:00:29] occur, they demand swift and thorough attention. However, we must be clear

[1:00:34] about the verified facts. Earlier this month, as we've discussed tonight,

[1:00:39] Governor Cheryl publicly disclosed that a software error at the Motor Vehicle

[1:00:42] Commission caused approximately 6,600 people who indicated that they are not

[1:00:47] citizens to be registered to vote. The software was provided by the vendor

[1:00:51] IDMIA and the error occurred between June 2023 and June 2024. These

[1:00:57] applicants explicitly indicated that they were not citizens on the keypads at

[1:01:01] MVC, but the vendor software mistakenly processed their registrations anyway.

[1:01:06] These individuals acted in good faith and we must recognize that distinction.

[1:01:10] They informed us they are not citizens. This was an error committed on them.

[1:01:16] Less than 400 of those people seem to have voted. One presumes that they

[1:01:20] received some sort of documentation from their county election office which might

[1:01:24] have led them to believe it was safe for them to do so. We do not know at this

[1:01:27] time. What we do know, preliminary reviews show these individuals are

[1:01:32] scattered across the state. They are registered in a variety of parties. Some

[1:01:36] are Democrats, some are Republicans, some are independent, unaffiliated.

[1:01:41] None of these votes seem to have affected the outcome of any elections,

[1:01:44] but this will be investigated. An independent legal audit has already

[1:01:48] been launched. As mentioned before, state leadership has already begun the

[1:01:52] process to replace that vendor at the MVC. The system had already been

[1:01:56] patched. Accountability measures are already in progress. The Division of

[1:02:00] Elections has already removed 4,500 individuals that were identified as part

[1:02:05] of this error from they've been removed from the voter roles and the rest have

[1:02:09] been referred to the county election offices for review because some of them

[1:02:13] might now be eligible to vote because they've gained their citizenship. While

[1:02:16] oversight and public transparency are essential, this resolution calls for

[1:02:21] legislative inquiries that are already underway. It's calling for information

[1:02:25] that is already been released publicly. This resolution doesn't make our

[1:02:29] elections more secure, but it is costing the taxpayers of this county.

[1:02:34] True election integrity requires a balanced approach, protecting the

[1:02:38] security and the accuracy of our voter roles while ensuring that elections

[1:02:41] remain accessible and inclusive for every eligible citizen. Public

[1:02:46] confidence in our elections depends on transparency, accountability, and

[1:02:49] responsible leadership. We at the league ask you to vote no on this resolution.

[1:02:55] That said, we do also invite everyone to take an interest in the process. Our

[1:03:02] board of elections meets in this building.

[1:03:06] Mr. Silverthorn, I've seen you there before.

[1:03:09] This is our process. Be a part of it. Ask questions. Thank you.

[1:03:22] » Good evening. I'm David Dit from Hampton Township.

[1:03:26] I've read your resolution on election security and I think it's a fantastic

[1:03:30] idea that you investigate all of our voting records. Need to interrogate our

[1:03:35] election officials, your employees, our poll workers, who are your neighbors and

[1:03:41] friends. You make sure you check their bank records. That George Soros check

[1:03:47] wasn't there rewarding them for their nefarious deeds perverting our

[1:03:50] elections. Voter voter registration of 6,600

[1:03:55] ineligible voters resulting in maybe 400 plus alleged actual votes absolutely

[1:04:01] must be investigated and corrected by independent agencies. That's just what

[1:04:06] has been promised by Governor Cheryl.

[1:04:12] Why are we here? Why did you guys want to come up with a special meeting?

[1:04:18] some little bird whisper in your ear that this was a terrific way to assist

[1:04:23] you in getting elected. This is a loser. I know you people. None

[1:04:29] of you are Nazis. None of you are liars. They're my neighbors. Your house was

[1:04:33] burning down. I'd run over and help you put it out.

[1:04:37] It's not the time to follow a liar and a criminal. And that's what our president

[1:04:44] is. And he's got a whole army of enab enablers

[1:04:49] to work his will on this country. And what he wants to do more than anything

[1:04:53] else, more than steal all the money he can is make sure he destroys our

[1:04:59] confidence in our electoral process. You know, I know, everybody here knows

[1:05:07] that this 2020 he comes out with whenever he opens his mouth is

[1:05:15] nonsense. The Heritage Foundation, that's your

[1:05:20] team. They've been looking into this since 1982

[1:05:24] up to the present day. They found 100 1,619

[1:05:31] instances of election fraud. That's nothingness.

[1:05:37] This incident you guys want to go out on a limb on and alienate these people even

[1:05:43] more is not necessary. And as far as the other one where you're

[1:05:49] welcoming ICE to our township, how would you like to go up to the green

[1:05:55] and pick up the bloody ruins of somebody they just blew their brains out? Because

[1:06:00] believe me, they've demonstrated over and over again they will do that with

[1:06:05] impunity. Where's the investigation for the people in Minnesota?

[1:06:10] Where's the investigation for the guy in Texas? Anybody know a prosecutor that's

[1:06:16] talking about this nut job in Maine who shot this guy to death in front of his

[1:06:21] three-year-old.

[1:06:35] » My name is La Urugos and I'm a Sussex County resident for the last six years

[1:06:40] and I'm here also to talk about your resolution. So I have a lot of concerns

[1:06:44] both in the substance of the resolution and the language that is used opposing

[1:06:48] the safe communities act as essential especially traveling. The resolution

[1:06:52] describes protections to schools, hospitals, shelters and courts as

[1:06:57] creating safe spaces for criminals that wrongly conflates undocumented

[1:07:02] immigrants with with criminals. Being in the United States um without illegal

[1:07:07] immigration status is only a civil violation, but I think you already know

[1:07:11] that. though those two are not the same thing. The Safe Communities Act does not

[1:07:16] protect criminals. It protects kids going to schools. It protects people

[1:07:20] going to hospitals and shelters, people seeking justice in the courts. If this

[1:07:25] board sees protections, those protections as safe spaces for

[1:07:28] criminals, that is exactly the reason why you should don't proceed with that

[1:07:32] resolution. No child should be afraid to go to school and worry about tearing

[1:07:37] their families apart. No people should be afraid to seek justice at courts.

[1:07:42] The resolution also opposes laws requiring federal officers to reveal

[1:07:46] their faces during public public interactions.

[1:07:51] That requirement is not excessive. It's the bare minimum. I think we all agree

[1:07:54] that our government government institutions and law enforcements should

[1:07:58] be accountable to us. The board also notes that they support constitutional

[1:08:03] rights, due process, lawful pro policing, and public accountability. Yet

[1:08:07] you argue against the protections designed to uphold those principles.

[1:08:11] Constitutional rights do not matter only for the people that you approve of.

[1:08:16] Today, this resolution advocates for reducing protections for people that

[1:08:21] look like me, that have an accent like mine. But you should know that history

[1:08:25] teaches us that once rights are weakened, for some people, they do not

[1:08:29] stop there.

[1:08:37] Finally, I am concerned with how worried this resolution is about um making our

[1:08:43] local personnel information resources and resources available to federal

[1:08:47] immigration enforcement. The board should be focused on servicing Sussex

[1:08:51] County residents and protecting their safety and their well-being. Your

[1:08:55] responsibility is to us, the people that live here, not to advancing federal

[1:09:00] immigration informance initi priorities. Public safety is not made stronger by

[1:09:05] suppressing the rights of others. I understand that this resolution is meant

[1:09:10] for you to make a stand, but just know that you're standing on the wrong side

[1:09:13] of history.

[1:09:25] John Snider, Sanderson Township. [clears throat]

[1:09:29] But I see apparently the governor knew about this error or this fraud.

[1:09:37] There 6,000 people registered to vote before she called Donald Trump a liar

[1:09:44] when addressing this topic. We talk about what 400 people apparently

[1:09:50] they say voted out of 6,000. What was to present prevent excuse me

[1:09:56] the 6,000 people or more when they get the voter registration from motor

[1:10:00] vehicle for saying they are a citizen? Nobody's talking about that. We're

[1:10:03] talking about people who apparently allegedly

[1:10:07] said they were not citizens and somehow got were eligible to vote. But the whole

[1:10:12] idea of using motor vehicle registration or getting a driver's license as a form

[1:10:17] of registering to vote is ridiculous. We've been complaining about it for

[1:10:21] years that all someone has to do is go, "Oh yeah, I'm a citizen. Now I can

[1:10:25] vote."

[1:10:28] The governor apparently still refuses to cooperate with the Department of Justice

[1:10:33] in releasing the voter roles from New Jersey.

[1:10:40] I've heard that over 80% of people pled agree that we should have voter ID,

[1:10:46] whether you're Republican or Democrat. Save America Act in my opinion is

[1:10:53] exactly what it says. This country is going down.

[1:10:58] Have the Democrat party which is slowly becoming the Communist Party.

[1:11:15] Don't decide your fair.

[1:11:20] Have a little

[1:11:25] » the democratic socialist of America basically communists.

[1:11:30] According to the governor of California, they're welcome. We have a big tent.

[1:11:36] I guess if Adolf Hitler was still alive, he'd be in that tent along with Nikita

[1:11:40] Kruev, Joe Stalin, and other people.

[1:11:45] But they're coming out now, these DSA people. No more President, no more

[1:11:50] Senate, no more Supreme Court. And I guess they want a parliamentary

[1:11:55] form of government. Some of them are calling for the release of all

[1:11:59] incarcerated prisoners. I may sound crazy, but I'm only

[1:12:03] repeating things that have come from these people.

[1:12:10] Someone mentioned tonight that in New Jersey there were 30,000 convicted

[1:12:15] felons that are illegal alien Jersey. And then they went on to talk about what

[1:12:20] a percent that was. I don't care what percent that is. 30,000.

[1:12:30] Thank you and God bless America.

[1:12:39] Hi, I'm Diane Brennan from Randolph and I didn't get a count before when you

[1:12:44] were all asked who's been to Delanium. I have a show of hands if people

[1:12:51] Okay, you don't want to divulge that. Okay. Well, I'm assuming that if

[1:12:55] nobody's, you know, probably all haven't been. Well, I've been a few times and um

[1:13:01] you know, I know people don't like the comparison to concentration camps.

[1:13:06] Concentration camps out is detention camps. And uh my father was um a World

[1:13:14] War II vet that was shot down over Germany,

[1:13:18] nine months in a prison.

[1:13:23] Worse than that, from his from his from his recollections,

[1:13:28] stories I've been told over the years, the German guards actually flooded in

[1:13:32] the area of a parking lot because the Red Cross sent ice skates and they

[1:13:37] wanted to allow the prisoners to skate in the wintertime. Do you think that

[1:13:41] would go on at Delaney Hall? I don't think so. There were bugs in his food.

[1:13:45] He took them out. His comrades laughed at him and said, "No, you keep them in.

[1:13:49] That's the protein." Well, there are maggots, worms, and mold in Delaneies.

[1:13:55] Their milk is spoiled. Things are outdated. They're not getting medical

[1:13:59] care. They're dying in detention. Something like 88%

[1:14:04] not committed criminal acts. And you want it, you want your heart

[1:14:09] broken, go there sometime when there are kids there visiting their dads or their

[1:14:15] brothers or their uncles or whoever, and ICE shows up. You want your heart

[1:14:20] broken? You see, run down the street crying and screaming

[1:14:26] ice on this country. My father didn't fight

[1:14:31] Nazis for that.

[1:14:40] Scott Null, Sparta. Um, we don't agree politically and that's

[1:14:45] fine. You guys are my neighbors. I've been here before, talked to you. had

[1:14:49] conversations after the side and I commented more than once how thank god

[1:14:54] you're here doing the county's work because it is thankless

[1:15:01] it's so disappointing that something like this happens right like these

[1:15:04] nonsense resolutions issue was identified correct action was taken it's

[1:15:09] being addressed it's a waste of time it's an insult to us as your

[1:15:13] constituency that this is a thing So um on the second resolution

[1:15:22] regarding um government I it boils down to ICE I've had really good experience

[1:15:30] with the law enforcement here right the reason I've had really good experience

[1:15:35] with the law enforcement here they're vetted

[1:15:38] they're trained they know what due process is part of

[1:15:43] the community they're unmasked I see them almost every weekend

[1:15:50] supporting us at Newton Square, right? They're part of the community.

[1:15:57] They're taking care of us. They're professionals.

[1:16:01] That's their job. And they do it really well.

[1:16:05] None of that can be said for ICE. You can look it up. Look at their stats.

[1:16:12] Look at what they're doing. It's been said before, these people are not what

[1:16:16] we want in our community. Okay? It it seems to matter for some reason, right?

[1:16:22] So, my dad was a veteran. I was a veteran. My father-in-law was a veteran.

[1:16:26] My sister-in-law was a veteran. Right? We're all trained. I don't need some

[1:16:31] jackass with the gun running around telling me what to do,

[1:16:36] where to go, who's this, who can't even identify themselves and isn't wearing a

[1:16:41] proper uniform. I serve as a pole worker.

[1:16:48] I have several times. I do not want ICE at the polls. It makes it more

[1:16:54] dangerous. It makes it more dangerous for me. It makes it more dangerous for

[1:16:58] our community and it makes it more dangerous for the voters.

[1:17:10] » Good evening. I want to also say how glad I am for the work that you do.

[1:17:19] Not important. Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Lori Gold and I live in Hardwood, but my

[1:17:24] driveway's in still ordering words. Um I I someone said before they don't

[1:17:30] understand what's going on. That's how I feel. And I think that um

[1:17:38] resolutions are not not wise. And I I'm rising. I left my

[1:17:44] home to come here and say that to you. Um

[1:17:48] when the president says, "We're going to go after the worst of the worst." I'm

[1:17:52] picturing the gangs. We know that there's been gangs and they need to be

[1:17:57] disrupted. They're terrorizing the communities that they That's not what

[1:18:01] we're seeing. what we're seeing average people being yanked out of their lives

[1:18:06] and put into untenable situations and sometimes killed.

[1:18:11] But what I wanted to say the most, one of one of the other things I wanted to

[1:18:16] say is um to look around the room and see your neighbors, your friends, and

[1:18:22] that you are our neighbors and our friends. And Steven Miller stands up and

[1:18:26] say, "Oh, look at those people. They're they all look weird. He's the weirdest

[1:18:30] looking guy I've ever seen. But I just want to say, look around. These are your

[1:18:36] neighbors. These are your friends. We're maybe a little weird, but we're not more

[1:18:40] weird than most. So, the thing that bothered me the most

[1:18:45] about these two resolutions was the idea that these ICE agents should be allowed

[1:18:50] to wear masks. I mean, they're fully uniformed with these horrible They look

[1:18:56] horrible. They look so scary. and and guessing a resolution that says they

[1:19:04] should be allowed. Are we living in

[1:19:10] not only damaging to it's not only damaging to our constitution,

[1:19:15] it's damaging to our souls. Everyone in this room, everyone in this

[1:19:20] country, on our streets, damaging to us.

[1:19:29] Thank you for your time.

[1:19:35] » Hi, uh Sarah Lee Witson from Newton. I don't want to repeat uh what uh many of

[1:19:40] the commenters said, so I'll try to add a couple of additional points that I

[1:19:45] think you should consider. First of all, uh these resolutions, in particular, the

[1:19:49] one pertaining to ICE and immigration enforcement is dangerous. It's dangerous

[1:19:53] for our community if people are going to be afraid to call the police. uh if

[1:19:57] women who are being battered by their husbands or partners or intruders are

[1:20:01] going to be afraid to call the police because they're afraid that this might

[1:20:06] be an ICE action. Um it's also very divisive. Clearly, you're hearing from

[1:20:11] people here tonight that this is not a resolution and they that they support

[1:20:15] that the election resolution is happening in a context of a broader

[1:20:20] political fight that has little relevance right now to our county given

[1:20:24] that this is a performative resolution. Um, and it seems that you don't really

[1:20:28] have the mandate to push this resolution forward from what you're hearing

[1:20:32] tonight. At minimum, I would urge you to table these resolutions, have a broader

[1:20:38] discussion about them, invite a broader community hearing, um, because it's

[1:20:42] clear that you don't have a mandate [clears throat] to pass these

[1:20:45] resolutions, which again emphasizes that this is divisive. People are feeling

[1:20:50] excluded. We're making people in this community feel otherred because of the

[1:20:55] color of their skin and because of the weight that you're putting behind these

[1:20:59] kinds of enforcement actions that are scaring people. It's not good for us.

[1:21:03] And I think you should at minimum pause and reconsider these resolutions. Um and

[1:21:09] of course you may as well inspire such strong opposition that you'll be going

[1:21:13] to be held accountable for these utterly symbolic resolutions. Thank you.

[1:21:25] Hi, my name is Veronica Fernandez. I live in Long Valley in Morris County,

[1:21:28] but I was born and raised right known as a teenager

[1:21:33] on the green.

[1:21:37] When people talk about New Jersey, they talk about the turnpike. I'm like, I you

[1:21:40] don't know where I come from. I come from it's

[1:21:46] I came from I used to go to space farms as a kid for field trips and I'll be

[1:21:52] very honest I cried when I left it traumatized me to see how

[1:22:01] bad and um I don't know that was I think when I first started having my

[1:22:05] awakenings and aware awareness of things going on around me and I thought I lived

[1:22:09] in a perfect little world and I've grown up and I pledged to reach

[1:22:13] flag every day that stood for liberty, justice, and peaceful.

[1:22:18] I don't know. As I got out into the world and I learned more, I learned

[1:22:21] about the failings of my country, the good and the bad. And we have I was

[1:22:26] thinking of the quote. It says, "Those who cannot remember are doomed to

[1:22:29] repeat." And I see the sign up here, your logo, and every town has one. It's

[1:22:34] corn. And it's we're Lape. We are we but I don't but there's I think there's no

[1:22:39] one here of lape origin in here all white most of us are white you know

[1:22:45] they're not they're not here and then I think about the Japanese interament we

[1:22:49] were on the wrong side of history then we were locking up people who looked

[1:22:52] like the enemy they are not the enemy they are fellow human beings they are

[1:22:56] more indigenous to this for the same reasons our ancestors came

[1:23:02] to build a better life but our ancestors came legally seriously ly what does that

[1:23:07] mean? They came they came through Ellis Island. They got papers before all of

[1:23:11] that. They they were encouraging anyone to come. And some of my ancestors, my my

[1:23:16] birth name is Vandenhu. That's been around here forever.

