(Parsippany, NJ ) The Eleventh-Hour ploy by Morris County Republican Committee Chair Laura Ali to a special chairperson’s election on July 8, reeks of desperation and political manipulation, which has become the hallmark of Ali’s reign as chair, says BettyLou DeCroce, a former state Assemblywoman for District 26 .

DeCroce said Ali’s last-minute call for new MCRC election over the Independence Day holiday – which most people first learned about via an email on Monday – is a sign of the chair’s weakness and her craven desire to hold on to power in the face of mounting criticism of her leadership.
“The chairwoman knows that many Republicans are dissatisfied with her brand of leadership, so she decided to call a surprise election before opponents can mount a campaign to take her out as chair next year,” said DeCroce.

“Her actions are manipulative and insulting to the county committee and to all Republicans in Morris County,” continued DeCroce. “Nothing good will come of this.”

Ali not only damaged her credibility by calling a surprise election – as if she was a troubled Prime Minister – she unilaterally deemed that any challenger must have a full slate of candidates. – including vice chair, treasurer, and Sergeant at Arms – by Thursday, July 6 just two or three days after most people learned of the election.

Ali has given 5 days’ notice of the election; but DeCroce said her claim is misleading. “If members of the MCRC are expecting an election, then perhaps 5 days is adequate. In this case for a surprise election 5 days is totally inadequate, especially over a holiday week in which many people are on vacation.”
The Bergen County Republican Organization requires written notice at least 10 days previous to a special meeting. And Robert’s Rules of Order states that: “Notice of special meetings shall be mailed to the members at least 14 days …before the meeting.”

CREDIBILITY IN DOUBT
DeCroce said the credibility of chair’s Saturday election will be in doubt. “Not only will the veracity of her-election be questioned by members of the MCRC, but it will be a blow to the party’s ability to attract more Republicans to work with the organization,” said DeCroce.
The former assemblywoman said she has no confidence that the election will be conducted with any degree of fairness and openness, noting that the two previous MCRC candidate conventions run by Ali, “ have turned into a circus that left a bad taste in the mouths of many Republicans.”
DeCroce said MCRC members must decide for themselves if boycotting the MCRC election will send the right message to Ali – if she is listening. She also said that elected officials who support Ali’s Machiavellian strategy will be damaging their own credibility and their legitimacy to hold office.

“It will be interesting to see who takes part in this charade and what elected officials will be sacrificing their integrity to support Ali’s ploy,” said DeCroce.