NEWARK ? He opposes government bailouts. He chides Cory Booker for relying on aid from Gov. Chris Christie. And he boasts of his fiscal leadership as mayor of Bogota.

But every now and then, even Republican U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan needs a little help from his friends. Even if those friends are Democrats.

In 2006, Lonegan asked former Gov. Jon Corzine?s administration for a $500,000 bailout to balance Bogota?s books, according to documents obtained by The Star-Ledger. And he asked for Sen. Loretta Weinberg?s help to get it.

In a letter to Weinberg (D-Bergen), Lonegan said increasing costs in pensions, utilities, insurance and salaries had left the Bergen County borough short.

"If granted, this extraordinary aid request will allow the Borough of Bogota to maintain its strong position and it should not be necessary to request similar aid next year," Lonegan wrote.

He only got $250,000 that year. In 2007, Lonegan needed more aid. That time he got $100,000.

When asked about the aid Monday, Lonegan said that with the money the borough?s residents paid in income and sales taxes, along with rocketing costs mandated by the state, Bogota deserved the aid and he?d do it again.

"I would be totally negligent and remiss as a mayor for not doing anything I can to get my taxpayers? money back," Lonegan said in an interview. "I?m absolutely proud of what I did as a mayor."

Lonegan?s requests and the e-mails and letters accompanying them emerge as the conservative Republican wages a fierce campaign to beat Newark Mayor Cory Booker in the Oct. 16 special election to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died in June.

Lonegan denied that the aid contradicts his hands-off approach to government, but it does contrast his routine attacks on Booker?s leadership as mayor, where the city has required similar aid for many years.

"Cory Booker cannot govern Newark without the governor?s help," Lonegan said recently. "When I was the mayor of Bogota, I didn?t rely on the governor like that."

Weinberg, whom Lonegan thanked profusely in 2006 and 2007 for helping his application along, noted the irony.

"He said Mayor Booker needed Gov. Christie to govern Newark," Weinberg said. "I guess Mayor Lonegan needed Senator Weinberg for Bogota."

It wasn?t easy for Lonegan, who prides himself on self-reliance, to ask for the assistance.

"I don?t like being in a position where I even need to apply for this," he wrote to a Weinberg staffer in August 2007. "Unfortunately the (Bergen Counties Utilities Authority) continues to hammer local municipalities."

Still, Lonegan was grateful to Weinberg.

"We know your assistance was ?key? to receiving the much needed aid to our taxpayers," he wrote in a 2006 letter.

"I want to thank you for all your help during these past years," he wrote in 2007.

Weinberg said the warm exchanges were a good example of bipartisanship.

"Obviously a large government unit can help a smaller government unit," she said. "I think it proves how much we can all help each other."

Lonegan has attacked Booker?s leadership of Newark as a central issue in the Senate campaign. In a recent commercial, the Lonegan campaign said Newark was almost totally reliant on state taxpayers.

"Nearly all of Newark?s budget and city agencies are funded by our tax dollars," an announcer said in the ad.

While Newark?s state-controlled school district is largely funded by state taxpayers, the city itself is not. The city received roughly $101 million in normal state aid out of a budget of $640 million in 2013. That aid is standard to all municipalities for property tax relief as well as returns on income tax and energy credits.

But Newark has relied on the same "extraordinary aid" Lonegan requested. In 2011 and 2012, the Booker administration received a total of $32 million and $10 million, or 5.2 percent and 1.6 percent of the city budget, respectively. The aid received by Bogota constituted 3.5 percent and 1.4 percent in the borough?s $ 7 million budget approximately in 2006 and 2007.

It doesn?t look like the Koch brothers or Tea Party are helping brother Lonegan out much. Booker raised $12 million plus the $1 million from Bloomberg since June. Lonegan raised a measly 1.3 million since June and he is only 12 points behind Booker. Lol

Gravey - until Lonegan is mayor of a city with more than 10,000 people, comparing Booker's shortcomings with murders in Newark doesn't even come close.

Lets not forget Bloomberg supported dirty old man Healy and Fulop is still being derided by grumpy 50s style Hudson county cronies.

Hopefully NJ voters are dumb enough to vote for the previous leader of Americans for Prosperity and Koch family monkey boy.

Wow, what a f*cking joke. When the empty suit Booker can't do it himself, send in daddy Bloomberg to prop him up by his purse strings.

The support of Mayor Noir du Jour is staggering.

That $1mm could have actually gone to NEWARK instead of mayor Hollywood.

Our electoral system is such a f*cking joke.

Quote:

(interesting about the Fulop face book item.. hmm)

Hey speaking of term limits look who is sticking his nose..err I mean money into OUR US Senate seat?


Bloomberg spends $1 million to help Booker campaign

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/ ... paign.html#incart_m-rpt-1

Quote:

Not so fast on this one. Fulop just posted an article to his Facebook page regarding his stance on term limits. He says that he cannot impose a 2-term limit because that decision is ruled by the state. He claims he will stick to his promise of 2 terms, which on the surface, sounds admirable and honorable.

However, when you weed through the BS, it's because he plans to pull a "Cory Booker", in that he plans to run for higher office rather than finish his job as mayor.

That said, it's fair to say we should expect 1.5 terms from Fulop before the full court press goes in effect to campaign for higher office.

P.S. I posted that comment to his Facebook page, and the comment was subsequently deleted, and I am now restricted from posting to his page.

That's one less vote for Fool-op next time around!

Quote:

No.

Newark?s problems = New Jersey?s problems = America?s problems. Booker was proven in 8 years that he can not come up with meaningful solutions for a city of 270K people (a la Healy) and we are going to trust him to come up with solutions to fix America?s problems? Yeah right.