[1:23:19] And so I love this county even though I live in another and I I just where I

[1:23:26] come from and I I can't bear the thought of seeing ice because I've been to

[1:23:29] Delaney Hall. I've seen children. I was on on Memorial Day in Union at a parade

[1:23:34] with kids running with American flags and later the day I went to Delaney Hall

[1:23:37] and I saw kids running from ICE. You know what it's like to see this

[1:23:40] terrified child. And then what the other thing is there's always unintended

[1:23:44] consequences with anything that you take on like this. And the unintended

[1:23:48] consequences here is you are creating terrorists for generations to come.

[1:23:52] Children don't remember when you rip apart their families. They don't. We're

[1:23:56] going to pull them apart. We're not repatriating them or deporting them.

[1:23:59] We're trafficking them to countries they've never been to before. And their

[1:24:02] children are going to remember what they did, they're going to when you hear

[1:24:05] people say they hate America, ask yourself why. We don't see it in each

[1:24:09] other. But you go outside of this country and you find out why people hate

[1:24:12] us. We're in everybody's business. We should be fixing our schools, giving our

[1:24:15] teachers raise, giving our police raise, giving them assistance. We should not be

[1:24:20] tracking and trafficking human beings. Can we please be on the right side of

[1:24:24] history and have that flag stand for what it was meant to stand for? Thank

[1:24:27] you.

[1:24:38] AC Andrews, Sussex County. Can you guys hear me? So, I wasn't planning on

[1:24:42] speaking tonight. Uh, really I just want to say is I've seen enough videos of

[1:24:46] people getting pepper-sprayed and attacked in New Jersey and other states.

[1:24:50] I don't want to see any more of them. I don't want to see my neighbors, my

[1:24:54] friends, the people I love getting attacked because someone thinks they

[1:24:59] don't belong here. They don't know. They think because of the color of their skin

[1:25:02] or their accent. Please keep our neighborhoods safe. Our

[1:25:07] law enforcements are capable of doing what they're supposed to do without any

[1:25:10] other other assistance. Thank you.

[1:25:20] Tony Manzy from Parton and I'd like to just give you a little um anecdote. This

[1:25:25] is from right here in Sussex County. So for any over 20 years I worked for a

[1:25:29] nonprofit organization and uh we were statewide but I worked in Sussex County

[1:25:35] and we went to many many schools in the county including right here in Newton

[1:25:39] and we talked to children about how to stay safe in all different situations.

[1:25:44] I was working here in Newton with seventh graders and the boys and the

[1:25:48] girls were separated because they we talked about uh like date rape and so

[1:25:52] forth. That was part of our program. So we had them separate.

[1:25:56] » I was working with a group of seventh grade boys and many of them were from

[1:25:59] either their families were from South America or they were from South America.

[1:26:03] They were supposed to call us by our first names first of all. We weren't

[1:26:06] supposed to be seen as authority and bless them. They just so many South

[1:26:11] Americans. They're just so familyoriented. They couldn't do it.

[1:26:14] They couldn't call me Tony. They had to call me Miss Tony. They're like, "We

[1:26:16] can't do it. We can't do it." So, not only were they polite, but we went

[1:26:19] through all this thing about safety. It has nothing to do with politics,

[1:26:23] nothing. Just children, how to stay safe. At the end, when I told the kids,

[1:26:27] "Okay, we have a few minutes. Just go ahead talks amongst yourself." Oh, they

[1:26:31] were talk, this was in right before the election in 2016.

[1:26:36] These kids weren't talking about sports. They weren't talking about girls. They

[1:26:42] were talking about how fearful they were. And one of the little boys raised

[1:26:46] his hand, "Miss Tony, Miss Tony." I said, "Oh, yeah." And I went up and he

[1:26:49] said, "What's going to happen to us if Donald Trump gets in? We hear what's

[1:26:54] what's going on. What's going to happen to our families? What's going to happen

[1:26:57] to us?" And I said, "Look, I'm it'll I said, "I can't promise you anything. I

[1:27:02] don't know." I said, "But we have laws in this country and we're a diverse

[1:27:06] country and hopefully everything will be all right." Well, that was 2016 and now

[1:27:11] we're in 2026. What would you people say to those young

[1:27:18] men and and young women in the other in the girls class? What would you say to

[1:27:22] them now if they was if they said to you, "What's going to happen to us?

[1:27:26] What's going to happen to our family? How can you look the children of Newton

[1:27:30] in the eye?" I just What would you say to them? These

[1:27:35] are our children. We're not talking about some hypothetical kids, some

[1:27:40] hypothetical families. They were right here in Newton. I'll never forget those

[1:27:44] little boys saying, "What's going to happen to us and our family?" You're

[1:27:49] just going to say, "I don't care. I don't care." So what? So maybe they're

[1:27:53] not Maybe they're not criminals, but we're kicking you out. Oh my god. I I

[1:27:58] can't imagine any of you would say that to those children.

[1:28:09] Debbie Melo, Frerieden Township. When I was made aware of tonight's

[1:28:14] special meeting and read the resolutions,

[1:28:17] I was very upset. I think I could agree with just about everything that everyone

[1:28:23] has said about those resolutions tonight. So, I won't go beyond that

[1:28:28] except to say that again, I'm vehemently opposed to them. And I'm also very

[1:28:33] concerned that this special meeting was called in July,

[1:28:39] middle of summer, but was so important that it had to be

[1:28:43] now. And I was going to ask you to seriously consider when it was time for

[1:28:49] you to vote after hearing everyone tonight what your vote would be. But I

[1:28:54] really like the suggestion of the woman who came a few people before me saying,

[1:29:00] "Why don't we table it? Let's table it and let's have a larger discussion

[1:29:05] because obviously this is just a small percentage of the people in our county

[1:29:12] and beyond for those people that come here. Um, we're very concerned about

[1:29:17] these resolutions and the impact that they may have on our county, but also

[1:29:23] the hollowess of particularly the First terms of voter uh

[1:29:35] all of the all all the things in place for voter security. I absolutely agree

[1:29:40] with voter security. I think that we need to have those measures in place so

[1:29:44] that we can have a fair and free election. I think a lot of those things

[1:29:48] are in place and we need to continue to enforce them and to look at things that

[1:29:52] can help us go further. Um, but I also think that we need to give time to

[1:29:59] governor and the people that she has put in place to look at this process so that

[1:30:05] we can do better. So, I urge you to consider tableabling this for uh

[1:30:13] sometime possibly in the fall where we could have a larger discussion and see

[1:30:19] what comes from that. Thank you very much.

[1:30:27] » Good evening. My name is Zoe Heath. I live in Franklin Burough. uh any

[1:30:32] sentiment that I have about the two resolutions have been echoed by everyone

[1:30:35] who spoke before me. Um not everyone but some of the points. Um my question is

[1:30:41] what was the point of having a special meeting to put forth these resolutions

[1:30:45] regardless of if they pass, regardless of if we table them because it costs

[1:30:49] money to have these meetings. It it seems like the only positive thing

[1:30:52] that's going to come out of this meeting tonight is that a few of our sheriff's

[1:30:55] officers got some overtime. I'm sure they would like to hang out at home and

[1:30:59] get some overtime instead, but it is a source of frustration for this county

[1:31:02] for us to spend money on these resolutions that a significant portion

[1:31:07] of the community has no faith in and has very clearly expressed their opposition

[1:31:12] to. So, I understand that you guys do not get paid nearly enough for the work

[1:31:16] that you do as county commissioners. I understand that it is usually a job, but

[1:31:20] I don't understand why you would put this on yourselves as well. I understand

[1:31:23] there was also special business for executive session, but again that didn't

[1:31:27] happen either. So why we're having this meeting at all for this issue, the third

[1:31:31] meeting you're going to have have to have in July just doesn't make sense.

[1:31:42] » My name is Reese Moore. I'm from Vernon Township. Uh, I'm a Republican pole

[1:31:47] worker and I support law enforcement and safe and secure elections like I think

[1:31:51] almost anyone here would say. But I also think that supporting law enforcement

[1:31:56] means standing next to them when they do right and standing across from them when

[1:32:00] they do wrong. You say in your resolution about ICE that forcing them

[1:32:05] to be unmasked and properly uniformed and identified is a threat to their

[1:32:10] their safety and well-being. And yet every day across this country, federal

[1:32:15] agents, state law enforcement, and local law enforcement operate not only

[1:32:19] unmasked, but with body cameras and name tags on them, as the county sheriff's

[1:32:24] officers here tonight have without incident, without anyone saying that

[1:32:28] they are under a constant daily risk to their safety. So, I would like to know

[1:32:34] where the idea that ICE agents being unmasked and properly identified people

[1:32:40] is such a horrible idea. You also oppose these state laws that declare certain

[1:32:48] locations protected from law enforcement operations. One of those categories is

[1:32:52] schools. Now, I can personally speak to that one as a recent graduate of Sussex

[1:32:56] Community College where I was the president of the Student Government

[1:32:59] Association, and I was approached throughout my tenure several times by

[1:33:03] different people who were all concerned about one issue, the possibility that

[1:33:09] ICE would be on our campus and interrogating students and possibly

[1:33:14] arresting students in relation to their immigration status. because we did have

[1:33:19] ex foreign exchange students on campus. I was friends with many of them and I

[1:33:23] was never concerned about their immigration status because they were

[1:33:27] students the same as me. So, how do you feel about the idea that students at the

[1:33:33] school you oversee as this county's commissioners felt unsafe

[1:33:38] in this county, in this place that you oversee?

