HACKENSACK, N.J. – Former Bergen Sheriff Mike Saudino abandoned the GOP for the Democrat Party; then he was forced to resign in disgrace after being caught on tape using bigoted slurs.
This week he was publicly re-embraced by the Bergen GOP at a Hackensack headquarters event. Saudino, a pension double-dipper, is apparently rejoining the Republican ranks having been cast aside by the Democrat, but he’s still supporting North Jersey Democrats with his money.
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According to publicly viewable ELEC documentation (click here), Saudino’s old campaign committee donated $2,500 William Schievella on April 20th.
Schievella is a Democrat candidate for Morris County sheriff.
There is a personal connection. Schievella previously served as Director of Communications for the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Sunder Saudino; it was Schievella who, after Saudino’s career-ending scandal broke, emailed out a statement expressing the disgraced sheriff’s “sincere apology to the people of Bergen County for the insensitive recorded remarks that were made public today” contained in a recording first shared by WNYC.
Saudino’s big donation will still raise eyebrows.
Spared a primary challenge, Schievella will face-off with incumbent Morris County Sheriff James Gannon in November. Gannon is considered a rising star in the New Jersey Republican Party and a possible future candidate for higher office.
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