Whelan and Tyner for State Assembly

WHEN REPUBLICAN PARTY BOSSES SAY JUMP
BLEE AND CONOVER SAY “HOW HIGH?�

Records Show Blee and Conover Raised Taxes, Spending and Debt;
Then Conover Gave Himself A Pay Raise

(Egg Harbor Township) – Second District Assembly candidates Jim Whelan and Damon Tyner today said records show that Frank Blee and Kirk Conover have consistently raised taxes, spending and debt over the years. And while raising your taxes over and over again, Conover decided to give himself a pay raise at taxpayer expense.

Whelan and Tyner said the Blee/Conover voting record is proof positive that they do everything their GOP party bosses tell them:

“Taxes? Who needs to pay them anyway, so long as you’re in a position to raise them?�

• Blee voted for each Whitman budget ever offered, increasing state spending by 44 percent and dramatically expanding state debt

• Blee often votes to weaken consumer protections

• Blee has sponsored legislation that would have allowed casino executives to gamble

• Blee sponsored legislation to reduce pension payments to the Police & Firemen’s retirement system

• Blee voted against funding for homeland security measures at nuclear power plants, overtime for State Police, and thwarting bio-terrorism

• Blee voted to threaten drinking water by delaying cleanup of underground storage tanks

• Blee supports the elimination of the millionaire’s tax at the expense of providing rebates to senior citizens

“Yes, sir, that’s a brilliant idea to give millionaires tax breaks while the little people are taxed out of their homes!�

• Conover voted against property tax rebates

• Conover voted to increase county property taxes at least 16 times

• Atlantic County spending increased 165 percent while Conover was a Freeholder

• Atlantic County’s debt service increased more than four-fold from 1981 to 2003

• Conover voted himself a pay raise over and over again

• Conover voted to double the county open space property tax in 2000

• The Pleasantville Tax Assessor accused Conover and his fellow Freeholders of playing a “shell game� with property tax rates

• Conover voted to spend open space tax money on other projects, violating the spirit of the proposal approved by voters

• Conover supported a controversial new garbage tax in 1998 against the wishes of residents, sparking a lawsuit from the Galloway Township government

• Conover supported moves by the Atlantic County Utilities Authority to incur $7.4 million in new debt even though it was struggling to pay off its existing $86 million debt

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