[1:33:42] Like I said, standing by law enforcement is a great thing. Standing next to our

[1:33:47] law enforcement when they do right is important. But when our law enforcement,

[1:33:50] like ICE has shown over the past year, is unable to control itself is seeing

[1:33:55] record numbers of deaths not only on the streets where they are shooting and

[1:33:58] killing people, but where record numbers of people are dying in their custody in

[1:34:03] overcrowded prisons with poor quality. Are you really going to stand here and

[1:34:07] tell us you stand next to that wholeheartedly? Thank you.

[1:34:25] Can I get a motion to close the floor for public comment?

[1:34:28] » So move. >> Okay. Um, Commissioner Henderson and a

[1:34:31] second. Uh, Commissioner Silverthornne. Any discussion? All in favor? I

[1:34:37] » post same.

[1:34:42] Number nine, commissioner's comments. I think we all said we were going to

[1:34:45] forego our regular commissioner comments since we had a meeting last week, unless

[1:34:49] someone has seen comments. No. Number 10, there is no approval of consent

[1:34:54] agenda. Number 11, we have no minutes. Number 12, no ordinance. Number 13, no

[1:34:59] appointments and or resignations. Number 14, resolutions.

[1:35:05] Can I get a motion to adopt resolutions A and B? move.

[1:35:10] » Thank Carney in a second. >> Second.

[1:35:13] » Uh, deputy director of the group. Uh, discussion. Any discussion on resolution

[1:35:17] A? >> Yep. I have a lot to say, but I'm going

[1:35:19] to just stick to what I have written. >> So, voter integrity should not be a

[1:35:24] Republican issue or Democrat issue. Should be an American issue. The right

[1:35:28] to vote is one of the most fundamental rights of American citizens. It is the

[1:35:31] foundation of our democracy and determines the leaders who make our laws

[1:35:34] and govern our nation. This resolution is not about benefiting one political

[1:35:38] party over another. is about protecting the integrity of our elections and

[1:35:42] ensuring that every eligible citizen can have confidence that their vote is

[1:35:45] counted fairly and legally. Election integrity strengthens trust in our

[1:35:49] democratic process for Republicans, for Democrats, for independents, and every

[1:35:54] voter alike. I will always stand for protecting the voting rights of every

[1:35:58] eligible American and preserving the integrity of the election process for

[1:36:01] generations to come. I've said this before, I'll say it again.

[1:36:06] Voter integrity is important. Voter ID is important. You need you need a

[1:36:09] license for a library card for renting a car for rent going to a hotel and you

[1:36:14] don't need one to vote. We have our machines here in Sussex County that you

[1:36:17] can scan where your name will come up in your picture. It's very easy. We spent a

[1:36:21] lot of money on that stuff. We should be using them.

[1:36:26] » And I would like to see the governor fully cooperate with the Department of

[1:36:29] Justice and uh give the names of the voters, not to the public, but for the

[1:36:34] Department of Justice to investigate. And I would like to know um which

[1:36:38] municipalities and counties are affected whether it's our county or not our

[1:36:42] county. But there are races that are lost by one, two votes, you know, in

[1:36:47] primaries, Republicans and Democrats. >> And that's what the resolution asks. And

[1:36:51] I I kind of feel like most people here did not read the resolution. We're going

[1:36:55] to do it because it broken down.

[1:37:02] This is stop. Okay. Uh, resolute. Anyone else on

[1:37:08] that on resolution A? >> I'm just going to say I think anybody

[1:37:11] knows I'm probably is a black and white and black on any issue I see. I look at

[1:37:16] this and I don't care if it's 400 votes or one vote. We have a problem. Do I

[1:37:21] agree it's a bipartisan problem? 100%. If it's not, we're all in this room for

[1:37:26] the wrong reason. In my opinion, we need to fix this together. It definitely

[1:37:31] needs to be fixed. Do I believe it's personally 400? If I got an odd number

[1:37:35] like 382, I might have believed that. 400 I have a hard time with such an even

[1:37:39] round number 66 and 400. I mean, I look at that and think we've got a problem as

[1:37:46] Democrats, Republicans, I don't care who you are, what you are, the problem needs

[1:37:50] to be fixed. However we get there, whether it's with

[1:37:54] our governor doing an investigation, kudos to her for bringing it out. How

[1:37:59] come we didn't know it the year before? It's 2023. This is 2026. Somebody

[1:38:05] obviously knew here. Where has it been? Uh, that's my problem. I'm just going to

[1:38:10] add in to that, too. This is a nonpartisan issue. Couldn't be any more

[1:38:14] non nonpartisan than what it is. I I distrust both sides. I distrust

[1:38:19] government. So, I probably agree with you guys on a lot more than you think I

[1:38:22] do. Um, so I I don't think this was a glitch. I just think it's sloppy

[1:38:26] government. I it happens at every level and I and I if you think it's only 6,600

[1:38:32] votes or 400 people that voted, I I beg to differ, but I I can almost guarantee

[1:38:37] you that number is going to be significantly higher when this is all

[1:38:39] said and done. And and I'm not trying to grandstand or make this any more than

[1:38:43] what it has to be. But I I think it is important that we do address it. And uh

[1:38:47] we sit here every week, week in and week out, and have people come in and ask us

[1:38:51] to uh listen to them vent about things that we really have little to no control

[1:38:58] over other than we are your neighbors and we're here for you. Um and this is

[1:39:03] one issue where we do have some mod of control over going I am the liaison for

[1:39:09] the board of elections and and listen there's issues everywhere. So, uh, you

[1:39:13] know, whether it's in our own backyard or or somewhere else, we try to do the

[1:39:16] best we can to make things better. And that's what we're doing here today.

[1:39:20] » And this is to support every vote counts. Um, every legal vote. Anyone

[1:39:25] else? >> And resolution B. We were asked to do

[1:39:31] resolution B. Warren County has passed this similar resolution

[1:39:37] um, supporting ICE. And in 2019, Sussex County did put this out to the voters

[1:39:43] and had a discussion on it. And the voters overwhelmingly 22,447

[1:39:51] voted yes on the referendum and 11,262 voted no. So in my opinion, this is that

[1:39:58] was the larger discussion and this is just to reinforce that larger discussion

[1:40:03] from 2019.

[1:40:08] Anyone else? Okay. Um, we already had the motion and

[1:40:13] we had a second. We had the discussion. Uh, roll call, please.

[1:40:17] » Commissioner Carney, >> yes.

[1:40:19] » Deputy Director Degroup, >> yes.

[1:40:21] » Commissioner Henderson, >> yes.

[1:40:23] » Commissioner Silverthornne, >> yes.

[1:40:24] » Director Space, >> yes.

[1:40:28] » Number 15, awards of contract change orders, bids, there are none. 16,

[1:40:33] financial, none. 17, personnel, none. 18, administrative report. No report.

[1:40:38] Okay. 19, county council report. Okay. Number 20. Do we have any unfinished

[1:40:42] business? No. Okay. 21. Any new business? Okay. Number 22. Public

[1:40:48] session from the floor. This public session is for those wishing to make

[1:40:51] general comments of 3 minutes or less on non-aggenda topics. Please line up at

[1:40:56] the microphone and state your name and municipality for the record. Now, I get

[1:40:59] a motion to open the floor for public comment. Okay. Commissioner

[1:41:04] Silverthornne and a second from Commissioner Henderson. Any discussion?

[1:41:08] All in favor? I oppose. A sub abstain. Okay. Floor is open.

[1:41:13] » Okay. Raymond same Raymond Win Hampton Township. I find it glowing. However,

[1:41:19] it's one thing to say yes, this Sussex County is a Republican county. The

[1:41:24] Republican party there. Therefore, the Republican agenda uh will

[1:41:29] be made manifest. It is another thing for a board with no Democrats on it to

[1:41:33] insist that they are uh implementing a bipartisan agenda. I don't even think

[1:41:38] any of you would understand what a bipartisan agenda is. It's

[1:42:01] all right. Transparency matters when the owners of

[1:42:05] the Sussex Motel Oh, Matthew, sorry, my apologies. Matthew Colback, I was up

[1:42:09] here before from Hamburg. Transparency matters. When the owners of

[1:42:13] the Sussex Motel drilled holes in my sewer line and report and I reported it

[1:42:17] to local event and eventually to state HHS that they expected help that I was

[1:42:22] forgotten. All right. No money. I hire an attorney, a state agency unwilling to

[1:42:26] help. And I had a professional plumbers's telescopic video proof and

[1:42:30] invoices of the sewer line that I posted on social media after no one helped. So

[1:42:34] this is Phil Murphy's administration that you know u Mickey had you know

[1:42:38] taken on. So this was a while ago back in 2012 2013. So where was the state?

[1:42:42] Where was the county? I was a local Tory musician and you you all claim to care.

