Millie Messina is a committeewoman in Weymouth Township, New Jersey and she’s a perfect example of a career politician that plays dirty and will stop at nothing to get elected. Don’t let her serene, grandmotherly smile fool you, she’s got a mean streak a mile wide.

Case in point: A few days before the November 8, 2011 election Millie wrote a five-page political tirade filled with vitriol, hatred and more concerning, lies and mailed it to all of the registered voters in Weymouth Township. The first part isn’t illegal of course, it’s well known that Millie is a hateful and vengeful person, so that’s par for the course. In my opinion, the real issue is her lies — and their timing.

You see, Millie’s no stranger to the political ropes, she’s been collecting a salary and padding her pension on the backs of taxpayers for over 30 years. She’s seen it all — including her share of dirty political tricks. For this year’s election she pulled out one of the dirties tricks in the book: an 11th hour letter to voters that twists and distorts facts about her opponents in order to further her political agenda.

Anyone could tell that her little “love letter” was obviously full of lies.

How? It’s easy really. If her claims were truthful she would have distributed the letter in advance of the election. That way voters could digest the information and make up their own minds. Some lead time would also allow the victims of her smear campaign to respond to her allegations well in advance of the election.

But did she do that?  Of course not.

She timed it so that voters would receive her letter on the day before the election

Millie knew that her letter was filled with distortions designed to discredit her political opponents. She also knew that her letter wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny. That’s why she mailed it on the eve of the election. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the dirty political playbook, and Millie executed it perfectly, like the seasoned politician that she is.

In fact, her desperate political rant reads more like a dossier of someone planning an attack, rather than an innocent letter. This is also troubling because rather than discussing issues that she has with Township Committee (and perhaps, get them resolved?) she suppressed the information and kept a secret journal of other’s perceived shortcomings. Why did Millie intentionally cover up issues with the Township Committee? So she could “use” the information on election eve in a desperate attempt to mislead her constituents.

Anyone with a shred of fairness would smell a rat here. Why didn’t she schedule a debate? Why didn’t she send a letter to the editor of the newspaper? Because the newspaper wouldn’t print an obvious political attack on the eve of the election without giving the victims a chance to respond. In fact, newspapers have a strict policy about being fair and balanced in their reporting. 

Millie must have missed the class on ethics. And she must have cut the class on morals. Instead it looks like she was teaching the class on how to run a dirty, smear campaign.

Millie will stop at nothing to further her political agenda and her ”friends” should step in line and do as she says, because if you think independently or, heaven help you, have an opinion of your own, you too could find yourself the victim of Millie’s next attack.

[Aside: If Millie made the thousands of copies of her five page manifesto at the Township municipal building, she effectively underwrote her political attack with taxpayer dollars. Millie needs to produce a receipt for the copies she made or promptly reimburse the Township for her late-night use of the Township copier for political slander.]

September 24, 2007

Chairman, Building Department
1600 Shore Road
Northfield, New Jersey, 08225

Dear Mr. Carew,

I wish to bring two items to your attention that involve the Northfield Building Department.

I’ve received reports that Jim Dickinson has been providing misinformation about me to residents of Northfield. Mr. Dickinson has been telling people that I’m not eligible to run for City Council because I am “renting” the home in which I live. This statement is not true.

I live at (removed), a property owned by my mother, Anne Craig. I do not pay her rent, however I do pay the taxes, utilities and maintenance on the property.

I visited Mr. Dickinson on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at approximately 11:00 a.m. to ask him about his statements. He informed me that “anyone other than the owner” living in Northfield must register with the city and advised that I had to complete a Rental Unit Registration and Tenant Registration form and pay a fee of $50.

After consulting city Solicitor Keith Bonchi, Mr. Bonchi referred me to city Ordinance #10-97, article 73-3 section A (attached) which clearly states that “the owner’s family” does not, in fact, have to register with the city. Mr. Bonchi agreed, saying that it was “a reasonable interpretation” that I didn’t have to register with the city. Consequently, Mr. Dickinson is misrepresenting this Ordinance.

Why is a city employee in your department giving out inaccurate information? Is his position as Treasurer of the Northfield Republican Club conflicting with his role as a government employee? This appears to be an abuse of a city position in an attempt to harass and discredit me for political gain.

The second item is even more troubling.

While I was in the Building Department speaking with Mr. Dickinson about this issue, I noticed a copy of the building permit from 1999 for the geothermal installation at my residence sitting on the counter. I asked Mr. Dickinson about the document in plain sight and he stated that “someone must have requested it.” When I inquired about who had requested it, he said that he “didn’t remember.”

City Clerk Carol Raph informed me on Thursday, September 20, 2007 that an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) application is required to obtain a copy of a resident’s building permit and that none had been requested in the last several weeks.

Why is the Northfield Building Department providing personal and private information without the required request forms being filed with the city clerk? Furthermore, who requested the copy of the building permit? And for what reason?

It appears that the city is engaging in selective enforcement of State of New Jersey OPRA laws, violating my federally protected right to privacy and abusing a city position for the purpose of slander and political gain.

I will wait for your response on these two most serious matters before deciding how to proceed.

Sincerely yours,

Jason D. O’Grady
Enclosure
cc:
Cindy Kern, Council President
Jeffrey Bruckler, Administrator
Keith A. Bonchi, Solicitor
Frank Perri, Mayor