Not in Carty's party, or, same day different Dawns

After feasting on the Democratic Party in the 8th district general election a week ago, Republicans promptly turned on each other in a continuing family fracas that today brought out a normally under-the-radar Republican operative who lit into Assemblywoman-elect Dawn Marie Addiego.

Irritated by Acting Party Chairwoman Dawn Lacy's post Election Day firing of two campaign strategists, Addiego on Tuesday issued a staunch-the-bleeding letter to Evesham Republicans in which she praised the "leadership" of Campaign Chairman Bill Layton and Campaign Manager Chris Russell - and ripped Lacy.

"I have never been involved in a campaign where the staff, who won the day, was treated in such a disrespectful and disgraceful manner," Addiego wrote. "This was not only uncalled for, but also a slap in the face to everyone who participated in our election. In fact, it was Senator-elect Haines, Assemblyman-elect Rudder, Sheriff Stanfield, Freeholder-elect Donnelly and myself, who hired Bill Layton and Chris Russell, not the acting-chairwoman."

Addiego noted that despite being outspent by at least two to one, the GOP produced its biggest win since 1991, and prevented an incursion onto Burlington soil by the fearsome Camden County Democratic Party.

But campaign worker Jason Carty, a 30-year old union fireman and Lacy backer who spearheaded the Republicans' GOTV efforts in the 8th district, issued his own letter in response, depicting the assemblywoman-elect as a vain and unwilling campaigner.

Carty also revealed his own particular campaign season disregard for Layton, a close friend and confidant of GOP boss and former party chairman Glenn Paulsen.

Since Lacy fired Russell and Layton and seized the party's financial records for an independent review, Paulsen's made it clear he wants to replace Lacy with Layton as the party's county chairman.

Layton wants the job - but Carty said he'd be a poor replacement for Lacy.

"In your letter you talk about the campaign staff ‘being treated in a disrespectful and disgusting manner'," Carty wrote to Addiego. "The only disrespect and slap in the face I received was from Bill Layton himself with his constant name-calling and disrespectful manner. He constantly referred to you and every other woman (mostly elected officials) as names I care not to repeat."

The strongly union-affiliated Carty said the campaign staff was generally dismayed by Layton, but tolerated him for fear of reprisals from Paulsen. He also questioned the influence Layton wielded during the campaign.

"The majority of our ‘volunteers' were provided by organized labor organizations," Carty wrote. "Mr. Layton did not ‘motivate volunteers.' If it was not for Phil (Haines) being on the ballot bringing the surge of union involvement and the volunteers recruited by the candidates/local organizations then we would not have been able to execute our GOTV plan that Mr. Layton likes to take credit for."

A redevelopment consultant who also runs a trade association, Layton has known Paulsen since 1994. He said he never assumed the posture of party savior and denies he was rude.

"A lot of people worked hard," he said. "Jason worked extremely hard on the campaign. Dawn knows how hard they all worked. But Jason was at times rude and abrasive towards the candidates. He disrespected people. It's unfortunate, but I had to put him in his place. My role was to make sure he was respectful."

Layton said he believes Carty is being used by Lacy to discredit him so that she can maintain power and block his appointment as party chairman.

"We ran one of the most aggressive campaigns both in terms of message and in fund-raising," Layton said. "When Jason discredits me, he discredits himself."

Layton said nearly 60 county chairs have signed their names to a petition demanding that Lacy schedule a meeting for a vote to be held for a new county chairperson.

"Anything less than that would be a slap to democracy," said Layton. "It is an abuse of discretion by Dawn Lacy to think she's been elected to anything."

Subsequent to the GOP's disastrous showing in Evesham's municipal election earlier this year and a muscle flexing exercise by Democrats as they audaciously fielded former Republican Fran Bodine as their district 8 senate candidate, the party in July appointed Lacy to serve as acting party chair upon the resignation of Mike Warner.

Now the boss wants her out of there.

Like Carty, Lacy proved a rebel presence for the Paulsen allies. The acting chair's recalcitrance in part involved her questions regarding Paulsen's control of the party's finances. But it also went to the issue of the campaign's style. When Russell's Traz Group dropped an attack mailer in the general election, going after the husband of Democratic Assembly candidate Tracy Reilly because he accepted a court appointment to represent an alleged terrorist, Carty and Lacy bristled. They kept their mouths shut then for the sake of the party but looking back on the campaign, Carty calls the mail piece a big gigantic softball pitched to an already sagging Democratic team.

"It ended up affecting the votes and the turnout," said Carty. "I had a lot of Republicans tell me during the campaign that they were offended by that mail piece."

Russell today stood by it.

"Whatever people think about the mailer, one thing is indisputable," said the campaign manager. "After the mailer, her (Tracy Reilly's) campaign was about being a victim and playing defense for the last two weeks of the campaign. She let that mailer throw her off. Whatever message she had was lost as she allowed the mailer to completely derail her campaign."

At least one other Burlington County voice emerged Tuesday in support of Carty and Lacy, and that was Jon Shevelew, mayor of Shamong Township, who also fired off a letter to Addiego on the heels of Carty's transmission.

"In your statement of 'unconditional support' for Mr. Layton you refer to his skills at raising funds, motivating volunteers, etc.," Shevelew wrote. "Yet he has left the party with a significant six figure debt (borrowing is not fund-raising) and the disenfranchisement of numerous volunteers who he apparently treated with the same disdain and disrespect that he expressed regarding the candidates, based on the feedback I've seen from those workers."

Shevelew chastised Addiego for entrenching herself in the Paulsen faction in a developing war between Paulsen and Layton on the one side and district 7 Sen. Diane Allen and Lacy on the other.

Discouraged by post-election party meltdown in what she said should be a celebratory atmosphere, and frustrated by what appears to be a deepening divide in her party, Addiego said that in singling out Russell and Layton for praise today, she never meant to disrespect any of the campaign volunteers.

"Just yesterday I ordered five gift baskets for campaign staff," said the assemblywoman-elect, "including one for Jason.

"In a highly charged and emotional campaign, we all had our moments," Addiego added. "Were things said to me that I didn't like? Yes. But everyone was working hard. Regardless of my personal feelings, the right thing to do was to get these baskets."