Somerset County GOP slammed by U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman for spewing ‘racially divisive’ lies
Federal legislator calls for immediate apology from the team of Radi, Levine, and Gallagher to U.S. veteran and candidate for Freeholder
(SOMERVILLE) U.S. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) today issued the following statement regarding campaign literature paid for by the New Jersey Republican State Committee on behalf of the Somerset County Republican ticket for Freeholder and Clerk:
I am disappointed and, frankly, furious at the recent attacks undertaken by the New Jersey Republican State Committee and the Somerset County candidates of Brett Radi, Brian Levine, and Brian Gallagher. Shanel Robinson is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, a beloved councilwoman in Franklin, a devoted grandmother, and a frequent volunteer at battered women’s shelters. Describing her in literature as “a threat to our special quality of life in Somerset County” demeans both her character and her incredible abilities.  Once again, we see white candidates relying on innuendo and racially divisive language to attack a person of color. It’s a tactic straight from President Trump’s playbook, and has no place in Somerset County.
In their outrageous attack, they claim she filed a disclosure form late and label her ‘unethical’. That’s a lie. Not only did she file the forms on time, but incredibly, it’s been proven that both the Republican candidates have filed late in recent years. I ask all Somerset County voters to think about that before they cast their votes in the November 7th elections. In the meantime, I call on the New Jersey Republican State Committee to apologize and demand that Brett Radi, Brian Levine, and Brian Gallagher do the same. Now more than ever, we need elected officials in both parties who will work to bring us together – not deliberately divide our communities and lie to residents.