[1:42:47] You love neighbors and here you know here I am. Love your neighbors and yet I

[1:42:53] was totally forgotten a veteran. Call Marks and Solinsky would be so proud. So

[1:42:57] here are the facts. The Trump administration and federal investigators

[1:43:00] launched probes into the incident demanded unredacted voter data and Shur

[1:43:04] has refused to hand over this information. The Adema Global Software

[1:43:08] Company being cited in these errors is actually fighting back right now and no

[1:43:13] one has actually mentioned that. So maybe the commissioners need to look at

[1:43:16] that too. I made it back from Afghanistan and ideologies hide and

[1:43:20] vulnerable and weak. Afghan freedom fighters and and interpreters we

[1:43:24] employed were implored to wear some type of face covering after being forgotten

[1:43:29] by the VA over 20 years. But the state could care less about veterans like

[1:43:33] myself and focus on everybody else. So, you know, when we ran away from

[1:43:37] Afghanistan, I cried thinking about all those interpreters that are probably

[1:43:41] murdered and dead with all their family in front of their eyes. So, that's the

[1:43:45] type of thing that you guys are, you know, it isn't. This is public comment.

[1:43:50] Iran murdered over over 40,000 protesters in a 2-day period during

[1:43:54] these blackouts in January. You find yourselves fortunate that you do not

[1:43:57] know what true atrocity looks like. So I ask literally someone admitted that

[1:44:02] their illegal immigrants can come into this commissioner meeting and it doesn't

[1:44:05] matter. President of Sussex County educators believes that this meeting is

[1:44:08] mood and has no value. Election uh and elections and who wins can control it

[1:44:14] all. So election integrity does matter. Why would anybody say that would there

[1:44:18] be uh there is also unfounded evidence exists that we now know that the former

[1:44:22] FBI director Christopher Ray lied to Congress about the over 200 embedded

[1:44:25] plane closed FBI agents in January 6th protest. Not to mention there were

[1:44:29] 50,000 hours of tapes held back during the prosecutions. Singer songwriter John

[1:44:33] Schaefer was swept up in the aftermath of that and called a domestic terrorist

[1:44:36] and stripped of due process. John is not a and the demon de uh January 6

[1:44:42] demonstrators are not insurrectionists. Given the comments I heard from the

[1:44:45] mainstream media that are summer love in 2017, I find that a very bad

[1:44:48] characterization. And so we say the Southern Poverty Law Center is the

[1:44:52] Democrats. So, subject change. Some cha challenges uh politicians offering

[1:44:57] legislation to end prisons nationwide. I'm sorry. Some challenge politicians

[1:45:01] offering legislation. Some people challenge that there isn't legislation

[1:45:05] uh being presented. But Rasheed Talib and Ana Presley both uh authored the

[1:45:10] Breathe Act which proposed closing all federal detention centers in a 10-year

[1:45:13] period.

[1:45:19] » Hello, my name is Rebecca. I am a resident of Harris and I am here tonight

[1:45:23] to celebrate the legacy of the Americans with Disabilities Act and to advocate

[1:45:29] for how social county can better support its disabled residents. 3 days ago on

[1:45:34] July 26th, our nation celebrated the 36th anniversary of the ADA. That

[1:45:41] landmark law promised equal access, community inclusion, and the right to

[1:45:46] for individuals with disabilities to live full independent lives. To make

[1:45:51] that promise right here at home, there are two crucial areas where Substance

[1:45:56] County can lead the way. First, we urgently need more accessible and

[1:46:01] affordable housing options across our country county [clears throat]

[1:46:07] residents deserve to live independently in the communities they know and

[1:46:11] [clears throat] love with real housing choices that honor

[1:46:15] their nominee and keep them connected to their support systems. Second, we need

[1:46:22] more county sponsored social events and inclusive community programs. Social

[1:46:28] connection is vital for mental health and quality of life. Having regular

[1:46:32] accessible activities where disabled adults can gather, build friendships,

[1:46:39] and stay active and in the community helps prevent isolation and builds

[1:46:44] [clears throat] a stronger, more connected such as county. As an advocate

[1:46:48] for disability rights, I urge the board to prioritize accessible housing and

[1:46:53] expand only social program for adults with

[1:46:57] disabilities. [clears throat] Thank you.

[1:47:04] Suzanne Oliver, Roxberry, New Jersey. I heard you reference um a vote from seven

[1:47:10] years ago. Um seven years ago I lived in Sparta. Seven years ago, my daughter was

[1:47:15] a senior at Sparta High School. A lot has changed within seven years. I think

[1:47:20] you should repole or re uh, you know, re revote on this with your constituents.

[1:47:27] But one thing that hasn't changed in seven years is that Sussex County is by

[1:47:32] far the most racist place I've ever lived in my life. I I have lived across

[1:47:37] this country. I've lived in the South. And I want to tell you a story about

[1:47:40] what happened to my black daughter at Sparta High School. She was harassed and

[1:47:45] she was driven off the road after the 2016

[1:47:49] um election by by several grown ass men in a Trump truck. They harassed her.

[1:47:56] They forced her off the road. They screamed the n-word at her. She was a

[1:48:00] 17-year-old girl. She was terrified. She called me in tears. She did not know

[1:48:06] what to do. This is what goes on in Sussex County. This is what you stand

[1:48:11] for. This is still happening 7 years later. Get your together.

[1:48:21] » Williams, hack. Hopefully I can run this through without being interrupted this

[1:48:26] time. Um, I just want to say I am a US veteran, Army veteran. I come from a

[1:48:31] long line of veterans. My grandfather was a cook in the Navy for reasons that

[1:48:34] because he couldn't be anything else. My father was a first sergeant in the

[1:48:39] United States Army. My brother was a sergeant in the Army and he is currently

[1:48:45] he did 13 tours in Afghanistan and came back with a brain tumor. Um my niece who

[1:48:51] just recently graduated from Fort Jackson, South Carolina, the same place

[1:48:54] that I did. I got a chance to tap her out last year. But I just want to say in

[1:48:59] the words of Tupac Shakur, you know, you got money for wars, but you can't feed

[1:49:05] the poor. So when you say that you care, I don't think that you do. I can bring

[1:49:09] up racism. I could bring up profiling. I could bring up all of those things, but

[1:49:12] I don't think that you care. So what I will say is this. I'm actually glad to

[1:49:17] hear that in a Republican county, in a Republican stronghold of 30 plus years,

[1:49:23] that you are admitting to voter fraud. At least the GOP can say that much this

[1:49:28] time around. I applaud you for that. All right. Now, the second thing, um,

[1:49:33] actually, I actually wouldn't mind our New Jersey police officers. They're very

[1:49:37] fine gentlemen here that are getting overtime this evening. Welld deserved. I

[1:49:42] wouldn't mind them being babysitters for the incompetent agents. Right? So, if

[1:49:47] that's where we're going with that, go right ahead because at least then maybe

[1:49:51] they won't kill American citizens, right? I know you guys don't care about

[1:49:56] private prisons. I know you don't care about the taxpayers in this county and

[1:50:00] lowering the cost of the utility bills or the utility bolt poles that are

[1:50:04] falling down. The people who have been without power for weeks and cable and

[1:50:09] internet so they people that work from home about the train station to get to

[1:50:13] back and forth to New York City because there's a lot of us that do do that. Not

[1:50:16] me. I own a business here in Sussex County for the last 8 years. I've lived

[1:50:21] here over 25 years. I've raised my kids here, right? And I've dealt with

[1:50:26] raising. So what, right? Big deal. Ain't going to cry about it cuz I'm a soldier.

[1:50:32] That's what we do. We suck it up and we move on, right? Nothing's going to

[1:50:36] change. I don't know about the most racist place I've ever lived because

[1:50:41] I've lived a lot of different places and I've seen a lot of different things and

[1:50:45] I've seen a lot of people that don't care on both sides of the aisle. So, no.

[1:50:51] Am I surprised by your vote? Absolutely [clears throat]

[1:50:54] not. I almost was pretty sure that you would, right? But like I said, I'm happy

[1:51:01] that you guys are admitting that the GOP in Sussex County has failed.

[1:51:16] Kathy Brennan, Hampton Township. I I just I honestly didn't have anything to

[1:51:21] say, but I had to come up here and speak again because I have to question what

[1:51:27] happened to our humanity. The things that are going on in this country are

[1:51:32] inhumane. Yet, everyone sits here and thinks it's a good idea. I don't

[1:51:37] obviously you have not been witness to these things. I have been witness to

[1:51:41] things. I have been to Delaney Hall. I have seen families. I have seen children

[1:51:46] waiting outside for hours to see their fathers and then they've been denied

[1:51:50] because there's something happened in their unit that ICE didn't like or Geog

[1:51:55] Group didn't like and they said TOO BAD YOU'VE BEEN WAITING 3 HOURS GO HOME WE

[1:52:00] DON'T CARE AND THE CHILDREN go home crying and and as I've said before most

[1:52:05] of these people are there for no reason if these people are all supposedly the

[1:52:12] worst of the worst which they are not Why are they not deported? Why are these

[1:52:16] in in these detention centers for months, years, whatever? It's inhumane.

[1:52:23] And I think we all need to look at ourselves and say, "What is going on in

[1:52:27] this country?" We need to have humanity back.

