MAHWAH, N.J. – Each of the five Republican Sussex County Freeholders – Director Sylvia Petillo, Deputy Director Dawn Fantasia, Herb Yardley, Josh Hertzberg, and Anthony Fasano – announced their support for Frank Pallotta’s Fifth Congressional District campaign on Thursday.
“We were introduced to Frank Pallotta last year, when he came to the aid of Sussex County taxpayers who were questioning the Murphy administration’s Immigration Trust Directive. Our Board, led by Herb Yardley and Sylvia Petillo, was pushing back against the Murphy administration’s so-called Immigration Trust Directive,” the freeholders declared in a joint statement.
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“Frank Pallotta stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our Freeholder Board and our Sheriff. Frank ran radio ads supporting the ballot question and the people’s right to vote. No other candidate for Congress did that,” they added. “Frank Pallotta does more than just talk. He steps up and joins the fight. We support Frank Pallotta for Congress.”
A Goldman Sachs alum, Pallotta has a head-start in Sussex with veteran Oroho operative Kelly Ann Hart firmly in his corner as campaign manager. Sussex’s county party does not award a “line” like most other county organization.
Pallotta’s nomination quest in sprawling NJ-05 would benefit greatly for having a foothold in the district’s western, redder reaches. The battle is nevertheless likely to be decided in the populous Bergen County suburbs where Pallotta’s opponents include GOP Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali and 2018 NJ-05 nominee John McCann.
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