PALLONE CAMPAIGN HITS OPPONENTS FOR LACK OF "TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY"

“Voters have simply been ignored by Cory Booker, Sheila Oliver and Rush Holt.”

LONG BRANCH ¬ Weeks after first Congressman Frank Pallone first signed the “People’s Pledge” and asked Cory Booker, Sheila Oliver and Rush Holt to join him, Pallone’s campaign today noted the request has been met with silence. While widely regarded for its ability to remove outside special interests and unnamed PAC money from the Massachusetts United States Senate race between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren in 2012, the Congressman’s opponents have simply ignored the request for transparency and accountability. Congressman Pallone’s campaign today released the following statement:

“Fifteen days ago Congressman Pallone signed the ‘People’s Pledge’ in an effort to provide voters in this year’s special Democratic Primary campaign for U.S. Senate the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates, and he asked his opponents to do the same. Since that time, our campaign’s request for accountability and transparency has been met with silence.

In an expedited election sorely lacking in much needed direct voter contact as a result of multiple debate opportunities being turned down by Congressman Pallone’s opponents, the ‘People’s Pledge’ is the bare minimum the other three candidates can do to make sure Democratic voters aren’t encumbered by outside influence. Yet, Democratic voters have not even been give the courtesy of an answer in the negative and an acknowledgement that outside special interests and unnamed PAC’s with their own agendas will play an active role in this race. Instead, these voters have simply been ignored by Cory Booker, Sheila Oliver and Rush Holt.

The dismissive posture taken by all three of Congressman Pallone’s opponents with regard to accountability and transparency in this election is truly perplexing and should speak volumes to New Jersey’s Democratic primary voters on August 13. We will continue our call for Frank Pallone’s opponents to sign the ‘People’s Pledge’ in the coming days and weeks, just as we will continue to hold out hope they will agree to more debates to allow for a proper vetting of all four candidates previous records and future platforms in this campaign for United States Senate.”