Email from Frankly Speaking A sure thing - until it wasn’t! The Face(s) of Bergen County Failure "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots..." - Thomas Jefferson Happy Holidays Bergen County Friends and Neighbors, Data, numbers and trend lines don’t lie - nor should they be ignored. This year’s election extended the longest streak of Republican losses in Bergen County history with the 14th consecutive year without a single county win, bringing the total to a staggering 40 straight campaign defeats. But the real damage extends far deeper. What the Bergen County Republican Organization is NOT talking about this year are the 11 Republican council losses in this cycle - one of the worst in recent memory. This isn’t a rough patch, it’s a full-blown collapse with Chairman Jack DeLorenzo and LD39 Senator Holly Schepisi at the helm with nearly all of those municipal losses coming from her district. This is in stark contrast to towns like Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes in District 40, that buck the trend of Democrat "creep" by holding and increasing win margins and avoiding contested races. Don’t let anyone tell you this was merely "fallout" from the Governor's race, or a reflection of New Jersey’s tough statewide climate. Yes, those defeats stung, but what happened in Bergen County this year is something entirely different. Bergen County Republicans have always held more council and mayor seats than Democrats - even while being heavily outnumbered in voter registration. But that "advantage" is quickly evaporating. For example, the most Republican District, led by Senator Holly Schepisi, and once considered a safe “GOP fortress,” under Senator Gerry Cardinale, is now unraveling, having lost 6 "safe" council seats this cycle alone. Oakland: An all-Republican council, lost two council seats to Independent candidates, due in part to a very public GOP rift with the Oakland PBA, doling out municipal jobs to insiders, and punishing anyone who refuses to "play their game". Waldwick: Another all-Republican council, lost two seats to Democrat challengers, following county leadership's interference in the GOP primary jettisoning 2 incumbent Republicans candidates in favor of 2 inexperienced GOP challengers, paving the way for a Democrat sweep that should never have happened. Hillsdale saw a split party victory this year with the Republican candidate chosen by Bergen County leadership losing to a Democrat, while the GOP candidate rebuffed by the same Republican organization winning handily. In all-Republican Dumont, where Assemblyman Bob Auth’s legislative team runs the local committee, infighting shattered the majority, shifting two council seats to the Democrats only 12 months after securing a full Republican council. Oradell like Dumont, secured a Republican majority last year thanks to steadfast local municipal leadership. However, Bergen County leadership again corrupted standard voting protocol, removing those municipal leaders - and subsequently losing both GOP council seats. These losses aren't just bad luck - they’re the result of County meddling and self-serving leadership from Jack DeLorenzo and Vice Chair Margaret Frontera, who continue to oversee the party’s steep decline into the abyss. The county's financial situation is no less dire. The new, publicly named finance team led by District 37 Chair, T0mmy Toscano Jr. were brought in to raise money, and field competitive races. So far, however, those efforts have been a resounding failure. As of the third quarter of 2025, Bergen Democrats reported an impressive $1.1 million cash on hand. Bergen Republicans, by comparison, have just over $40,000 - a staggering 25-to-1 cash gap - one of the worst in the party’s history. And while her district loses ground, LD39 Senator Schepisi has proven how out of touch with her constituents she truly is, regularly posting on social media, extravagant 5-figure vacation getaways and jet-setting weekend jaunts around the country - all in the faces of New Jersey families struggling to make ends meet. Even in places where Republicans managed to win, it was by the narrowest of margin. Assemblymen Bob Auth and John Azzariti, in LD39 for example, held their seats by 2 percentage points after winning by double digits only 48 months ago! That’s less a win than it is a warning - with Cresskill, Northvale, Norwood, Park Ridge Westwood, and Woodcliff Lake as the Dems' likely next targets. In less than four years, the Bergen County Republican Organization, have placed the GOP's "RMS Titanic" on a collision course with a Democrat Iceberg - and we all know how that ended! This isn’t bad luck; it’s the product of active mismanagement, political malfeasance, and party leaders obsessed with their own fiefdom over actual strategy. In just a few short years a proud legacy built by past GOP leaders like Gerry Cardinale, Pat Schubert, Paul DiGaetano, and Hank McNamara has all but vanished under Jack Zisa, Jack DeLorenzo, Holly Schepisi and Margaret Frontera's watch. Bergen County voters deserve honesty, accountability and action. The party can’t begin to recover without calling this debacle what it truly is: a wholesale failure at the very top. Happy Holidays, Frank Pallotta '20, '22 Republican House Candidate, NJ05 Wall Street Veteran Frank T. Pallotta '20, '22 Republican House Candidate, NJ05 Frankly Speaking, NJ 145 N. Franklin Tpke. Suite 203 Ramsey, NJ 07446 201-921-8384 Frankly Speaking NJ | 145 North Franklin Tpke. Suite 203 | Ramsey, NJ 07446 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice