Campaign questions and curious connections

Sparta — National politics and the presidential race seem to pale in comparison to Sparta’s wild political rides. In the quest for town council seats, accusations and rumors abound in the final stretch toward the June 10 run-off election. In what has been called the most expensive municipal campaign in Sparta history, questions are circulating about who is footing the bill for the high-priced ads and gimmicks. Candidate Christopher Curry has run by far the most expensive and high-tech campaign with three glossy mailers (to date) and a letter sent to all Sparta households, two auto-dialed calls to residents, radio spots, and a free ice cream party at a local restaurant. His most recent ELEC filing shows a total of $19,073.62 in contributions. Last fall Sparta purchased the 172-acre Limecrest Quarry property for $2.45 million from owners C.C. Cox, LLC., prompting a lawsuit from Mulvihill’s company, Limecrest Quarry Developers, who claimed documents related to the sale were not made public and they challenged the proposed contract. A Newton judge ruled in Sparta’s favor, upholding the contract in a March 11 decision, but said the township would have to pay a portion of Mulvihill’s attorney’s fees due to certain violations of the Open Public Meetings Act and Open Public Records Act. The Mulvihills are the current quarry operators and have lease rights until 2017. They were also interested in buying the quarry and there was talk of developing a multi-million dollar residential area incorporating the more than 200 acres they own adjacent to the property. March brought an all-out media blitz in Sparta, launched by a group known as “Friends of the Limecrest Quarry.” An oversized, multi-colored, glossy mailer was received by all residents, claiming, “The council made a big mistake buying the Limecrest Quarry,“ and urging Spartans “to get out of this bad deal now.” The flyer was paid for by “Friends of the Limecrest Quarry,” but no names were included. Eugene Mulvihill told the Independent last March he had no knowledge of the “Friends” and their brochure. Two full-page ads in the Independent came next, both echoing claims in the brochure. Finally the letter version of one of the ads was sent to all Sparta households with a misspelled signature of Mayor Michael J. Spekhardt mistakenly affixed. This prompted confusion from residents and ire from the mayor who contacted law enforcement regarding attempted forgery. The matter is still under investigation in the county prosecutor’s office. Andrew Mulvihill came forward and apologized to the mayor and the public, saying his own signature was supposed to be attached and called the snafu a printer’s error. He issued a new letter with his signature, and the printer, Joe Knipe of Imperial Printing and Mail Services of Monmouth County, accepted responsibility and issued a written apology to all residents. Knipe said a former client of his, Rich Zeoli, Sussex County’s Republican Committee Chair, recommended his services to Mulvihill. Zeoli confirmed the connection and said he has also done consulting for Mulvihill. Another customer of Imperial printing is Philip Lid, known to Spartans as one of the organizers of the “No on garbage” campaign. Lid sent a letter to all residents urging them to sign their latest petitions to recall Spekhardt, Deputy Mayor Brady and Councilman Goldberg. Lid said he used Imperial to print his letter because they are “the best deal around.” The recall effort, much publicized by a multitude of signs around town, joins the current council campaigning, giving Spartans many messages to ponder. The Mulvihills have not been as public lately with their quest to obtain the quarry, but Curry’s glossy mailers echo a complaint identical to the “Friends of Limecrest Quarry” mailer: “secret meetings hidden from the public.” Curry said he believes major council decisions or purchases should be taken to the voters for approval, similar to the Limecrest flyer which says, “It’s time to let the people vote. Demand a referendum.” Candidate Carey Shaftan has said she doesn’t agree with the quarry purchase because, “Sparta shouldn’t be in the quarry business.” Rampant speculation is that wealthy developers Eugene and Andrew Mulvihill are supporting candidates Curry and Carey Shaftan, because they would support the sale of Limecrest Quarry if they were elected. This speculation was recently fueled by Curry’s latest ELEC filing, which shows a contribution of $2,600 from John Steinbach, who lists a Vernon P.O. Box number and names his employer as Mountain Resort Properties — a Mulvihill-owned company at Crystal Springs in Hamburg. Curry was asked at last week’s debate if he could identify any of his larger contributors. He said. “I’m not sure because I don’t see the checks. Linda Fraioli, Curry’s campaign treasurer, was asked this week about the Steinbach contribution and said, “I can’t comment on that, I don’t know the gentleman. I just take the checks to the bank. If people make a connection with Mulvihill, well it is what it is.” Fraioli said all of Curry’s campaign finances have been properly reported according to ELEC laws. Andrew Mulvihill was asked about his family’s connection to the Curry campaign. He responded in an e-mail statement: “I am proud of the support I have given over the years to strong fiscal conservatives who believe in the principles of limited government and low taxes. The very first person I ever supported was Ronald Reagan when I was in college, and I have been supporting conservative Republicans ever since. That’s why I am proud that I hosted a fundraiser for Congressman Scott Garrett last week, I’m proud that I have helped Senator Oroho and Assemblywoman Alison McHose, two strong fiscal conservatives on the state level with an office in Sparta, along with many other great Republican leaders in Sussex County and beyond. I have not met Mr. Curry and I have not given to him personally yet, but I appreciate the fact he has made fighting high property taxes the central component of his campaign and I wish him well next Tuesday.” Shaftan said she has not received any funding from the Mulvihills, but would gladly accept a check. Her husband, Rick Shaftan, is a well known political consultant and created three controversial glossy mailers for her that have made quite a stir warning of the “urbanization of Sparta through low income housing.” Rick Shaftan was asked if he created the “Friends of Limecrest” flyer for Mulvihill because of the similarities in style and tone to his wife’s campaign materials. He said he does not discuss the promotional work he does for clients, but said he did create the two full-page Limecrest ads in the Independent for Mulvihill. Rick Shaftan is also a professional pollster and he was asked if his company conducted the polling calls received by many Sparta residents prior to the garbage referendum, asking how they planned to vote on the issue and what they thought of the mayor, Town Manager Henry Underhill and Town Planner David Troast, among others. Shaftan said he could not confirm or deny his involvement. Curry and Carey Shaftan began their campaigns running together and Rick Shaftan was listed as the campaign manager for both on their original candidates petitions filed with the Township Clerk. However, Shaftan says he is now only his wife’s campaign manager. Fraioli said the two decided to run their own campaigns so they could concentrate on their own issues. Curry said he corrected the forms this week, listing himself as his own manager. Two other large contributions to Curry’s campaign include $500 from Medina Consultants of Hackettstown, an engineering and land surveying firm, and $1,000 from Middleton and Company, a corporate insurance firm in Newton. Shaftan has raised $7,756.05, according to her latest ELEC filing, also with some contributions from out-of-towners. Incumbent Scott Seelagy lists $5,377.33 on his recent ELEC filing. He also has fielded speculation about special interest support from the Cofrancesco family of the Grinnell Company. He denied he had received any funds from the Cofrancescos, even though he knows them, and says he is largely funding his own campaign. He said he has received contributions under $300 from individuals in town and since the last debate has received many more. Incumbent Jerry Murphy said he is running a low-budget grass roots campaign and has filed only an A-1 form indicating that he does not expect his expenditures to exceed $3,500. And so, the countdown to Tuesday’s vote begins.