[1:52:38] Um, ask me Hawk Patkong. Um, I'm disgusted, but I'm not surprised because

[1:52:43] we all know that you're deplorable human beings. From a younger person, I am even

[1:52:46] more disappointed, bro, because you know better. There are some things that we

[1:52:50] just sat here and told you what we want. We're not scared of people from from

[1:52:54] other countries. We're not scared of of voter fraud. Those are non-issues. You

[1:53:00] don't give a about what we're talking about. And I don't know what's

[1:53:03] funny. What? Cussing? Didn't some Wasn't somebody in here talking about saying

[1:53:08] the N-word with the hard R and I can't I can't Don't tell me what I can and can't

[1:53:11] say. I can say what I need to say. I have freedom of speech. Okay. Okay,

[1:53:16] that's fine. I'm glad that you think that it's funny. I'm glad you think that

[1:53:20] it's funny. The biggest threat to America is white men that look like you,

[1:53:24] you, me, you, you, you, you, all these cops here. And something, by the way, I

[1:53:29] don't even think it's worth talking to a lot of you, but I urge all the white

[1:53:31] people here because a lot of people have said that you're surprised. You don't

[1:53:34] know what's happening, what's going on. Because we have been so deeply beaten

[1:53:37] with propaganda that we are the greatest country in the world. We have always

[1:53:41] been this way. Imperialistic, genocidal. I'm not looking at you. You're not

[1:53:45] special. Okay. I'm not looking at you. I'm looking around. Yeah.

[1:53:48] » Right. Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. We've always been

[1:53:53] Shush. We've always been genocidal. We came to this land. We We We genocided

[1:53:57] the indigenous people. I don't want to look at you. I don't like looking at

[1:54:00] you. We genocided the indigenous people when we came here. We killed them. We It

[1:54:08] It's Why are you interrupting me? I'm still talking.

[1:54:13] Are you threatening me? Like Like

[1:54:19] I'm I'm not Nobody's throwing me out. Nobody's touching me. Okay. Um I don't

[1:54:23] know. Like I just urge you all to take a look at what we've done because this is

[1:54:27] not a surprise. We we we brought black people here to do slave labor. We ate

[1:54:31] them. White people were cannibals. We fed their babies to alligators. This is

[1:54:35] not a surprise that we do this. The problem is now it's affecting us.

[1:54:39] So, we're all like, "Oh, no. What's going on?" And I'm not trying to insult

[1:54:42] you. We're not We're ignorant to it, but this is not new. We We started the

[1:54:47] Iranian war by bombing 168 little girls in school. This is what we do. This is

[1:54:52] the American way. And when somebody was up here saying that they

[1:54:55] don't feel threatened by the police. Uh well, I do, but I know I'm privileged,

[1:54:58] but I don't know if y'all have seen the news. Like, they're shooting black kids

[1:55:03] left and right. A little boy called the cops the other day. He had a water

[1:55:05] bottle in his waistband and they shot him. He called the cops for help and

[1:55:08] they shot him. Nolan Wells. The whole I'm not talking to you. Okay. You want

[1:55:14] to Okay, I'll look you in your eyes when I say it. Okay. Nolan Wells. Black

[1:55:19] people don't hang themselves from trees after they broke their bones.

[1:55:22] Okay, we have a major problem. It's not immigrants. It's not black people. It's

[1:55:27] not indigenous people. It's the white people. Okay, we we don't want AI data

[1:55:32] centers. We're in drought and we're do we want a future and young people like

[1:55:36] me and this guy right here, he we don't have a future, okay? We're telling you

[1:55:40] what we need and you don't give a damn. And I'm so sick and tired of you old

[1:55:44] people not giving a about what we're telling you because we don't have

[1:55:47] a future. Do you understand that? I'm looking at you now because you wanted so

[1:55:51] badly to make romantic eye contact with me. Okay.

[1:56:01] » Sandy Pender, Freeden Township. I am going to try to bring it down a notch a

[1:56:05] little bit. Uh but I am going to say I'm incredibly disappointed with all of your

[1:56:10] comments following all of the comments from your constituents. I want to thank

[1:56:16] everybody who showed up here tonight and who spoke or either came and sat in

[1:56:22] solidarity. And I want to address the audience and just say when people show

[1:56:27] you who they are, believe them.

[1:56:34] » Bernie Green Monu. So, I just want to remind you that, you

[1:56:40] know, you are an all Republican county commissioners. Um, but not all of Sussex

[1:56:46] County is Republican. You do represent the other party as well. They are also

[1:56:50] your constituents, right? So, we've come here and

[1:56:55] you're probably assuming what political party we are, which I don't think that

[1:56:58] you should do. Some of us are not Democratic Party. Uh,

[1:57:03] you represent everybody. This is not just like a small minority. We're coming

[1:57:08] here. We told you how we feel about all of this. Somebody even made a great

[1:57:12] suggestion to table it, open the discussion back up because the

[1:57:17] information that you cited is 7 years old. A lot of people move in that time.

[1:57:22] The con the makeup of Sussex County changes.

[1:57:26] Everything changes in seven years. But you guys are afraid of that. You're

[1:57:30] afraid of the change, right? You're afraid

[1:57:35] of the people that are different from you.

[1:57:39] You're you're afraid of all of this, right? But when your entire life is

[1:57:42] driven by fear, fear of others, fear of change, you will never feel safe. Safety

[1:57:47] comes from understanding, knowing, connecting. [clears throat] It doesn't

[1:57:50] come from the government. It doesn't come from violence. It doesn't come from

[1:57:54] family separation. It comes from love, not hate, not fear. When we know love,

[1:58:00] we know peace. I don't need to force roots in this land. I choose to be part

[1:58:04] of this country by standing with the people who built it. The black slaves

[1:58:08] that we abuse, the immigrants we vilify, they built this country. When we stand

[1:58:13] with them, we show true love for our country and its peoples. That's what

[1:58:16] Renee Good and Alex Py understood. They were white like me and they died for our

[1:58:20] immigrant neighbors. They died because people like Johan Sebastian Guerrero and

[1:58:24] Lorenzo Sagato Arao are dying every day. It's not I do or I don't see color. It's

[1:58:31] not what about about what you see with your eyes. It's about what you see with

[1:58:35] your heart. See the person, love your neighbors, and be kind.

[1:58:41] We will save this world with love, not hate,

[1:58:45] not fear. And that's what you guys are doing. By

[1:58:50] passing resolutions, performative resolutions like this, you are making

[1:58:54] people fearful of things that are not that don't exist. fears that you're

[1:58:58] coming up with some random boogeyman. It's not. Immigrants are not the

[1:59:03] problem. You're more focused on them than you are

[1:59:07] on the people that are robbing you blind.

[1:59:10] The millionaires and billionaires in this country that buy out our politics,

[1:59:13] buy out our news agencies. Those are the people that are

[1:59:17] manipulating us because we're too busy fighting amongst ourselves. It drives

[1:59:21] the focus away from them. They're the ones running this country.

[1:59:28] So, are you going to continue to eat up all of those lies that they're

[1:59:33] force-feeding you through in the news?

[1:59:42] Hi, Veronica Fernandez. Again, I get a chance to double dip and I really

[1:59:45] appreciate that about non-aggenda items and any chance. Um, I also want to

[1:59:49] mention that um I'm on the ballot to challenge Corey Booker. I'm an

[1:59:52] independent progressive. Uh there are four candidates on the ballot. I'm an

[1:59:56] independent. I wish we all were independents. This two-party system is

[2:00:00] killing us. We're at each other and we don't need to be. I wish uh you know

[2:00:03] that that we could just all be independents and everybody would have to

[2:00:06] earn their vote. Uh but any time I get a chance to speak about healthcare, I'm

[2:00:10] going to take it because I'm a former underwriter. I was licensed up there at

[2:00:13] selective insurance and uh um I know what you guys all are you guys all know

[2:00:18] how to read a county in a municipal budget and what we are paying for health

[2:00:20] insurance is insane. It's unsustainable and it has to change. It's it's the

[2:00:25] reason why we're closing down programs for our children in our schools like

[2:00:28] Jefferson Township. We're cutting teachers pay. We're letting go of

[2:00:31] teachers. We have the money. It's just how we're spending it. We're sending it

[2:00:35] to a handful of insurance companies who provide no medical product, no medical

[2:00:39] service, completely unnecessary middlemen kept in office by both parties

[2:00:43] by their big donors in the healthcare industry. So I I know what I know the

[2:00:47] average teacher salary in New Jersey right now is 81,000. their premium for

[2:00:51] 2026, their family premium, not including dental or vision, is over

[2:00:56] $60,000 a year. And that's in our budgets. That's what we're paying that

[2:01:00] could be going to children. And the other thing that I have a minute and a

[2:01:03] half and I want to say, and I'm really debating whether to say this because

[2:01:05] I've never said this to another person before. I grew up in Sussex County, and

[2:01:10] I do believe it's deeply racist. And I know that that's true because anybody

[2:01:14] who is my age, I just turned 67 last week. I used to play this like not a

[2:01:18] game when I was a kid, but when I was driving around with my parents and I saw

[2:01:21] a car car pulled over, I knew it was going to be a black guy. Didn't have a

[2:01:26] lot of black people. And anybody who was around my age knows that that's true cuz

[2:01:31] if I saw it, you saw it. A lot of times when people were pulled over, more times

[2:01:36] than not, it was a black guy. And I thought that we had overcome that. I

[2:01:40] thought we had become better than that. But we haven't. And that that is

[2:01:44] breaking my heart that we're not better than that. Everybody says they don't see

[2:01:47] color. I think that's the problem. You need to see the color. You need to see

[2:01:50] the dis difference. Like why her her uh father could only be a cook is because

[2:01:55] in World War II they weren't allowed to be sergeants. They they they they could

[2:01:59] only be enlisted. They didn't have rank. That's how close we are still to it. The

[2:02:03] civil rights they're taking that away. We we have a racism problem and it's in

[2:02:07] my in this county that I love so much. And you really got to you can you have

[2:02:11] the chance to be on the right side of history. You have the chance to do the

[2:02:13] right thing. That's what you have an opportunity here amidst all this hatred.

