For Immediate Release

Gloucester County, May 15, 2023 – The county commissioner slate handpicked by Gloucester County Republican Chairwoman Jacci Vigilante doesn’t just lack governing experience, but they also lack voting experience – as records indicate spotty participation as voters and questionable loyalty to the Republican Party, said the ticket headed up by East Greenwich Deputy Mayor Jim Philbin, former Harrison Township Committeeman Adam Wingate, and Franklin Deputy Mayor Heather Flaim in a joint statement.

“Why should Gloucester County Republicans vote for Erik Anderson, Brooke Rivello, and Frank Fisher in this primary, when records show that all three have repeatedly failed to vote in primary elections – and even plenty of general elections – and two of the three weren’t even Republicans until recently?” asked Philbin, Wingate & Flaim.

Official Voter Registration Records indicate that:

● Erik Anderson did not vote for President Trump in 2020.
Anderson did not vote in the 2022 election (primary or general) when Gloucester County Republicans were fighting for control of the county; didn’t vote in the 2021 primary; didn’t vote in the 2020 election (primary or general); never bothered to vote in the 2016, 2017, or 2019 primaries; and prior to 2016, only voted three times total in his life.

● Brooke Rivello wasn’t even a registered Republican until 2021.
Rivello did not vote in any primary election prior to 2021, and Gloucester County reports that she wasn’t even a registered Republican between 2016 and 2021.

● Franklin Fisher has flip-flopped parties three times since 2016.
Franklin Fisher has the most bizarre record of all. In September 2016, Fisher registered with the Democratic Party, became a Republican in 2018, but then re-registered as a Democrat in February 2020, before flipping back to Republican again in April 2020.

“The three of us have put years of service into our party, won elections in our hometowns, and work every year to help fellow Republicans win. Yet, with control of county government at stake, the Chair unilaterally rebuffed efforts to recruit stronger candidates she couldn’t control, and instead put up three candidates with limited ties to the party, no governing experience, and no track record of winning elections. Our party leaders deserve answers to how these candidates could be so poorly vetted with so much on the line this November.”