And what I meant by Lonegan schooling Booker in the debate. Remember when the polls had Booker up by 35 points it was because Lonegan was the boob who didn?t have a voice. Steve who? I would say from looking at the debate (and the now 10 point Booker lead) that he really put it to the self anointed master inspirational speaker Booker. The guy who made millions in speaking engagements and television appearances while his city suffered.

I am voting for Lonegan if he wins and doesn?t preform well in the 13 months he is in office then he will easily be voted out next November with a proper Dem candidate maybe Pollone or Holt. At least we will be rid of Booker he can go back on the speaking circuit. But I am sure after his loss he will command hundreds not millions of dollars in speaking fees. I wonder if Oprah, Letterman, Stewart, and Conan will still have him on.

PS- there are were 17 murders in Newark in September that is after the August 10 day murder spree bringing the body count up to 73. Also after Booker finally announced on September 3rd a plan called ?Operation Blue? to stop crime in bad area?s looks like his plan failed miserably.

Mayor Booker is no Mayor Fulop? thank God.

You guys have to stop using the "he's better than sharpe James" argument to defend booker. If James is the bar, then my left nut is a shoe in for mayor.

To all you suckers who insist on seeing Noir Du jour as your next senator, just remember: you're part of the problem, not the solution.

Quote:

I suggest that after Booker is elected to the senate, Lonegan should run for mayor of Newark and show what he can do when he puts his energy to the problems there.

If you didn?t catch the debate here it is on youtube.



MDM- people are battling (on nj.com) about how Booker has given up on Newark?s crime problems not even commenting on the murders anymore as compared to when he first got elected in 2006. I swear he is Healy in disguise.

Booker is still an improvement over the former mayor or Newark, Sharpe James.

I am not voting for Booker, but I can't really blame him for Newark's current plight. Short of instituting a martial type law with borderline brutal police tactics, I am not sure how you would get Newark under control.

About 5 or 6 years ago, I worked in part of Newark outside the Ironbound. Stopping in at the corner store meant running a gauntlet of armed, drug-dealing thugs. It was a really scary place.

If you want to get a better view of Booker just check out the below headlines and the comments on http://www.nj.com I thought Healy was a bad mayor but Healy's term was goldern compared to Bookers 8 year reign.

Newark man killed in West Ward was shot multiple times in targeted attack, authorities say(Friday night)

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/201 ... ies_say.html#incart_river

Four shot, one dies in Newark shootings (Saturday night)

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/201 ... ootings.html#incart_river

Or better yet read the SL?s endorsement of him or this favorite: ?Cory Booker's legacy in Newark under spotlight as he looks to Senate? lol

Maybe you want to save us 1.5 hours and just give us the highlights and takeaways?

Quote:

Hey Newark, we need a leader, not a Tweeter!!

Noir du jour must go!

Anyone considering voting for Lonegan should watch a documentary made about the Mayoral race in Bogota, NJ, a few years ago. The election was won by Steve Lonegan.
The documentary is available steaming on Netflix: Anytown, USA

The debate will air Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on WPVI-TV in Philadelphia and at 11 a.m. on WABC-TV/Channel 7 in New York.

Lonegan neither ?schooled? nor embarrassed himself. I thought he explained his positions well enough. I think a lot of what he stands for is foolish, but that?s more because I think I have a grasp of economics than candidate Steve.

His backtracking on Social Security was interesting. The hiring of illegals was interesting, though I don?t really care.

I?m not sure why you think Booker did so poorly. Both of them were quite scripted, did you forget Lonegan repeating ?We need a leader not a Tweeter?. Booker used the buzzwords that worked. Lonegan made a joke about finding bodies in the street; you?ll excuse me for finding that in poor taste.

On ideas alone, Lonegan loses with me. Flat taxers are just flat out wrong when it comes to the ?fairness? argument. I also find that Lonegan?s ?signature issue? is something not geared directly for NJ.

Lonegan is correct in stating that incomes have decreased during this recovery. He is wrong in stating why. Booker didn?t discuss it.

I think Booker argued his points well. I think he explained his income adequately.

I find Lonegan to be rather hypocritical. He talks about growing business, etc and then criticizes Booker for doing exactly that.

If Lonegan is elected it is because fools that believe this Tea Party nonsense of defunding everything is actually a positive. We exist in a global market. Canada subsidizes their still industry so that their prices are so cheap that it almost makes no sense to harvest our own. Australia has another whole industry that does the same. These guys want to gut federal programs that assist in the funding of fixing stray cats; that is ludicrous when you look at the procreation rates and the amount of diseases it creates! These people want to get rid of the clean air act because, contrary to history, they think business just won?t pollute. We live in NJ. People should be smart enough to know that government oversight (a paucity of which landed us in this financial meltdown) is necessary.

I don't like Booker for his cop-out in not running against Christie and leaving us another four years of that bloated ego. However, Lonegan is a do as I say, not as I do guy. He wants all the rules to change now that he's "made it." I'm sorry, but people like that are out for one person and one person alone: themselves.

It's too bad the voters of NJ don't care about substance, neverleft.

I'm hoping against hope, but this state has no hope.

I am a Lonegan supporter so take my review with a grain of salt.

Lonegan really schooled Booker. Booker?s answers sounded way too scripted like the ones he uses on the campaign stump. He also kept saying ?tea party? and extreme? over and over. Lonegan came across more natural in answering the questions. Very honest he didn?t sound scripted.

Watch for yourselves on Sunday morning 11:00am channel 7.

Here is the link to channel 7 eyewitness news to watch the debate live at 1:00 pm today.

Watch the debate live on 7online beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and on Channel 7 at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/politics&id=9272435