Freeholder Board Is Bully Pulpit For Economic Development 

Republican freeholder candidates Joe McDevitt, John Bettis, and Rich Dase applauded the announcement of federal funding for the proposed Aviation Research and Technology Park , saying as members of the freeholder board, they will champion similar efforts to expand the economic base of Atlantic County .

"Last year's casino shut down was economically terrifying to our region. We are going to use the office of freeholder to protect this county by making sure, one, the state never does that again and, two, to bring more industries, more companies, and more jobs to Atlantic County," said McDevitt, who is running for freeholder at large.

"We fully realize and support expanding the casino industry. By all means, we welcome new investors to Atlantic City ," said Bettis, who is running for freeholder to represent Atlantic City and Pleasantville. "Yet, a healthy long term job market requires a deep and broad economic base."

"It may not be in the official job description, but we will actively court more businesses to move into Atlantic County . We will advocate on behalf of existing business. We will lobby for job training funding and programs from the state and federal government. We will try to make the state permitting process move along. We will do whatever we can legally and ethically to draw attention to our county," said Dase, who is running for freeholder to represent Absecon, Brigantine, Galloway, and Port Republic . The three candidates described the board of freeholders as a perfect "bully pulpit" to champion county causes such as economic development. "With a seat on the board of freeholders, we have a forum to speak out and reach out on behalf of the residents of Atlantic County ," said McDevitt. "In three years, we want the voters of to say 'McDevitt, Bettis, and Dase did something as freeholders. They stand up for Atlantic County .'"

"The title of 'freeholder' will open doors and we will walk through and embrace opportunities to improve our county," said Bettis. "That title conveys responsibility to act on behalf of residents whenever and where ever needed."

"Gaming and tourism will always be the back bone of the county's economy," said Dase. "Joe, John, and I are ready to do the heavy lifting to add even more economic muscle to our region."

Rally for Rich Dase

Tailgate Rally #2 for Rich Dase District 4 Freeholder Candidate

Ride Along with Rich Dase

Rich Dase, Republican candidate for the Atlantic County Board of Freeholders in District 4, will embark on a three-day bike tour of the entire district from Friday, Oct. 19 to Sunday, Oct. 21, to meet and talk with citizens and taxpayers in the communities along the way.

Dase will launch his tour in Brigantine on Friday and bring it to a close on Sunday in Galloway Township.

"I intend to stop at points of interest, attend community events, visit dining spots and commercial development projects," Dase said. "I want to meet and talk first hand with the people in the communities in District 4 to hear their concerns and their ideas and to share my views with them about making county government work in their behalf."

"Atlantic County already has the lowest county tax rate in history and is among the leading counties in the state in terms of fiscal responsibility and strength," Dase said. "I want to spread that message and to listen to anyone with suggestions for county government to consider."

As a part of his bike tour, Dase will take part in a beach clean-up project in Brigantine; present a new bicycle and helmet to the Toys for Tots organization in Galloway; visit the Chestnut Neck Battle Monument in Port Republic, and greet shoppers at supermarkets in Absecon.

"There is nothing quite like personal level campaigning and conversations," Dase said. "Talking directly to the people I hope to represent on the Freeholder Board is something I believe in deeply and I look forward to the tour with great anticipation."

Dase: Shared Services Can Reduce Property Taxes

Rich Dase , Republican candidate for Atlantic County Board of Freeholders in District 4, said today that county and local governments “should step up and expand their efforts toward sharing services and joint purchasing to help reduce local property taxes.”

Dase, a member of the Galloway Township Council, said, as Freeholder, he would convene a county-municipal government summit “to exchange ideas and suggestions to bring about greater cooperation in providing services and purchasing goods and services.”

“I am convinced there are considerable savings to be had --- savings which can be passed along to the taxpayer,” Dase said. “Local governments would retain their autonomy but would be urged to consider joining others in joint purchases and negotiate more favorable costs.”

“At the same time, serious discussions should be held to determine if sharing some government services is feasible,” Dase said. “It is time to tap the creativity of people in public office to develop innovative methods to save money. “

Dase said that efforts to control and reduce property taxes “are without question the paramount issues” facing government.

“Those of us serving in government and those who wish to enter public service have an obligation to place the taxpayers first,” he said. “And, that means being open to ideas involving shared services and purchases.”

Dase said the summit meeting he has proposed ”would encompass all aspects of government activity and nothing would be off limits in the discussions. Naturally, the local governing body will remain the final authority is deciding whether they wish to participate in any shared venture.”

“I'm confident there will be ideas which can be more fully developed which will be effective in saving money, while others may prove to be unworkable,” he said. “We owe it to the taxpayers to try.”   Click here to read the article.

Citing government's obligation to insure fair elections and protect taxpayers from wasteful spending, Republicans Joe McDevitt, John Bettis, and Rich Dase called on the Atlantic County Board of Chosen Freeholders to investigate the circumstances surrounding the misprinted ballots in yesterday's primary election.

“A little common sense would have saved a lot of money,” said Joe McDevitt, the at-large freeholder candidate. “Because of this error by the County Clerk 's office, the taxpayers had to fork over an additional $10,000.”

“This should have never happened,” said Bettis, who is running in Freeholder District 1, covering Atlantic City and Pleasantville. “The County Clerk receives the petitions from all of the candidates and needs only to transfer the names to the ballot. We need to find out why a simple and routine procedure got screwed up.”

“The County Clerk nearly denied a candidate his constitutional right to seek office and the voters' constitutional right to make a choice and then billed the taxpayers for the mistake,” said Dase, who is running in Freeholder District 4, representing Galloway, Absecon, Brigantine and Port Republic . “We have to make sure this does not happen again. We believe the Board of Freeholders is the best body to look closely at what happened and give the taxpayers an accounting of who's responsible.”

The three Republicans hope the investigation will provide county taxpayers and voters with the answers as to why the ballot error happened. Regardless of the investigation of this past election, the Republicans offered one suggestion to prevent such mistakes from happening in the future.

“The County Clerk should give all candidates an opportunity to review an advance copy of the ballot before absentee and sample ballots go to print and the voting machines are programmed,” said McDevitt. “We need to save every dime of taxpayer funds at the county level and the incompetence of the Clerk's office here is leading to wasteful spending.”

“We understand that deadlines are tight in preparing the ballot for an election, but at least inviting the candidates to stop at the Clerk's office to proof-read the ballot takes up a very limited amount of time,” said Bettis.

“We have to insure the integrity of the electoral process,” said Dase. “Leaving a candidate off the ballot is an egregious mistake that can jeopardize the legitimacy of an election and deprive voters of a fair contest. My running mates and I take this situation very seriously and are offering solutions to make government work for the people.”