[2:02:17] Sussex County can stand up and say no, we're not having it here. We're choosing

[2:02:21] our kids. We're choosing our teachers. We're choosing our cops. We're choosing

[2:02:24] our families. We're choosing healthcare. We're choosing Veronica for Senate.

[2:02:28] Thank you.

[2:02:35] » Sierra Wilson again. uh you know me from Stan Hope. I guess um I'm not surprised

[2:02:40] that you passed it. Um but I do want you all to know that you could have voted on

[2:02:45] one and not the other. So not only have you told your constitu constituents that

[2:02:49] you want to waste their money, but you also are a deeply racist uh council, but

[2:02:54] I think again everyone knew that. Um, if you want to see what's going to happen

[2:02:57] in your streets and don't feel like making the commute to Delaney Hall, I

[2:03:00] guess it's like an hour from here, uh, you should go to Dover and see ICE

[2:03:05] agents who are masked up, who are wearing plain clothes, snatching kids

[2:03:09] off the street. Yes, literal children riding their bicycles on the street

[2:03:12] because they get $2,000 ahead. Uh, regardless if they're a citizen,

[2:03:17] regardless if they have a green card. This is confirmed. ICE agents get $2,000

[2:03:21] for every single person that they snatch up. Again, regardless if they're a

[2:03:24] citizen or not, regardless if they stay one hour or one year in Delaney Hall,

[2:03:28] they get paid $2,000 ahead. We've seen this before, they are literal head

[2:03:32] hunters. They are slave catchers. This is what you're going to see in your town

[2:03:35] because you voted on it. So, shame on all of you. That's all I have to say is

[2:03:38] shame. Truly.

[2:03:45] » Hi, Carrie Stler, Morris County. I just wanted to address something that

[2:03:50] Commissioner said. He said, I think you said you

[2:03:54] don't like the government or you don't trust the government, but you are the

[2:03:57] government. You're a county commissioner and you're here passing resolutions and

[2:04:02] creating laws and regulations to benefit the people of your county. And I'm not

[2:04:08] one of them, but out because you're obviously here for a

[2:04:13] reason. So, if you just trust the government and you don't like the

[2:04:16] government, then maybe you should reconsider uh whether you want to be

[2:04:20] reelected.

[2:04:28] Claire Golden from Andover Township up again. And the only reason I'm coming up

[2:04:32] here again is to answer a question that was posed by one of the other speakers.

[2:04:36] She asked why is this happening? Why are people being kept in detention in Wayne

[2:04:42] Hall? Some of them many of them are months

[2:04:46] many of them have been years there. Well, there is one reason and it's the

[2:04:50] answer to a lot of why of a lot of this stuff is happening. Money.

[2:04:56] EO other companies that run these ice

[2:05:00] facilities make a fortune. I mean, you can see they're spending

[2:05:06] $125 million to buy a war a warehouse that was valued at 30 thou $30 million

[2:05:13] and then they'll cancel it and give it back. There's plenty of money being sent

[2:05:18] around to cronies like GEO. So this is like they said it's

[2:05:24] trafficking in humans. Lock them up, beat them maggots and make a fortune

[2:05:29] doing it. And they're taking that example from the top.

[2:05:35] President in in our current administration has made over $2 billion

[2:05:41] in office. Put that up against the history that he that preceded him. Every

[2:05:48] president before him has not traded socks. Jimmy Carter sold his peanut farm

[2:05:55] so that there would be no conflict. That's not what President Trump is

[2:05:59] doing. He and his family have made a fortune trading. And and I knew tonight

[2:06:05] how this vote was going. I just regret that I didn't bet on Kelshi.

[2:06:09] The only reason they kept me from doing that is because the Trump brothers would

[2:06:13] have made a a fortune on that. They're making money because Kelshi and Poly

[2:06:20] Market were supposed to be regulated, but when they invested it, ah, no more

[2:06:26] need to regulate them. It's so corrupt. It's all about money. And it started

[2:06:32] with Citizens United, which allowed fortunes to be invested by companies and

[2:06:37] politicians. That has to stop. We have to get big

[2:06:41] money out of politics or this problem will never ever be solved. It's all

[2:06:46] about money.

[2:06:52] » And I I just want to clarify what I said. I have distrust for for both

[2:06:58] parties. It's not that I distrust what I'm doing or what we're doing up there.

[2:07:02] So, just so we're clear. Thank you,

[2:07:06] » Amy Len. Um, I just wanted to agree. But it's not just money, greed, and

[2:07:11] corruption. It's hatred in blackened hearts. And what happened to love thy

[2:07:17] neighbor? Care for thy neighbor. Take care of thy neighbor. Love one another.

[2:07:24] I have to end with a quote in German.

[2:07:46] Whoever battles monsters should see to it that in the process he

[2:07:52] does not become a monster himself. And when you look long into the abyss,

[2:08:00] the abyss also looks into you. Thank you,

[2:08:11] » Scott. Nol Sparta. Um, my comments a little bit tamer. Um, it's not as

[2:08:17] dramatic, a note maybe to end on, but um, I'm a process guy. That's what I I

[2:08:23] do for work. Um I first I'll sure I am disappointed,

[2:08:29] right? I mean the evidence [clears throat] is extraordinary. I

[2:08:33] don't actually believe you guys are that ignorant. I think there's a willful

[2:08:36] choice to make a wrong decision. I can't imagine why. It's it's very very clear.

[2:08:42] Um but I also can see that it is your decision to make, right? You're the

[2:08:50] you're the county, right? So given that the decision's been made, my request

[2:08:56] given that ISIS's behavior is a known quantity, that is something that will

[2:09:02] put the citizenry, the voters, and the officers at risk. So, I would suggest in

[2:09:08] the interim before we get closer to elections,

[2:09:11] figure out some SOPs for how the officers will have to interact with ICE

[2:09:17] that they take the lead as the members of their community

[2:09:21] rather than be tainted by and put in danger by a bunch of clueless

[2:09:29] that are out hurting, killing, incarcerating, and abusing people.

[2:09:36] Our guy shouldn't be exposed to that. It's wrong to do to the police. The

[2:09:40] decision's been made. He's go the next step and figure out how to do it to

[2:09:44] minimize the risk to them.

[2:09:56] Phil Duffano branch of New Jersey. So I didn't come here tonight

[2:10:01] [clears throat] for me. I came here for all these people

[2:10:06] cuz I knew this was going to be like this anyway cuz what you're doing here

[2:10:10] is grandstanding. Total grandstanding.

[2:10:14] This is a joke. There was never going to be any kind of openness in a vote. You

[2:10:18] You guys knew when you walked out here how you were going to vote tonight.

[2:10:23] You know who I feel sorry for these guys. And I know a lot of them cuz

[2:10:28] they're going to be babysitting criminals. They're criminals.

[2:10:32] Read the newspapers. Wake up. See how many of those guys are going to jail for

[2:10:37] the stuff they do. They're given free reign like terrorists. So what you're

[2:10:43] part of here is creating another Nazi Germany. It's happening slowly but

[2:10:48] surely. And the other thing you wanted to do tonight is fear-mongering.

[2:10:53] That's what the Republican party is doing right now. Lots of fear mongering.

[2:10:56] Do you know why? because the elections are coming and I'm coming hard, really

[2:11:02] hard. This has been the Boys and Women's Club for too long. These are decisions

[2:11:07] that are irresponsible and I'm not going to be party to them. These people are

[2:11:12] not listened to. You don't listen to them. You sit here like this half asleep

[2:11:18] and you let them just talk away. You don't listen to them. That's not my idea

[2:11:23] of an elected official. An elected official is somebody who is listened to.

[2:11:28] These people have a lot to think about. This is their community, too. Fix some

[2:11:33] issues in the county. Not bring these stupid mass terrorists. These guys are

[2:11:39] going to be babysitters for these guys. They don't have enough to do. Well, I

[2:11:43] hope that they don't come to your houses. I really do. I hope they don't

[2:11:47] affect your community and the towns you live in and your children and you

[2:11:53] young people. You should be ashamed of yourself. I'm done. I don't need another

[2:11:58] name.

[2:12:14] John Snider Sanderson. [clears throat]

[2:12:17] Wow. Guess we got a lot of very enlightened

[2:12:21] people in this room. I feel like a I don't know any of this stuff

[2:12:24] that these people are all all experts on.

[2:12:30] Heard somebody talking about love, not hate.

[2:12:34] A lot of what I heard tonight sure sounds like hatred to me.

[2:12:41] Also heard someone talk about fear-mongering and what were they doing?

[2:12:44] Fear-mongering. Telling people how this is the end. Your kids are not going to

[2:12:49] see this country the way it was. Somebody described you people up here as

[2:12:53] being deplorable. And I completely disagree.

[2:12:57] I thank you for what you're doing, for giving people the opportunity to speak.

[2:13:12] If someone was also talking about how immigrants built the country,

[2:13:16] believe they were legal immigrants. I hope we're not alluding

[2:13:22] I hope we're not alluding to the fact that the current illegal immigrants in

[2:13:28] this country many of them committing crimes all of them obviously not.

[2:13:33] But I don't want to work on a percentage of how many are doing it. You had a son

[2:13:37] or a daughter that was killed by one. I don't think you would want to hear what

[2:13:41] the percentage of crime was.

[2:13:45] I also heard someone saying ICE agents get $2,000 for a head for

[2:13:52] an arrest to detention. I like to know where that comes from. I've never heard

[2:13:56] that before.

[2:14:07] Well, once again, what I hear from a lot of people here tonight isn't love, it's

[2:14:14] hatred. But I thank you for listening and keep

[2:14:18] doing a good job. Thank you

[2:14:26] for Hal from Franen. Um thank you for your service to our county. Um having

[2:14:30] said that I feel like my heart is it breaks a little bit more every day. It

[2:14:36] breaks when my daughter this year and a first year teacher was in a lockdown for

[2:14:42] an hour and a half with her third grade specialed students because there was a

[2:14:47] person in the gun or with a gun in her building. And we care more about

[2:14:52] allowing people to walk around with guns, by the way, it was a white man

[2:14:57] than we do about protecting our citizens and protecting our children in schools.

[2:15:04] I don't know where we have come. My grandfather was grew up in Newton. He

[2:15:09] was a veteran. I traveled to Belgium with him as a World War II veteran and

[2:15:14] we were guests of the Belgian government because he was there when people were

[2:15:19] released from concentration camps. People thanked us as Americans. And now

[2:15:24] we have become a threat to the rest of the world. And I don't know how how you

[2:15:31] can sleep at night because I can't anymore. 3:00 every [clears throat]

[2:15:36] single morning, I am up wondering where is God? Where is this God that we love

[2:15:43] and we and protects us? Because right now, we're living in a place filled with

[2:15:47] hatred. And I don't know how you can sleep at night with the decisions you've

[2:15:52] made. I don't know how you think it's going to be okay for children to go to

[2:15:57] church. Nobody's going to go to church anymore. There's churches that that have

[2:16:01] Spanish services here. Do you think those people are going to feel

[2:16:04] comfortable going to church anymore? We're isolating them. Do you think

[2:16:09] children of immigrants or children of not immigrants, just people who have

[2:16:14] brown skin, might feel comfortable going to school and having to walk through

[2:16:19] Newton if they know there's ICE agents? You are ruining their chances for a fair

[2:16:25] and equitable education. And I don't know where this comes from.

[2:16:30] It sickens me. It makes my heart hurt so bad because I believe in the beauty of

[2:16:36] human beings. But when I stand here and I see

[2:16:40] decisions like this, I question where that beauty is.

[2:16:51] Michelle Van Allen, artist in New Jersey. Um,

[2:16:56] I have a friend that works for the Colombian consulate and she's been

[2:16:59] working hard not only for folks um trying to get here legally even though

[2:17:04] they've been picked up as they're going through their process being arrested

[2:17:07] when they're getting sworn in, but um she uh lives in Dover and she told me

[2:17:13] about um how the town has become a ghost town and that's about what we're going

[2:17:19] to turn Newton into very soon when we have uh people patrolling streets and

[2:17:23] picking everyone else that looks different than them. And actually, a lot

[2:17:27] of them look the same. I'm I'm surprised how many Hispanic and black people are

[2:17:32] selling out their own souls to um work for ICE and and immigration. But she

[2:17:38] said the businesses are closing down. They don't have workers. They don't have

[2:17:42] people coming there. They're afraid to come there. The families are afraid to

[2:17:45] leave their home. They're afraid to send their children to school. And you know,

[2:17:49] considering that we have a highly um uh large population of um people that are

[2:17:57] not white in Newton, it thank you for shutting down Newton. That's been

[2:18:01] starting to grow and will no longer be able to because a lot of those

[2:18:04] businesses are going to fail. Um unfortunately, uh the there the director

[2:18:11] of national intelligence um looks like uh Jay Clayton's getting sworn in this

[2:18:15] week. uh will be sworn in because he's been confirmed. And the one question he

[2:18:20] could not answer when he was asked time and time again uh by John Oaf was was

[2:18:25] the 2020 election fair? Was it was it decided fairly? Was it a legal election?

[2:18:31] He could not answer that question. He refused to many many times because

[2:18:37] um apparently he got uh you know marching orders from the regime. And I I

[2:18:42] I'd love to ask all of you, but I know you can't answer me. Um, was the 2020

[2:18:47] election fair and legal? Or do you believe that the um the president that

[2:18:53] it is now in charge, was he fairly elected? And I guess um you might want

[2:18:58] to go back that far if you want to point a finger at New Jerseyy's voting

[2:19:02] records. Um what did you feel about the 2020 election? Was that fair? Was he u

[2:19:07] unfairly elected? And by the way, I think he's planning on running for 2028.

[2:19:11] So make sure you all get your hats and stand up for him. Um I just feel that um

[2:19:16] we are not representing everybody in this county. You need to represent all

[2:19:20] when you get elected and elections have consequences. In fact, the November

[2:19:25] election will have one as well. For our county commissioner that's running, Phil

[2:19:28] Stephano, and for our county clerk, Claire Golden. So keep that in mind,

[2:19:32] voters at home and what the ones that are here. Please remember that when you

[2:19:35] go out and vote that the people that really want to stand up for everyone in

[2:19:39] this county, not just the white population or a few, and the ones that

[2:19:43] will protect our children and our citizens are those people. So, make sure

[2:19:47] you use your voice and vote. Thank you.

[2:20:00] » So, I just make a suggestion. How much the county and the state are

[2:20:06] required to uh cooperate with ICE will be determined by the courts as you know

[2:20:11] under the scrimmage exemption. Um if it's determined that we

[2:20:17] must cooperate with them what I would recommend is that um you into negoti you

[2:20:24] you meaning the state as well look into negotiating the indemnity of it. It's

[2:20:28] not clear, as I see it, that people who are obligated to cooperate with the feds

[2:20:35] have this protection of federal indemnities. And so that will fall on

[2:20:40] your malpractice, your meaning the the local police malpractice, the

[2:20:43] malpractice writers for the county and the state. And the lawsuits will have to

[2:20:48] be handled. And so it may there may be an opportunity to negotiate with the

[2:20:53] feds an indemnity agreement. They're not going to give it, but there may be an

[2:20:57] opportunity. I mean, I would recommend this. This may come up in the future

[2:21:01] because that may be what is required. I don't know. I think personally, I think

[2:21:04] it's unlikely. I think the supremacy court will allow the states to keep the

[2:21:09] laws we have. But if they don't, and we're obligated to cooperate, I would

[2:21:13] recommend that. I would secondly recommend negotiating with the feds for

[2:21:17] some oversight uh better oversight of the detention centers and better

[2:21:22] oversightes of the rules of engagement that um ICE uh operates under. I think

[2:21:28] there will be some opportunity to negotiate and particularly if the

[2:21:31] Democrats win in November, but even if they don't, I think there'll be an

[2:21:35] opportunity for that and I would recommend that people take that

[2:21:38] opportunity if we're forced to cooperate with them, which we may. I I'm not sure

[2:21:42] how it'll My guess is the laws will be upheld, but I'm not sure. So, that's my

[2:21:47] recommendation. I realize there's a lot of people that are very upset here, and

[2:21:51] I'm just trying to offer some possible ways that we can make the situation

[2:21:55] better if it comes down to it. Thank you,

[2:22:03] » Debbie Melo, Freeden Township. Shame on you. Shame on you for calling this

[2:22:08] meeting. That was totally unnecessary. Shame on you for bringing these

[2:22:13] resolutions. Shame on you for not really listening to

[2:22:18] the people who came tonight. Shame on you for passing these resolutions.

[2:22:26] I would imagine fully understanding that these resolutions do not supersede

[2:22:32] state law. So, they're hollow resolutions in my estimation. Shame on

[2:22:37] you for wasting everybody's time tonight.

[2:22:50] Anyone else? Can I get a motion to close the floor for public comment and return

[2:22:54] to regular business? Secondorn and a second from Deputy Director Degru. Any

[2:23:00] discussion? All in favor? I post abstain. Okay. Number 23. Reminders,

[2:23:04] please check the county's website at www.sussex.nj.

[2:23:09] us for meeting schedules. Number 24, there is no executive session. Number

[2:23:14] 25, adjournment. Can I get a motion to adjourn the meeting? Okay. Commissioner

[2:23:18] Henderson in a second. >> Second.

[2:23:21] » Uh, Commissioner Silverthornne, any discussion? All in favor? I. Both

[2:23:25] abstain. Meeting is over at 8:24. Thank you everyone.

July 29, 2026 Sussex County Special BCC Meeting

Transcript